Page 101 of Charlie
“This is excitin’. I love a good breakthrough in a case.” Kit took a big bite of her sandwich.
My stomach was in a knot. “You really believe that Conor killed a man for trying to blackmail him?”
She nodded and dried her mouth with a napkin. “I believe he killed Sandra too.”
“But…” I picked up a French fry only to put it down again. “The thing you said about Liv being in danger.” It was like I couldn’t articulate my question because I didn’t want to think the thought through.
Kit answered anyway. “He’s unpredictable. I told her so, but Liv stayed because of the children; she’s a good person.”
I sat in a light trance watching Kit eat her sandwich while my head was searching through all the excuses Conor had given for his criminal past. “He made it sound like he was the victim.”
“Aye, that’s classic for blackguards, isn’t it? They’re experts at cheatin’ and lyin’, and they always make it sound like they’re being unfairly treated. I’ll bet he sounded credible too.”
I looked down. “He did. I was there when the police came to question him.”
My phone lit up with my grandfather’s name on the screen.
“Yes, this is Charles.”
“Charles, I just spoke to the ambassador. It seems the police in Liverpool found the man they were looking for. Did you read the report yet?”
“Yes. I’m with Kit.”
“Good, good. Now that we have a body, they can connect it to Conor and make an arrest.”
“Ifhe killed him.” Part of me still didn’t want to believe it.
“Oh, he killed him!”
“You don’t know for sure.”
“According to the ambassador, they found evidence in Jim’s grave that he’d been trying to blackmail Conor. The Irish police are cooperating with the people in Liverpool and they already obtained DNA from Conor from an earlier arrest. Right now, technicians are working on securing DNA from the body to see if there’s a match.”
I was quiet.
“Charles, did you hear me? Tell me that I can trust you. This is confidential information and if you…”
“What kind of evidence?”
“What?”
“You said that the police found evidence that Jim was trying to blackmail Conor.”
“Oh. I’m not certain. I can ask, but does it matter? Conor is a cold-blooded killer and if you don’t believe that yet, then at least acknowledge that his foundation is a scam. You saw it in black and white in the report.”
I groaned. “Yes, I saw.”
“Conor O’Brien is going to prison. If not for murder then for financial fraud.”
Kit, who had been eating the last bite of her sandwich and checking her phone at the same time, gave a muffled outburst that caught my attention.
“What is it?”
She chewed fast and handed me her phone. The name Liv Christensen made my heart beat faster. Letting my eyes run over the text, I felt all the blood disappear from my face.
Liv: Remember I told you Nathan has recurrent nightmares of a yellow snake in his bed? Tonight, the kids and I went snooping in Conor’s room and unlocked a large closet. Look what we found.
I stared at a picture of a terrarium holding a large yellow snake with its head lifted before I read on.
