Burke puts her arms on the table and looks him in the eye. ‘The night you had sex with the woman, did you ask her name?’

Tom looks at Burke, shaking his head slightly from side to side, his eyes are pleading with her to leave him alone.

‘Well, did you, Tom?’

‘I can’t remember.’ His voice is low, broken, embarrassed.

‘So it could have been either of the sisters.’ Burke places a photograph of the two women on the table. They both look alike, same dark hair, same green eyes.

‘I don’t know, it was so long ago…’

Turning to face him I smile, letting him know, it’s okay, she might be judging him, I’m not. I know how things were back then. How a couple of pints would turn into a Tsunami of shots. How blackouts became the measure of a night’s success. Placing my hand on Tom’s leg, I squeeze it.

‘Fine,’ Burke says, pushing back from the table and moving the conversation on. ‘Joyce McCarthy said she heard on the news that Claire had been killed and presumed Kenny was being taken care of by his father. Here. At this house.’

‘But if she’s nothing to hide why didn’t she just go to you guys?’

‘She said she wanted to speak to Kenny first, that was her priority.’

Tom pulls his chair in closer, resting his elbows on the table before joining in. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘I know it’s a lot to take in.’

‘What did Kenny say about it? Does he know her? Did he meet her?’

Burke shuffles her feet, gliding her hands across the table again before lifting her gaze to me. Every time she looks at me I think she’s going to accuse me of something. ‘He says he doesn’t know her, didn’t even know she existed.’

‘Do you believe him?’ I ask.

Tom quickly turns his head and stares at me like I’ve just said something rude to the cop.

‘It’s a valid question, Tom.’

‘At the moment we have no reason to disbelieve him but this investigation is only starting.’

‘Did she say what happened? Why Kenny isn’t living with her?’

‘Joyce McCarthy maintains that Kenny was taken from her at birth by her mother who told her he had died at birth. Then she was sent to live with her uncle in the USA which is where she lived until coming home for the first time last week.’

‘But…’ Tom is speechless.