Sanctuary

17

I met up with Ridge that evening. She was surprised when I suggested Garavan’s, one of the unchanged pubs in the heart of the city, and she went, ‘Jack, I’m not drinking.’

I said, ‘Who was talking about you?’ And hung up.

Walking down Shop Street, a busker was playing ‘Carrickfergus’. I was only a few yards from the pub but I stopped and listened to my heritage, my past, calling and cajoling through the ferocious sadness of that song. I put ten euro in the guy’s cap and he winked, said, ‘God and His family bless you.’

I was early for Ridge, to get a few in before she could lecture me. I was working on me third pint when she arrived. She looked well: white jeans, black T-shirt and black short jacket; her hair was shining and her eyes were clear as water. Well, not Galway water. I’d grabbed one of the snugs, little alcoves where you have privacy.

She stared at my pint for a full minute, then asked, ‘When did this nonsense begin again?’

The earlier pints had me in gear and I said, ‘A week ago you were sucking out of a bottle first thing in the morning. You couldn’t tell your arse from your elbow, so don’t lecture me, girl.’

She sat and I toned it down a bit. ‘Get you anything?’ I asked.

Got the glare, which I took as a no.

‘So, report,’ I said.

She seemed like she might actually strike me and she was well capable. ‘Report. . are you codding me? I don’t report to you. I did you a favour, that’s all. I don’t work for you.’

I raised my glass. ‘Cheers, then.’

Was I deliberately antagonizing her? You betcha.

We sat in grim silence till she said, ‘I went out there. Lovely people and the young girl was a delight. She told me one of the stable hands had been fired a month ago, so I checked him out — and guess what? He recently bought a supply of hay and horse feed.’

I was delighted. Jesus, two cases cracked in one day — this called for celebration. I stood up. ‘Terrific, let me get you something, you did great.’

She didn’t answer so I went to the bar and got a large Jay. A guy at the counter said, ‘That’s a nice young wan you got there.’

I paid for the drink, said, ‘Trust me, nice she isn’t.’

As I got back to Ridge, she was preparing to leave. I asked, ‘So when do we go get this stable hand?’

She gave me a look of contempt. ‘I called the Guards. They arrested him an hour ago and recovered the pony.’

I nearly dropped the drink. ‘You let the fecking Guards take the credit?’

Now she smiled, with no trace of warmth or humour. ‘That’s their job, and it doesn’t hurt my chances of returning to the force.’

I was raging. ‘We could have spun it out, made a nice few bob from that Anglo-Irish guy — he’s loaded.’

She glanced at my double Jay and said, ‘And so are you.’