Page 49 of Dublin Debacle

Jack followed.

When they reached her Mercedes, Emily didn’t hesitate; she climbed into the driver’s seat.

Jack hurried around to the other side and jumped in.

Emily shifted into drive, backed out of the alley and drove onto the street while Jack pulled up the map on his cell phone and brought up the address of Ciara’s apartment. With little traffic out that early in the dark hours of the morning, they made it there in less than fifteen minutes.

An ambulance was leaving as Emily pulled into the parking lot.

Emily and Jack leaped out of the car as Finn emerged from the shadows cast by the apartment complex.

He didn’t say a word but waved for them to follow him to the rear of the building. There, he pointed to two vehicles parked side by side.

Jack rounded the back of the first and glanced at the ground between the vehicles. A man lay unmoving on the pavement, staring up at the dark sky.

Emily stepped up beside Jack and gasped. “Is he...?”

“Dead,” Finn confirmed. “Ciara picked me up at the wharf when I got off my shift. They jumped us as we were getting out of her car. There were three of them wearing black ski masks. If I hadn’t insisted on keeping the tire iron under the seat...” He shook his head. “As it is, they knocked Ciara down before I could go after them. I got a good hit on all three. When I hit this one, he fell and smacked his head on the side mirror of the car. He didn’t get up. I was more worried about Ciara. After I called for an ambulance, I checked for a pulse on this guy.” Finn met Emily’s gaze, his forehead deeply creased. “There was no pulse, and he wasn’t breathing. He’s dead.” He shook his head from side to side. “I’ve never killed a man before.”

Emily went to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. “You did what you had to do to defend Ciara and yourself.”

“They could’ve killed her,” Finn said.

His sister backed away, letting her arms fall to her sides. “How is she?”

“Banged up,” he said. “She hit her head on the ground when they knocked her down. She might have a concussion.”

“Why didn’t you go with her to the hospital?” Emily asked.

“I needed you to get here,” Finn shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do about him. I could be arrested for murder.”

“It was self-defense,” Jack said.

Finn paced away and back. “If this guy is one of the Radical Nationalists, whether it was self-defense or not, they’ll call it murder.”

“Did you check his pockets for identification?” Jack asked.

Finn nodded. “He wasn’t carrying a wallet or any kind of ID.”

Jack leaned over the deceased and snapped photos with his cell phone. “I’ll have our computer guru run his face through some databases and see if she can get a match through facial recognition.” He straightened and forwarded the images to Lucie.

“What do we do with him, now?” Finn asked.

Jack glanced up at the apartment building. “Are there any security cameras anywhere near here?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Finn said. “Ciara said the tenants have asked the landlord to install some for safety reasons, but he hasn’t done it. As for nearby buildings, I have no idea. Even if there were, there are trees on either side of the structure, and this complex backs up to a drainage ditch.”

“Then let’s drag him into the drainage ditch and leave him,” Jack said. “Maybe his buddies will come looking for him. Let them dispose of the body. If not, we’ll deal with him later.”

“Shouldn’t we report the attack and the dead man?” Emily asked.

“The press would be on your brother in a heartbeat. If it got out that Finn killed the man, and he ends up being one of the Radical Nationalists, they’ll come after Finn.”

“Won’t they anyway?” Emily asked. “The two that got away will know and spread the word.”

“Maybe so,” Jack said. “But not as quickly as the news reporters.”

“If I live long enough to go to jail, they’ll come after Ciara next.”

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