‘I’m not taking anyone’s bed,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll be okay on the lounger yoke.’

‘No,’ said Paula. ‘That wouldn’t be right. You’re a guest. The lounger’s good enough for Conor.’

‘What about my mam and dad?’ asked Tom.

‘They’re still at your aunt’s house, but the guards might want to talk to them again, so I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see them tonight.’ She gave a sorrowful shake of the head. ‘You know the way it is.’

Actually, thought Conor, we don’t know the way it is. We haven’t a clue how it is. ‘Did Dad say anything else?’ he asked.

‘Not a lot. Father Galvin’s body’s been taken to the hospital in Ennis. His brother was due to arrive, only Dad reckons he’s been delayed by the snow. Apparently, some of the roads are blocked off entirely. Where have the two of you been?’

Conor told her, then realised he’d made a mistake.

Paula whistled. ‘Fan-cee. The doctor’s house, no less. Since when did you become such big buddies with Nina Minogue?’

‘We’re not really. It’s just she’s mates with Tess.’ He toyed with the idea of telling her what Nina’s father had said, but decided against. With Paula, it was always good to keep some information in reserve.

‘Nina and Tess, now that’s an odd pairing, if ever there was one,’ she said, jumping down from the counter. ‘Come on, you’d better help me get the tea. Dad’ll be giving out if we don’t feed Tom.’

Later, Tom came up with a plan.

‘We’ll write a letter,’ he whispered, as he settled into Conor’s bed.

Conor turned over on the lounger. ‘I don’t follow you.’

‘We’ll write to your dad. We won’t put our names on the letter or anything, but we’ll say he’s looking in the wrong direction and that whoever killed Father Galvin definitely wasn’t in the shed.’

‘That’s pure stupid. He’d know right away it was us. He’d recognise my writing and then he’d go balubas.’

‘Ssh,’ went Tom, ‘Paula will hear us. I can do the letter, and there’s no way he’d know my writing. You saw him on the news. He wants people to come forward with information. That’s what we’d be doing.’