Private Dublin

Chapter 85

I went to my door and opened it a crack, with the chain firmly in place. I saw Conor Roche and a squad of Gardai in tactical gear clustered outside of a room at the far end of the corridor.

One of the officers rapped on the door again and yelled, “Garda! Open up.”

She glanced at Roche, who nodded and an officer who’d been concealed by the squad stepped into view holding a heavy metal ram. He slammed it into the door and the lock split from the frame with a loud crack.

As they rushed inside, I slipped out of my room, heading straight for the fire stairs. I headed up, climbing toward the roof, and after I’d gone a few flights, my phone rang again.

“Didn’t find what you were looking for?” I remarked.

“Very clever, Mr. Morgan,” Roche replied.

It had been Mo-bot’s idea to spoof Andi’s phone to a device on the same floor as me, and to change the hotel’s reservation system to match the location of the other phone. I felt bad for the innocent person we had marked as me but gambled on their innocence being protection enough.

“I’m not on my official line anymore,” Conor Roche went on, “so I can tell you that we’re coming for you, no matter what tricks you play.”

“How long have you done Lawrence Finch’s dirty work for him?” I asked. “How long have you been in Propaganda Tre?”

“You think I don’t know you’re recording this?” he countered. “Besides, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know,” I said. “How else could you be sure I was even at the scene of the murders last night?”

He hesitated.

“Only the real killer knew I was there,” I told him. “There were no cameras, and my presence was under duress since I’d been abducted. Nobody but Raymond Chalmont and his accomplices knew I was there, and the newspaper report says the police only found two dead bodies at the scene. No arrests. No witnesses. So how did you hear about it, Conor? When they examine the chain of evidence, what will they find linking me to the scene — other than your report?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he responded angrily. “Even if people knew, do you think they could touch me? I’ve been in the organization long enough to understand its reach, Mr. Morgan, and we will find you wherever you go.”

I could have cried out with relief. He’d just confessed to being part of a criminal conspiracy.

“I look forward to it,” I told him as I reached the roof.

I hung up and opened the access door. The flat roof was linked to other buildings on the terrace, and as I started across to the neighboring one, I made a call.

Mo-bot answered after two rings. “He’s not very smart, is he?”

“Smart enough to have got this far,” I replied. “Did you get it?”

“Yes,” she said.

Conor Roche was right; Mo-bot had been monitoring and recording all calls to Andi’s phone. He’d been sufficiently cunning to avoid saying anything incriminating during the initial call, but anger at having lost me and the evidence of his own corruption being laid in front of him had made him reveal enough to put him behind bars.

“We’ve got him,” Mo-bot said.

“Good,” I replied. “Get the audio to Carver’s people. They can alert the Garda that there’s at least one other rotten apple still serving in the force.”

“On it,” Mo-bot said. “What about you?”

“I’m going to go topple a king,” I replied as I forced open a roof-access door and entered the stairwell of the building at the other end of the terrace.