“And what does that have to do with a recent murder?”

It was the obvious question, but nevertheless, Carrie cringed inwardly a little. It was one thing to go off in high dudgeon and impulsively interview Evelyn Ross. It was quite another to take a forty-minute bus journey to Malahide, door-stop a witness’s mother, and suggest to her face that her daughter might have made up a rape allegation.

“It isn’t directly related,” Carrie said. “It’s just, Evelyn is a witness to this recent murder. She’s given evidence against the accused. And I need to find out, before we put her on the stand, whether or not she is a reliable witness. Someone of impeccable character.”

Mary laughed, a short and bitter sound. “You’ll be a long time looking for one of them. Impeccable character.” She laughed again, as if the concept were ridiculous.

“I understand. But . . .”

“She wasn’t lying,” Mary said flatly.

“Mary, I can promise, there will be no repercussions. No one is going to go after Evelyn for something she did six years ago.”

“I’ve told you, she wasn’t lying. That man, that teacher, gave Evelyn a lift home from training one day, and he sexually assaulted her in his car.” Mary Ross leaned forward. “Didn’t you look him up, before coming here? He went to prison, five years later. He assaulted a little girl. Twelve years old.”

Oh, Jesus. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Ross. I didn’t know. But you’re right. I should have.” Carrie wanted the ground to swallow her up. What a fool she had been. So much for her detective instincts. “I should go. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.” She stood. Mary Ross half-closed her eyes.

“I often think about whether or not it would have been different if Evelyn had given evidence against him. Would he have gone to prison back then? Would that little girl have been spared?” Mary opened her eyes. “But she didn’t want to go through with it. And I didn’t push her because, really, what was the point? Chances were, the case would have been thrown out. Aren’t they all? And Mattie really didn’t want it to go forward, so that was that.”

“Thank you,” Carrie said. “I’m sorry to have come and opened all of this up again for you. It must be a painful memory.”

Mary Ross pressed her lips together and nodded slowly.

Carrie turned to go. “Thank you for the tea. I’ll leave you in peace, to the rest of your afternoon.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me about the murder?” Mary said “Please. I . . . I’d like to know . . .”

Carrie sat slowly, her eyes on Mary’s face.

“A young woman was killed, someone Evelyn knew. Her name was Laura O’Donnell. Laura’s boyfriend, Robert, has been arrested and charged with her murder, and Evelyn has given evidence against him. But there are some inconsistencies in Evelyn’s statement, so that’s why I wanted to speak with you.”