Westminster? Ha. The policing is atrocious. You would not believe what I saw today, said Michael. Even Cushla found herself turning to look at him. They’ve made a film called Policeday, he went on. It opens with a couple of officers chasing sheep across a country road. In another scene a man asks for directions to the Belgian Consulate in a language that sounds like Hungarian. My favourite part was the interrogation. A smart alec detainee and a couple of detectives with a line in witty banter. Like something you’d see on The Sweeney. A propaganda film intended to make the RUC appear impartial.

He looked around the table for a response and, when none was forthcoming, lit another cigarette.

The peelers put on a disco in my school, Cushla heard herself say.

Michael gave a short laugh. You never disappoint, do you? he said. Describe the scene.

Three uniformed RUC men with a glitterball and a strip of traffic lights. Flak jackets piled up on a beanbag. If they had weapons they must have been concealed on their persons.

Did they dance?

No. They stood stroking their moustaches, watching us.

Did you dance?

Reluctantly. Gerry Devlin dragged me up for ‘Billy Don’t Be a Hero’.

Was it fun?

The children found it highly entertaining.

They had been tilting towards each other and he was looking at her mouth as if he was about to kiss it.

Is that something the police do? said Jim.

School discos? Apparently. Community outreach or something, said Cushla.

Why did they go to your school? asked Victor.

Because there are lots of places they can’t go, I suppose. Our school is probably considered safe because it is not in an area considered to be a hotbed of Republicanism, she said slowly, as if she was speaking to a child. Below the table, Michael patted her thigh in approval.

The police have a difficult job, said Victor.

Made more difficult by their own prejudice, said Michael.

Oh, come off it. Is this going to be your next hobby horse?

What precisely does that mean?

You’ve already pissed off the judiciary. You’re going to find yourself very isolated, if you aren’t already.

I feel like we should be speaking Irish, said Jim.

Good old Jim, said Victor. Changing the subject.

Michael asked Jim for whiskey. Penny rose to clear the table and Cushla got up to help her, offering to wash because she didn’t know where anything lived. Michael was saying that if the police were so impartial, how come half the kids who appeared in court were black and blue?

Cushla frothed the water in the sink with her fingers and began dunking the plates. She felt Penny’s eyes on her and looked up.

We are worried about him, said Penny.

Why?

Everything looks so clear to him and it’ll do him no good here. And he’s drinking too much.

What can I do?