“It’s about a case,” she said. “One of yours.”

That surprised him. “One of my cases?”

“Yes. The murder of Laura O’Donnell.” Carrie took a breath, steeling herself. “My sister, Aifric, is one of the lawyers defending Robert Collins. She talked about the case, and I got curious. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I spoke with Evelyn Ross. She’s the one who claimed to be best friends with Laura, that Laura confided in her. And . . . I just had to tell you that I think she’s lying. They barely knew each other. They’d only met about six weeks before the murder, and according to Sheila Carmody, they didn’t get on. They were both trainees, competing for a permanent job at the salon.” She was almost babbling now, the words coming out too fast.

Charlie flushed. He leaned forward across the table. “Sorry, you did what?” He was loud enough that heads turned in their direction.

“I know I was way out of line,” Carrie said. “And I know you don’t know me. We haven’t worked together . . . but I never do this kind of thing. It’s just, I can’t help but wonder, if she is lying, then why? What is she trying to cover up? So . . . I just thought I would take it to you, and then step away.”

“And then you’d step away. How bloody gracious of you.” Charlie swallowed, then lowered his voice. “Tell me, Carrie. When you decided to have these little chats with my star witness, did you caution her? Did you tell her that she had a right to see a lawyer? That what she said could be used against her in a court of law?”

“I . . . No, but it wasn’t . . .”

He cut her off. “No, you didn’t. So not only did you stick your nose into a case you don’t understand, but you did it badly.”

“I thought that . . .”

“Don’t interrupt me,” he hissed at her. His eyes were narrowed, his face still flushed with anger. Oh God. This was so much worse than she had imagined.

“You think you were out of line. You have no bloody idea. What is it, you’ve been surrounded by people who’ve told you you’re special your whole life? You think the rules don’t apply to you?” He paused, waiting for a reply. Carrie opened her mouth, but she couldn’t think of a single word to say, and that seemed to anger him all the more.

“You don’t need to tell me what the problem is. I’ve seen it too many times before. You join the gardaí, and because you’re a woman, you’ve had a pat on the back every time you so much as farted in the right direction. Your little successes have been praised and your failures overlooked. So you get ideas about yourself, about your abilities, that have no basis in reality.”

He stood up, put both fists down on the table, and leaned toward her. “And you know what sickens me altogether? When you get knocked back on your transfer application, instead of taking it like a man and getting back out there and proving yourself, you decide to piss all over my case, and then try to sleep your way to the top.”