“Yes. Totally.”

“Okay,” Carrie said. “And you’ve never had a falling out with Robert yourself, have you, Evelyn?”

“God no,” she said. “I wouldn’t be that stupid. I know what he’s like.”

“Okay.” Carrie let the silence hang there for a moment. But, unlike other witnesses, Evelyn didn’t seem to feel any need to fill it. If anything, she looked a little bored.

Carrie hesitated. “There’s just one more thing I want to ask you about, and this is a bit delicate, Evelyn. It’s about something from a few years back. I don’t know . . . if you’d rather have Garda Reynolds here step out to give us some privacy, we can do that.”

Evelyn shook her hair back over her shoulders. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Carrie said. “This is about something that happened six years ago. You made a complaint about a teacher at your school, and you later withdrew the complaint. Is that right?”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. “God. That’s all ancient history.”

“I know. And I’m so sorry to drag it all up again. I really don’t want to upset you in any way.”

“I can’t see what that has to do with what happened to Laura. My teacher didn’t murder her, obviously.”

“No, of course not. I’m not suggesting anything . . .”

“Well, I can’t see why you’re bringing it up, then. It’s not relevant, is it?”

Carrie paused. “No.” There really was no easy way to push this. Instinct told her that something was there, something relevant, but she didn’t want to risk upsetting Evelyn.

“Look, I was only sixteen. But I suppose I was, you know, quite developed for my age.” Evelyn made a gesture toward her breasts. “I got a lot of attention. I had a boyfriend and everything, but, you know, men.”

“Yes,” said Carrie.

“So my teacher was . . . inappropriate with me. I made a complaint. That was it, really.”

“Right,” Carrie said. She was conscious of Niall close by, shifting uncomfortably.

“Look, I have a lot of work . . . so if that’s all?” Evelyn pushed her chair back.

Carrie stood. “Thank you for explaining that to me, Evelyn. And thank you for your time.”

“No trouble,” Evelyn said, bouncing immediately back into good humor. “I’m happy to help.”

“Just one more thing,” Carrie said. “How did you meet Laura? Was it here, at the salon?”

“How did you guess?” Evelyn said, smiling widely. “Yes, we started on exactly the same day.” She put a hand to her heart, and a little part of Carrie wondered how Charlie Sweeney could ever have fallen for this act. There was something very off about Evelyn Ross. Even Niall had picked up on it. She could tell by his stillness, by the strained half-smile he was giving the woman, so different from his usual open grin.

“Even though Laura’s gone now, I feel so lucky that we met when we did. That we had our special friendship.”

Evelyn smiled again, and Carrie felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. She suppressed a shiver. Niall’s eyes were hooded as he looked down and away.