Aifric, certain that anything she said would make things worse, said nothing.

Alistair Hartigan let out a long sigh. “Ms. Ryan. I understand the difficulty of your position. A young trial attorney, eager to do well. Your senior colleague Mr. Gilmartin is, as you say, ill, though the nature of that illness is such that my sympathy, at least, has long since been exhausted. That is a situation that should have been addressed by the Bar Council long ago. Perhaps now it finally will be. But Johnathon Keyes . . . He is, quite frankly, a disgrace to his profession.”

Aifric realized she was holding her breath and forced herself to release it.

Hartigan leaned forward. “If there’s anything you’d like to share with me now about Keyes and his behavior on this case, I can promise you that it will be addressed at the highest level. At the highest possible level.”

For a moment, Aifric was tempted. She could let out the day’s frustration and talk about her multiple phone calls, about her suspicion that Keyes’s failure to apply for bail had nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with utter negligence. But she didn’t miss the spark of anticipation in Alistair Hartigan’s eye as he leaned toward her across the bench, and that eagerness, the sharpness of it, stopped her. This was definitely personal for him, and he wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get what he wanted.

“I . . . I’m afraid I just came on the case this morning. I haven’t met with my client or even truly had an opportunity to review the papers. I’m not aware of anything that Mr. Keyes . . . I don’t have any complaints about Mr. Keyes’s behavior on this case, Judge.”

Hartigan sat back, the spark dying out of his eyes, and with it, the kindness.

“I see,” he said.

“I expect that Mr. Keyes had made arrangements for today’s hearing with Mr. Gilmartin. I’m sure he had informed Mr. Gilmartin about the book of evidence, perhaps even arranged for Mr. Gilmartin to collect it from his office. Unfortunately, due to Mr. Gilmartin’s sudden illness, that information never made it to me. And as Mr. Keyes’s phone has been switched off all day, I haven’t been able to reach him. His battery may have died, I’m not sure. But I expect he will present himself to you, Judge, to apologize for his absence as soon as possible.”

“You expect that, do you?”

“And I can only apologize for my own error earlier today, regarding the book of evidence. I am meeting with my client at Mountjoy tomorrow morning to take his instructions. We will be fully prepared the next time the case comes before you.”

Hartigan shook his head. “This case won’t be before me again. I’m sending it forward to the central criminal court for trial.” He stood up. “I’ll be interested to see how the case progresses. Good luck, Ms. Ryan. I think you’re going to need it.”