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‘So you’ll leave it? Move on from all this?’

She bit her lip, felt tears building. From frustration, repentance or guilt? She was not sure. But she could not stop the words leaving her lips.

‘I can’t walk away from it.’

59

Lottie was in such a temper by the time she returned to the dressmaker’s cabin in Spiddal that she had to spend five minutes walking around the village before she was calm enough to talk to the woman without making a show of herself.

She took off her cardigan and slung it over her arm. No point in fainting with the heat inside. She knocked on the door and entered when Ann called out to come in.

‘Oh, you’re back.’ Ann stood up from her table and hurriedly covered whatever she’d been working on.

‘I hope I’m not disturbing you.’ Lottie’s tone was too formal. Acting like she was on the job. She’d have to tone it down.

‘You are, actually. I’ve an order to finish today.’

‘I won’t delay you. I want to pick up the conversation we were having earlier.’

‘It wasn’t a conversation, and I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Ann, please tell me what you were implying about Bryan O’Shaughnessy. It’s important.’

‘I told you already. I have nothing to say. I don’t want to disrupt the wedding. Grace deserves to be happy and she seems besotted with him. So let fate make its own way.’

Jesus, had Boyd phoned Ann? She sounded just like him.

‘You must tell me if there’s something Grace should know about Bryan. You already intimated as much.’

‘I don’t have to tell you anything. I’d like you to leave.’

‘Maybe I’ll ask your husband.’ Now she was being a right bitch. Didn’t stop her, though. ‘You did say it was him that mentioned it to you.’

Ann came around the table so quickly Lottie took a step back.

‘Do not go near him.’ There was venom in the spittle flying from Ann’s lips. ‘I’m warning you. You have no authority around here, so please leave it. Leave me alone.’

Lottie was in full fighting mood now. ‘So be it. I’ll inform Detective Sergeant Mooney that you have information pertinent to his investigation. You can talk to him.’

‘I don’t have to…’ Ann’s face lost all its anger in an instant as realisation seemed to strike her. ‘What investigation?’

‘The murders of three people this week here in Galway, quite possibly linked to one in Ragmullin.’

‘That’s ridiculous. What I was saying has nothing to do with murder.’

Lottie leaned her head to one side sceptically. ‘How can I be certain of that while you are withholding information?’

Ann leaned back against the table before sitting on the edge of it. ‘I should have kept my mouth shut.’

‘Maybe, but you didn’t.’

‘No, and now you’re going to drag me into a murder investigation. Denis will kill me.’

‘Really? Is he violent?’

‘Jesus, woman, it’s a figure of speech.’

‘But you look scared.’