Page 25 of Dublin Debacle

“I insist,” Dr. Kelly said. “Have you spoken to your brother yet?”

Emily shook her head. “I’ve left messages on his voicemail and sent him texts. He hasn’t responded.”

“Perhaps you need to pay him a visit in person,” the doctor said.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Emily chewed on her bottom lip. “I haven’t seen much of him since our father’s accident. He moved out of the flat not long after and barely communicates with me.”

The unshed tears in Emily’s eyes nearly undid Jack. He would rather take a beating from a prize fighter than watch a woman cry. It made him want to find her brother and shake some sense into him.

He took the plates from Emily’s hand and placed them in the sink. “You heard the doctor. Leave the dishes. We need to find your brother.” He shot a glance over his shoulder at Atkins and the doctor, where they sat slowly sipping their coffee. “Let us know if you need anything or if there’s any change in Mr. O’Brien’s condition. Atkins has my number. Don’t forget to lock the door behind us.”

Jack led Emily out of the kitchen and the house. “I’ll drive,” he said as he helped her into the Mercedes and climbed behind the steering wheel.

What had started as a fact-finding mission was becoming so much more. He hoped they found Finn quickly and that he hadn’t had a similar experience to his uncle’s.

As Jack started the engine and pulled away from the curb, he cast a glance toward Emily.

“I’m worried about Finn,” she said softly.

Jack almost said,me too, but he didn’t want to add to her worry by voicing his own thoughts.

Rather than worry, he preferred action.

The first order of business for the day was to find Emily’s younger brother and pass on his Uncle Paddy’s warning.

And maybe find out what exactly it meant.

CHAPTER6

Emily sat silentlyin the passenger seat as Jack navigated the streets of Dublin, following the directions she’d pulled up on her cell phone. Her brother’s flat was in a less expensive section of Dublin where the working-class lived, off the beaten path reserved for the tourists. He’d chosen the place for the price and proximity to a bus route that would take him to and from his work on the wharf.

Because she was busy running the pub seven days a week, Emily had had little time to visit her brother across town. She’d been there once when she’d helped him move his things in and hadn’t been back since. Nor had her brother extended an invitation for her to drop by.

Guilt had been eating at her for a while. She had no idea what her brother was up to, who he was hanging out with and if he was well and happy. Too often, her texts to him went unanswered. He didn’t like talking on the phone, and he hadn’t been very communicative even when he’d lived with her and her father in their flat above the pub.

The less contact she had with her brother, the more her promise to her mother weighed on her mind. How could she ensure her brother didn’t get involved with his Traveller relatives if she never saw him and had no idea what he was doing?

She regretted she hadn’t checked on him sooner. Perhaps if she had, she’d know what her uncle had inferred when he’d asked her to warn Finn.

Jack pulled into the parking lot of a five-story apartment building.

Emily remembered the building and her first impression when she’d arrived with Finn. It wasn’t exactly a dump, but it needed someone to pressure wash the exterior to remove a coat of mildew or grime staining what was probably cream-colored paint beneath. For that matter, the staircase leading up to his third-floor flat could have used the same pressure washer to blast away the dirt that had probably accumulated since the building was built fifty or sixty years ago.

Emily led the way up the stairs to the third floor and stopped in front of her brother’s door. When she reached up and tapped her knuckles against the door, it swung open.

Sounds of movement sounded from inside the flat.

Emily opened her mouth. Before she could announce her arrival, Jack grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to the side and out of the doorway.

She started to say something, but the intensity of his gaze made her clamp her mouth shut.

He pointed to her, indicating she should stay where she was while he entered the apartment.

Emily started to shake her head, but it was too late.

Jack had already ducked through the opening into the flat.

For the next few seconds, Emily followed Jack’s silent orders to remain where she was while he checked out the flat's interior.

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