Private Dublin

Chapter 29

Noah Kearney showed us out of his home and we watched him lock up. He told us nothing more, but Mary thanked us again before he joined her and the children in a Mercedes GLS and drove them into the night.

“Why do you think he wants us to go to the races?” Andi mused.

“Doping?” I responded. “Gambling? Something sufficiently criminal to get a family home invaded and children tortured.”

Andi scoffed, “In these parts, that could be a pretty long list.”

We started through the woods toward the perimeter wall and our car.

Over an hour later, after taking the winding route back to the city and stopping for an Indian takeout from a restaurant Andi recommended, we were sitting at the kitchen table in our rental house in Fitzwilliam Square, spooning food from plastic containers into our bowls.

The deep scent of spices filled the air, and I caught hints of fennel, cumin, fenugreek, garlic and coriander. Andi’s recommendation was justified. The food was delicious. From the achar gosht, a hot lamb and lime pickle dish, to the chicken tikka masala, everything was perfectly cooked.

“Good, huh?” Andi said.

“Really good,” I replied. “Great choice.”

She took a swig from a bottle of beer. The owner had insisted we have four to accompany our meal, and I found the lager refreshing, even if the act of opening my mouth to eat or drink still sparked flashes of pain where the guy had clocked me with his gun.

“You think we should report the incident?” I asked, lowering my bottle to the table and rubbing my jaw gingerly.

“If they wanted it reported, they would have called it in,” Andi responded. “Whatever Noah Kearney is up to, it’s shady, but I’ll tell Conor tomorrow and he can decide whether the Garda needs to make it official.”

“Good call,” I said.

“I’ve been known to choose good restaurants and make excellent work choices,” she replied. “With men it’s a whole different kettle of fish.”

I didn’t respond. The kitchen suddenly seemed very still and small.

“I’m attracted to dangerous relationships,” she went on. “Ones that aren’t always good for me.” She took another sip of beer. “You know what I mean?”

I was sufficiently experienced to recognize unsafe territory. “Life can be challenging like that,” I replied. “I think I’m done.” I got to my feet and took my bowl to the sink. “Leave the dishes. I’ll do them in the morning.”

She watched me closely, her expression almost sullen. Had one beer been too much for her?

“I’ve got some calls to make,” I said. “Personal stuff. You’ll have to excuse me for being bad company, but I’m done for the day. Goodnight, Andi.”

I left the kitchen without waiting for a response and hurried upstairs, wondering whether I’d misinterpreted her words by reading them as an invitation. When I reached my room, I shut and locked the door. Just in case.

I phoned Justine immediately but didn’t really settle into the conversation until I heard Andi climb the stairs a few minutes later. I couldn’t tell if I’d imagined it or whether she really did pause outside of my room, but as Justine was bringing me up to speed with the latest from her doctor, I heard Andi climbing the last flight of stairs up to her room. The floorboards creaked and shifted above me, and her door closed audibly.

“Are you with me, Jack?” Justine’s voice brought my mind back into focus.

“Yes. Sorry. I was just replaying the day,” I replied.

“Busy?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Dangerous?”

I hesitated. I hated lying to her, but there was no point in having her worry. I didn’t want anything impeding her recovery.

“Not particularly,” I said. It wasn’t dishonest. The day had been representative of my life in recent years. “It was interesting. We’ve developed a lead that we’ll follow up tomorrow.” I kept it vague. “How are you?” I asked. “How do you feel?”

She paused. “I already told you, Jack.”

“You told me what your doctor said.”

She sighed. “You’re right. I’m feeling okay, all things considered. I get tired easily and out of breath, but they say that’s normal.”

“You need to take it so easy, Jus,” I responded. “Rest and recuperation. No stress and no pushing yourself.”

“Yes, boss,” she scoffed.

We talked a little longer, but I could hear fatigue come into her voice. After we’d exchanged words of love, I told her I was tired and needed to sleep. We said goodnight, then I opened my secure mailbox and sent a message to Mo-bot asking her to check into Noah Kearney and see if she could find any connection to the Dark Fates or Propaganda Tre.

She replied quickly to tell me she was on it.

Satisfied Justine was okay, secure in the knowledge Mo-bot would find anything there was to be found, and exhausted by the day’s testing events, I took a couple of Advil to numb the worst of the pain and got ready for bed.