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off suspicion, especially if he thought we were inept, she thought.
    His face brightened. 'Kathleen might have been murdered by one of Mr Doody's enemies. I know it's a bit unlikely.' Finbar paused. 'Dig deeper and see if you can find any dirt on him.'
    'Maybe Mick's not the devoted husband he appears,' added Libby, raising an eyebrow. 'You know he's a lot richer since she died. Kathleen was very wealthy.'
    Meenan's eyes lit up. 'Now you're talking. Keep up the digging. We'll get to the truth eventually.'
    'The pathologist found no sign of sexual assault and nothing had been stolen,' Libby continued.
    'Which pathologist is this now?' Finbar stiffened his shoulders. 'Not that giant fellow with the funny Russian accent?'
    'No, Dr Gallagher.'
    'Oh, him.' Finbar relaxed in the chair. 'He's okay, he's fairly sound. Anyone else with a strong motive?'
    Libby consulted her notebook. 'We talked to the intern who worked under her and a registrar called Raman Sharma.'
    'Raman, what kind of a name is that?' he asked in disgust.
    'Indian.' She kept her gaze on the floor. Here we go again, she thought.
    'Another foreign doctor.' He frowned. 'This place is full of them. Does that lad speak English clearly?'
    'Of course,' Libby replied evenly, her expression deadpan. 'He was very helpful, he told me a lot about how the hospital is run.'
    'What about this lad Raman's alibi?' Meenan gazed at her keenly. 'I hope you checked that carefully.'
    'I did try, but anyone could have slipped into the victim's room unseen.'
    'Probably was a man, though,' Finbar said slowly, scratching his head. 'The killer had to be strong enough to suffocate our victim.'
    Libby nodded. 'The whole process was soundless.'
    'How do you know that for sure?' Finbar asked.
    'Because a doctor slept on either side of her and they heard nothing.'
    'Are you sure those doctors weren't on the wards at the time?' He narrowed his eyes.
    'The pathologist said she died about two am. All of them said they were in bed by then.'
    'Strange they heard nothing.' He digested this information for a while.
    'How's young Dawn getting along?' he asked.
    'Grand. She's a real help to me.'
    'Really? Make sure you keep her busy. Her father said she can be a messer.'
    'I haven't found that,' said Libby, frowning.
    'I only took her on as a favour to my sister. She's a bit disappointed in Dawn.'
    Libby asked, 'Why's that?'
    He snorted. 'Dawn threw aside her degree when she qualified. She turned down a good job, she's a trained nurse.'
    'She told me about that.' Poor Dawn is in the doghouse, Libby thought.
    Finbar's features softened. 'You know your father was a great man, Libby. I really miss him in the office, even though it's six months since...'
    'Since he passed away,' Libby finished for him. She sighed. 'Yeah I know. I hated coming in here the first few days. All the furniture, the photos, the files, everything in here reminded me of him.' She gave a small smile. 'But I've got used to it now, that he's not coming back, I mean.'
    'He had a good life, your dad,' said Finbar.
    She nodded. They both remained silent.
    Finbar's phone rang shrilly. Before he answered he said, 'See you later Libby. Listen, you're going to be handling this case on your own. My back is so bad my doctor told me to cut down all unnecessary driving. You have Dawn anyway, to help you.'
    'Oh right. No problem.' Very handy for you, this bad back, she thought, but she felt relieved, nevertheless, to hear she'd get less interference from Finbar. She rose to leave, in better humour after hearing this.

Chapter 7
     
    Libby called on Friday evening to Mick Doody's house in Kinsale, ten miles away from Ballyhasset. She drove slowly up the long driveway and parked in front of the house. She spotted a sleek black Jaguar sports car in front of the porch. She remembered seeing the car the last time she was there. At least Mr Doody is in, she thought as she climbed the steps up to the front door.
    The maid answered, gazing at her with the