sheâd lie for him. The sun comes out of his backside where that oneâs concerned.â
âWell every swan thinks their own signetâs whiter than the rest,â Brendan said taking a bottle of whiskey from his drawer. He poured them both a shot. âCâmon now, Neddy, drink this, ye look as though ye need it.â
Ned thumped the table. âThe feckinâ names they called her anâ all! English soldierâs whore! Ye know yerself, Brendan, she never goes out, except to help in the shop with the girls or in the bar for Nellie. Sheâs not even been out with anyone other than Paddy and she has certainly never gone out with a soldier! Iâll kill âem if I ever find out who âtwas did that to her.â
âBest left to me,â Brendan sighed, âthough to be honest, Neddy, âtis goinâ to be difficult to nail these bastards. Iâve got nowhere with the enquiries in all this time. I know this so-called company of Irish National Volunteers has sprung up - but to harm a woman is unheard of! Everyone I talk to says the same; they cannot imagine who would do such a thing.â He took a sip of whiskey and scratched the back of his head. âI wasnât goinâ to tell ye, but Paddy even put in an appearance here a while back askinâ if Iâd found out who did it.â
âGâwâon away wit â ye, he never did!â
âSure he did. Now heâs either innocent, or heâs more canny than Iâd given credit for. Iâll keep me options open at present and see which way the cards fall.â
Looking thoughtful Ned rubbed his chin.
âWell, thanks for all yeâre doing, Brendan. Maeve and I wonât forget it.â
âLook, Neddy, even if ye werenât me cousin Iâd be after this bunch of scum. We donât want this kind oâ thinâ creepinâ in here. Ye donât know where âtwill end. But I think weâre goinâ to have to lie low for now, and then maybe Iâll get a tip-off from someone.â
Ned took his cigarettes out, lit one and blew the smoke upwards. He sat thinking, sighed, and then leaned forward to flick ash into a saucer.
âYe know Catâs set on goinâ off to England to live. Sheâs had an invite to go to Louisâ sister and family for a while. Apparently thereâs plenty of work to be had in the Woolwich Arsenal packinâ ammunition for the war.â His voice had a strained tone. âNow her hairâs grown back some, she says sheâs goinâ.â He picked up the whiskey glass, but just sat staring at it.
âJesus, Ned, yeâll miss her, and so will we. We all will. What a state of affairs that she has to run away to another country. It makes me sick to the heart.â
Ned shifted in his chair. âGod save us, I donât know what Maeve and I will do without her. Not just for the help on the land, but sheâs the very breath in our lungs. I feel certain Paddy Hogan had somethinâ to do with this. It has to be him, or some connection donât you think?â
He sat silently swirling the honey-coloured liquid round and round in his glass until Brendan broke into his train of thought.
âYe know, Neddy, even if I thought Paddy was at the bottom of this, how dâye prove it? If he says he was with Father Ryan on that night, Iâm not about to go and question Father Ryan about it.â
âWhy not? Whatâs to stop ye askinâ him?â
âFear, I suppose.â
âOf what?â
âIâm afraid that I may hear Father Ryan tellinâ me somethinâ I donât want to hear.â
âIâm not with ye, Brendan.â
âWell, âtis true Father Ryan did go out to Hoganâs that night, but I have no idea what time he left.â
âSo, dâya think Paddy was usinâ the visit as a sort of cover?â
âCould be, but I have no
Owen Laukkanen, David Siddall, CS DeWildt, Eric Beetner, Joseph Rubas, Liam Sweeny, Scott Adlerberg