“Johnathon Keyes, please. It’s Aifric Ryan speaking.”

This time the secretary put her straight through.

“Ms. Ryan, I understand you paid a little visit to my offices yesterday.”

“Mr. Keyes, I’m so glad we caught each other,” Aifric said.

“Mm hmm.”

“I . . . I wanted to talk to you about the Robert Collins case. And also, about the papers you sent me this morning.”

“Yes?”

Oh, God. She should have thought about what to say before she picked up the phone.

“I . . . wanted to thank you for sending me papers . . .”

“Most welcome.”

“And also just to check . . . to ask . . . well, to ask why you sent them.”

“Sorry?”

Aifric could feel her cheeks flushing. She scrunched her eyes shut and forced herself to continue. “I wanted to ask why you sent me the papers. You and Rebecca Lloyd. Three cases, all arrived this morning. It seems like more than a coincidence, that’s all.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “I sent you the papers because I need a trial attorney, and I understand you to be good on your feet. I can only presume Rebecca has heard the same, but obviously you’ll have to ask her.”

“Right,” Aifric said. “Of course.”

“I’m not sure what other reason there could be, frankly.”

“Yes,” Aifric said hurriedly. “Sorry, I just . . . wanted to touch base.” In the face of his confidence, she couldn’t bring herself to say what she really thought, which was that he’d sent her the cases as a reward for keeping her mouth shut the day before, for protecting him. Except there was no way he could know what she’d said to Hartigan in an empty courtroom, was there? And she hadn’t been protecting him. She’d been protecting herself.

“Very good. I understand you have an appointment to see Robert Collins this morning at Mountjoy Prison?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. I won’t be able to attend, unfortunately. Conflicts, other cases. You know the way it is. I’m a busy man. I won’t always be as available as other lawyers might be. Which means I need the trial attorneys I work with to be a little more . . . independent.”

“Right,” Aifric said. She thought about her empty bank account and the files sitting on her desk.

“Well then. If you’re happy, and I’m happy, I think we have an arrangement.”

“Thank you,” Aifric said automatically.

“Most welcome.”

“Could I ask, do you have a preference about senior counsel in the Collins case?”

“Oh yes, we’ve been lucky there. Colin Leonard has agreed to act.”

“That’s great news,” Aifric said. She felt a little giddy. “Why don’t I make arrangements to meet him, then? To brief him on the case.”

“Why don’t you do that, Aifric. Why don’t you just go ahead and do that.” And Johnathon Keyes hung up.

Chapter Five

Aifric

At eleven o’clock, Aifric lined up with the other lawyers at Mountjoy Prison and waited to go through security. She was escorted to a meeting room and left there to wait. The room itself was depressing: the Formica table and plastic chairs were firmly screwed into the floor. The walls had once been painted white but had taken on that odd patina so peculiar to unloved, industrial spaces, like a particularly milky tea but less inviting.