Page 14 of Dublin Debacle

“We don’t even know you,” Aoife said. “Why should we trustyou?”

Emily met and held Jack’s gaze. “He saved my life.”

He didn’t say anything, nor did he blink or look away.

“I’ll be staying as well,” Emily added.

“Okay then,” Aoife said with a nod. “In that case, I’m off to bed. There are pillows and blankets in the hall closet. Help yourself to anything you can find in the kitchen. I think there’s leftover pizza in the fridge. As I only have the two bedrooms, you two can fight over who gets the couch and who gets the floor in the sitting room. I’m leaving my door open so that I can hear if Paddy calls out.” She stepped past them into the hallway, gave a brief smile, spun on her heels and disappeared into a bedroom, calling out over her shoulder, “If you should desire to kill me in my sleep, make it quick and painless.”

Jack chuckled. “Your doctor friend is funny.”

Emily’s lips twitched. “And likely tired. She works long hours at the hospital.” She found the linen closet, extracted a pillow and blanket for Jack and the same for herself. She nodded toward the door opening into the bathroom. “You can have the loo first. I want to check with Daphne and make sure she’s not pulling her hair out.”

“Deal.” But he didn’t go directly into the bathroom. Instead, he walked to the front entrance and secured the deadbolt lock. From there, he checked the windows in the sitting room.

Emily reentered Uncle Paddy’s room to double-check the locks on the windows there and stopped in front of Aoife’s open door to call out, “Did you check the lock on your window?”

“I did,” Aoife responded.

“Goodnight,” Emily said softly and carried her blanket and pillow into the sitting room.

Jack passed her on his way to the bathroom. “I’ll only be a minute.”

She nodded and surveyed the sitting room. The furniture consisted of a sofa, a wingback chair and two end tables.

Jack had laid his blanket and pillow on the floor near the window.

Emily set her pillow and blanket on the wingback chair, scooped Jack’s items off the floor and laid them on the sofa. The man had saved her life. Maybe twice if she counted helping her to lose the vehicle following her. He deserved to sleep on something softer than hardwood flooring.

She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called the pub. After several rings, Daphne answered. “Tap & Tankard.”

“Daphne, it’s Emily.”

“Oh, Em, how’s Uncle Paddy?”

“Holding his own,” Emily said. “What about you? The crowd thinning?”

“I shooed Sean and Derek out half an hour ago. They were the last ones to leave. I’m cleaning up now, then I’ll be heading to my flat.”

Emily frowned. “Go out the front door and be careful. You might even call the Garda and ask if they could send someone on a drive-by about the time you head out.”

“Though I’m sure I’ll be all right, the Garda idea might be a good one. There’s a cutie on night shift I’ve had my eye on for a couple of weeks. Oh, and Em, I overheard some of the men talking tonight.”

Emily held the phone tighter. “About what?”

“They said there’ve been a number of brawls breaking out over the city. Tempers are gettin’ shorter, and the fights are gettin’ deadlier. And it’s true. Just the other day, I heard a news anchor reporting that a member of the Radical Nationalist movement was found floatin’ in the River Liffey just past the Grattan Bridge. The Coroner Service stated the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head.”

“What does that have to do with what happened to my uncle?” Emily asked.

“Haven’t you heard?” Daphne snorted. “Rumor has it that the Radical Nationalists want to rid Ireland of everyone but Irish Catholics. They are specifically targeting Protestants and Travellers.”

Emily shook her head. “Where are you hearing this?”

“I’m not hearing it,” Daphne said. “I’m seeing it every time I log onto the internet.”

“Daphne, you can’t believe everything you see on the internet.”

“I know, but there’s so much of it and videos of violence, there has to be some truth to it. How else do you explain the disappearances?” Her friend paused. “The accidents?”

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