Page 39 of Hold a Candle

“I’ll help ye, Jamie,” Pauley offered. “Ye get the sausage rolls and I’ll make the tea.”

“There’s paper plates in the cabinet, Mica,” Jamie instructed. “This will only take a minute and then ye can catch us up.”

“So, what’s going on, Mica?” Pauley asked impatiently as she finally set some cups and the teapot on the table with the sausage rolls.

“Before ye panic, Luca is fine,” Mica replied, helping himself to one of the steaming sausage rolls.

Pauley’s teacup poised midair. “What happened?” she hissed.

“Let me get it all out before bombarding me with questions,” he insisted.

“Go on, Mica,” Jamie replied, covering one of Pauley’s hands with his own. He could feel her fingers tremble.

Mica paused then said, “There was an intruder on Heaven’s Gate. Darro’s men surrounded him. He got away, but not before the lads were able to get a license plate number. Darro called it in immediately to Quinn and the plate came back to a Leonard Searcy. Lives in the Dunlaven Market area. They searched the apartment and surrounding area. No one was there and no Ducati parked near there either, but get this. The plate was registered to a Ducati Streetfighter V4 motorcycle. The lads said it was black.” He spit it all out at once and waited for their reaction and dug into the sausage roll.

“Macalister!” Jamie and Pauley both spoke at the same time.

“But why would Macalister be going for Luca in an undercover role?” Pauley asked, confused. “If he wanted to speak with him, why not just go to Neamh as the officer in charge of the case?”

Mica pointed his fork at her with a satisfied smirk. “Andthatis the question, isn’t it?”

Jamie looked thoughtful. “How sure are ye that this motorcycle belongs to Macalister’s alias? If Searcy is his alias?”

Mica looked flustered. “Oh, I forgot to mention that part, didn’t I? It’s the same plate ye took a pic of in the parking lot of Hope Barks. I ran it when I got back, so we know it’s Macalister. We just don’t know why he went to Heaven’s Gate undercover.” He ate the second half of the sausage roll in one bite and groaned with pleasure.

Pauley rolled her eyes. “Mica, ye are a jobbie. Ye could have led with that.”

His eyes twinkled as he chewed around a mouthful and then swallowed. “And miss all the buildup? Where’s the fun in that?” He speared another sausage roll.

Pauley pushed her plate away and Jamie noticed she’d eaten little. “Ye need to eat, lass. Keep yer strength up.”

Her eyes darkened. “What I need to do is get to Neamh and question Luca again. If Luca knows something, I’d rather get it out of him before Macalister has a chance to. I don’t trust that man, not any further than I can throw him.”

“One more thing, Pauley,” Mica interjected. “I talked to my CI this morning. He said there is a rumor going around the homeless community that a motorcycle rider dressed in black was seen coming out of the alley where Blackburn was killed about midnight last night.”

Pauley frowned. “Has the M.E. given the time of death yet?”

Mica nodded. “Between 11:30 last night and 12:30 this morning.” He speared a third sausage roll.

Pauley sucked in a breath. “How credible is this information? Is there any way to link him to the crime scene or the body?”

“So, yer saying this Macalister could be dirty after all?” Jamie asked, his sense of outrage increasing by the minute, as well as his fear for Pauley’s son. What was Luca mixed up in?

“Quinn and I are wondering the same things ye two are,” Mica confided. “If Luca weren’t already ensconced at Neamh, he’d have him in a safehouse.”

“How safe is a safe house when the protectors are dirty?” Jamie barked. “It’s like leaving the fox to guard the chicken coop.”

Mica nodded. “Aye, ye are correct, Jamie. However, we have to give Brodie the benefit of the doubt, especially since he’s one of us. There may be a good explanation for all this subterfuge.”

Pauley shoved the chair backward to crash on the floor as she stood up. “Whatever Brodie is up to, ye can bet he’ll do whatever he can to hurt me,” she cried, a shiver running through her slender body. “He said he’d show me what I passed up someday, and that he’d get even for forcing him out before he was ready to leave. I just didn’t know his spite would rebound on Luca.”

Mica’s jaw and his fork both dropped. “That bastert threatened ye, Pauley? Why didn’t ye bring charges against him?”

Jamie stood up and pulled Pauley into his protective embrace. “Easy, lass, we’ll figure out what he’s up to. And Luca is in good hands. As ye have seen, Macalister couldn’t get into Neamh today, and now that he’s tried, the protection will be even tighter. Nothing will happen to Luca there.” He wanted to know the answer to Mica’s question too, but he sensed that she wouldn’t talk about it until she was ready. Only stress had forced it to the surface of her emotions.

“Pauley?” Mica asked again with gritted teeth.

“Just drop it, Mica. Forget I even said that,” Pauley replied, her face pale. “Besides, ye can’t bring charges against someone for their speech or intentions,” she added. “So, it’s a moot point.” She pulled out of Jamie’s arms. “I need to get to Neamh.”

---