Page 100 of Charlie
“But no one knew. I was using my mother’s maiden name.”
“Argh, don’t be naïve. I’ll bet he told people who ye were. One of his former members characterized Conor as a collector of people. I’ll bet ye that he sees ye as a diamond in his collection. He probably expects that ye’ll be back and if not, he’ll find ye and use that lyin’ tongue of his to gaslight ye into thinkin’ that what happened tonight was yer fault and not his.”
“It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t some trophy of his.’”
“Aye, it was exactly like that. Ye just don’t want to believe it.”
“But to think that Conor would force a woman to kill herself. It makes no sense.”
Kit patted my shoulder. “Hold that thought.” Turning around, she gave her food order and pulled out her credit card. “What are ye havin’?”
“I think I lost my appetite.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the man behind the counter. “Let’s get him a shawarma sandwich and some chips.”
“No, it’s fine,” I objected, but Kit waved a hand.
“Look, my brother does this all the time. He says he’s not hungry when I order my food, but once I get it, he eats half of it. I hate when people do that.”
“At least let me pay for it.”
“No need. Yer grandfather has been very generous. I can afford to buy ye a sandwich and a Coke.”
Kit finished paying and took a seat by the window where I joined her. “I understand that it’s hard for ye to wrap yer pretty head around the fact that someone ye trusted and thought was a friend turned out to be a liar.”
“Are you talking about Conor or Liv?”
“Conor of course. Liv couldn’t tell you that she knew about his tricks. Ye wouldn’t have believed her anyway.”
“She still lied to me.”
“Aye. But ye would have done the same if ye were the one tryin’ to save her.”
I looked down at the food in front of me. “I didn’t need saving.”
She crossed her arms. “For feck’s sake, man. I can’t believe how gob-smacked Liv is with ye and then ye’re this thick-headed.”
“I’m not thick-headed. I just don’t like being lied to.”
“Then ye shouldn’t have joined a bloody cult.” Kit plunked her crossed arms down on the table. “Liv risked a lot to save ye. Conor has killed before and her being undercover is dangerous.”
I rubbed my face. “Okay, so I’ll admit that I saw a side of him today that I hadn’t seen before, but the things about him being a killer and dangerous? That’s just crazy.”
“Of course it’s crazy, but that’s because we’re dealing with a sick person.”
Her phone buzzed and she fished it out of her pocket. “Hang on, it’s my da.” Picking up the phone, she spoke with an even stronger accent. “What’s the craic?” I listened and watched her body language tense up as she leaned back. “Ye’re serious? Wow, that’s good news. Aye, I’m with Charles now. Hang on, Da.” She looked up and met my eyes. “Our sources say that the Liverpool police just dug up a body believed to be Jim Maddox.”
“Who?”
“The man who tried to blackmail Conor.”
“Oh, right. When will they know?”
“Da, how long before they can confirm that it’s really him?”
I heard his short answer: “Soon.”
“Keep me updated, will ya?” She finished the call just as our food was ready.
