The closer they got to Kilmitten, the more anxious she became. She tried to focus on the landscape. She’d always loved the approach from the east, and the way the village and surrounding fields stretched out like a tapestry in front of her. Today, those fields were sprinkled with a wintry glitter. Every inch of road was familiar, every house and tree. She imagined giving a guided tour: ‘You see that boreen?’ she’d say. ‘That’s the shortcut to Toomey’s Hill. We used to play there when we were kids. And the bend in the road? That was where Noel O’Grady crashed his car. He was drunk, of course. If you look to your left, that’s where the phone box used to be. Not, mind you, that many people used it – it was always broken. Oh, and that house on our right, the grey one with the red creeper? I grew up there.’

Nina’s mother spoke in a quiet voice. ‘You probably won’t believe me,’ she said, ‘but I always thought today would come. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think it would be you approaching me. I reckoned it would be Flan or some other guard, maybe even Conor.’

‘Why Conor?’ asked Nina

‘The other day, at the funeral, Tess said he was asking questions about Leo’s death. He’s a clever man, and I wondered if he’d be the one to see through the Noel O’Grady story. When you called this morning, I had the feeling that this was what you wanted to talk about. The surprise is Tom. It had never occurred to me that somebody might have seen us.’

Nina straightened her back and, briefly, closed her eyes. She had expected to bargain and haggle. She had expected obfuscation and denials. Once again, what she was hearing was at odds with what she’d anticipated. ‘You’re telling me that everything I put to you is true? You had an affair with Father Galvin and later, for whatever reason, you killed him?’

‘When you phrase it like that, it sounds very harsh. It sounds unforgivable. But, and I can appreciate why you’d be sceptical about this, it was all a lot more complex. I didn’t set out to kill him. Of course I didn’t.’

‘Tell me about it, then. I’ve got plenty of time.’

Her mother, who was in the middle of the beige sofa, tipped her head towards the sitting-room window. ‘Will you not invite Conor and Tess in? They must be very cold out there.’

‘They’re fine. They don’t want to come in. This isn’t about them.’