Unravelling Oliver (22 page)

‘I’m afraid there is no mystery, and that you have had a wasted journey.’

I wished her luck with her continued search.

She seemed relieved, I think. Happy to know that, after all, her father was not the monster who sat before her. We shook hands. Her hand was warm in mine.

I have destroyed enough lives. She is better off not knowing. This, finally, is a secret I am proud of keeping. Protecting her is an act of unselfish generosity. I try to be good.

Heartfelt thanks to:

Marianne Gunn O’Connor, my agent, who deserves her excellent reputation for incredible support, and Vicky Satlow, for her determination on my behalf. Patricia Deevy, my editor, for gently helping me to shape my story as you now see it. Also, Michael McLoughlin, Cliona Lewis, Patricia McVeigh, Brian Walker and all of the team at Penguin Ireland. Keith Taylor, Lisa Simmonds and Holly Kate Donmall at Penguin UK, and copy-editor Caroline Pretty, for painstaking editing, proofing and production work. Alison Groom and Lesley Hodgson, for suitably sinister jacket design.

Sincere gratitude for expert research advice from:

Mark Shriver Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Genetics at Pennsylvania State University; David MacHugh Ph.D., Associate Professor of Genomics at University College Dublin; and Kieran Gaffney, Charge Care Officer (retired) at the Central Mental Hospital.

Personal thanks to:

Alison Walsh and Clodagh Lynam, for excellent advice, and Kevin Reynolds, Clíodhna Ní Anlúain, Lorelei Harris, Jesper Bergmann and Cathryn Brennan, for broadcasting my early scribblings.

All of my beloved friends and family members, including in-laws, who were forced to read this multiple times. And especially to my dad, who passed on to me his love of literature.

My husband, Richard, for everything. I adore you. x

Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London
WC2R 0RL
, England
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Block D, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Gauteng 2193, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London
WC2R 0RL
, England

www.penguin.com

First published 2014

Copyright © Liz Nugent, 2014

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover Photographs: Flames © Soren Hald/Getty Images. Moth © Joke Stuurman-Huitema/Foto Natura/Getty Images

All rights reserved

Typeset by Jouve (UK), Milton Keynes

ISBN: 978-1-844-88310-3