Murder Sky High: detectives crack the mystery of a deadly cargo, page 21
‘You’ll not be able to eat anything for dinner if you eat all that.’
‘I have to keep my strength up.’ And he laughed, a suggestive laugh.
The order came quickly but it couldn’t be quickly enough for Gawn. Every time the door opened she imagined Andrews walking through and recognising her or someone arriving at her side and forcefully removing her to be hauled before O’Haire or whoever was in charge of the stakeout. Every mouthful of food felt more and more difficult to swallow. All the time Seb was keeping up the chatter, suggesting places they could go.
‘How about the Famine Village?’
She hadn’t really been listening properly and only caught the end of his question as he sat and waited for her reply.
‘Yes. That sounds good. Is it far?’
‘I don’t think so. We passed a poster and a rack of leaflets about it on the way in.’
She would have agreed to go anywhere if it meant they could leave soon. Fortunately, Seb was a fast eater and being hungry he had wolfed down the burger and chips as soon as they were placed before him.
He was being very good and had stuck to mineral water because he was driving. He told her they would have champagne tonight. He wanted it to be very special. He had the engagement ring he had bought for her months ago in his pocket ready to produce along with the bubbly.
Once back in the car, Gawn felt as if she had been holding her breath the whole time she had been inside the hotel. She had come out to the car while Seb paid the bill but she was surprised at how long it took until he joined her.
‘Was there a problem?’ she asked as he climbed in beside her.
‘No. I’ve got us a very special treat.’ He looked so pleased with himself. He had told the waiter that he was going to propose to his girlfriend tonight. ‘There’s a fish restaurant up the coast from here. O’Halloran’s. I’ve heard people talking about it at work. Apparently, it’s fabulous. I mean it has an international reputation. I didn’t realise we were so near it. Anyway, I mentioned to the guy behind the bar when I was paying that I would have loved to go there this evening and, as luck would have it, his cousin is the manager. He phoned for me and hey presto he’s got us a table for tonight. Someone cancelled. Lucky or what?’
His smile said it all. She only hoped her face didn’t betray how she was feeling just so obviously. Suddenly she remembered the area on the map shaded in red with an outline of a fish inside it. How could she have forgotten that? Somewhere here was where the Fleischer was going to strike. She just knew it. How could she get word to the task force about a fish restaurant as one potential target without revealing where she was and essentially ending her own career?
* * *
They spent the afternoon at the Famine Village. Gawn had checked her mobile but had no signal. She would just have to keep trying to get through to McDowell but there were only so many times she could break away from the tour group where Seb wouldn’t see her or excuse herself to go to the ladies.
They had arrived just in time to get onto the last guided tour of the day. It was interesting. The tour guide had his patter of amusing and heart-wrenching stories about life in times past. Seb, as an historian, found it fascinating and was able to add information about many of the events they were hearing about, but Gawn’s mind was everywhere but there. Seb enjoyed the recreated shebeen and the free sample of poitín. She could enjoy none of it and she still hadn’t been able to contact anyone.
‘You seem a bit distracted. Are you feeling alright, darling?’ he asked as they got back into the car.
This was her last chance. She could lie and say she wasn’t feeling well, which wouldn’t be too far from the truth. He would be disappointed about O’Halloran’s but he would take her back to the hotel. Then she would be able to phone McDowell and tell him she’d remembered the fish drawing, it might be important and he could update the task force and she could stay well out of the way. But she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to disappoint Seb but even more she realised she wanted to be there if she could when this, whatever it was, went down; when the Fleischer made his move and the task force took him down.
Chapter 50
The little fishing village was quiet and sleepy, most of the time. You could imagine that not much happened here. It was not the sort of place you expected to bump into a president or a Hollywood A-lister. The boats tied up in the harbour were not pleasure craft for the rich but working boats ready to head out again first thing in the morning to bring the fresh fish for markets and restaurants all over the north of Ireland. O’Halloran’s would no doubt have first pick of the catch. The two-storey white-painted building sat on the main road directly opposite the seawall. Outside, bright lights illuminated a sign proclaiming it a ‘Seafood Bar’. It was very ordinary-looking but the cars already filling all the spaces directly outside the front door showed how popular it was. Seb had to drive further along the road to find a space to park. As they walked back towards the restaurant, the noise grew. Light shone through a line of white-framed windows spilling out onto the roadway.
When they opened the door, the noise and heat of bodies packed into a relatively small space hit them. At first glance, Gawn thought they would never be able to fit anyone else in and perhaps they would be turned away. Part of her hoped that was so. But, she admitted to herself, she was feeling that anticipation she knew so well from raids in the past, the growing sense of excitement, the nerves, the thrill of the approaching crisis. Her pulse was beginning to race.
She was delighted when they were shown to a table right at the back of the room, near the entrance to the kitchen. Probably anyone else would have been disappointed to be in such an obscure position but it suited her well. She was more or less out of sight with her back turned to the room but she could see most of what was going on from the large gilded mirror behind Seb’s head.
In spite of the number of customers, service was speedy. Seb had read her some reviews on TripAdvisor earlier and everyone had mentioned the pleasant and efficient staff. It seemed like they had no sooner sat down than they were being greeted by a friendly face, the little candle in the centre of their table lit and a menu held out for their perusal.
‘Look, they have local oysters in the starters. A wee aphrodisiac,’ Seb suggested.
‘Like you need an aphrodisiac. No, I think I’ll have the calamari and then the roasted turbot.’ She had no appetite for food.
‘Good choice.’
Seb made his selection and when the waiter came he ordered for both of them. He ordered a bottle of white wine and some water too. He would get a bottle of champagne with dessert. He had to drive back to the hotel and didn’t want to fall foul of any Garda traffic patrol. With such a reputation, he was sure they kept a watchful eye on the patrons to catch anyone drinking and driving after a meal.
‘Boy, wait ‘till I tell them all on Monday, we had a meal at Harry O’s.’
‘What did you call it? I thought this was called O’Halloran’s.’ Her heart seemed to have stopped. She held her breath.
‘It is but the guy who opened it, fifty years ago, was called Harry O’Halloran and it became Harry O’s to the locals and the name stuck.’ Then suddenly Seb said, excitedly, ‘Don’t look round, Gawn, but Xavier Tain and some friend has just come in.’
‘Who?’
‘Darling, do you not follow any news or social media? You’re a media dinosaur, aren’t you?’ He sounded exasperated. ‘Everyone’s heard of Tain. Even my mother, for goodness sake. He’s one of the three richest men in the world. I don’t know who the other guy with him is, though. Probably some Far Eastern millionaire. They’ve probably just bought Ireland!’ He smiled at his own joke.
Gawn’s stomach did a somersault. The HO on the map could be, must be Harry O’s. And XT must be Xavier Tain. And they were right here in the middle of it. She tried to look round surreptitiously to see if she could spot any undercover police but of course she couldn’t. They wouldn’t be very good at their job if she could. She just hoped to God they were really good at their job.
Gawn risked a quick look to see who Seb was talking about. She spotted Tain and his companion, an Asian man. Both were dressed rather formally, not as if they were enjoying a casual holiday together. Most people were trying very pointedly not to look at him but there was some whispering and nudging going on. Obviously Seb was not the only one who had recognised him. What he hadn’t recognised but Gawn’s years of experience showed her was that the two men who had walked in behind him were his bodyguards. From her perspective they might as well have been wearing uniforms or signs on their foreheads. She expected they would probably be armed. She could feel her senses start to sharpen. Her stomach fluttered as it had before big raids or operations in the past. It was the awareness that something was about to happen. She scanned the room but still couldn’t see any sign of a police presence.
While she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, it seemed most likely that Tain was the Fleischer’s target. XT. She looked around at the other diners. No one stood out. If they were rich or famous or powerful she had no way of knowing but the fact that the third richest man in the world was in the room must be significant. She was sure he must have enemies or business rivals. And someone who was his rival would have the money to pay the kind of figure the Fleischer was used to receiving for his services. But was the Fleisher sitting at one of the other tables? Some of the diners she could discount, but not many.
‘Does Tain have a lot of enemies?’
‘That’s a weird sort of question. I don’t know. I suppose so. Somebody who’s successful usually does, I guess.’ His face creased in a frown. ‘Is something wrong? What’s going on, Gawn?’
‘Nothing.’
Gawn couldn’t remember ever feeling as tense and alone as she did right now. She had given the task force the area and the initials. They had all assumed that HO was the name of the target. She just had to hope that they had worked out that it referred to O’Halloran’s or that they were still following Andrews and McGladdery and the Fleischer had summoned them here. Otherwise she was on her own if anything happened. But with a certainty she couldn’t have explained, she knew it wasn’t if anything happened, but when.
‘You’re very quiet, Gawn. Are you feeling a bit off? We can go, you know. I want you to enjoy the evening.’
‘No. I’m fine. Just a bit tired. You did keep me awake quite late, you know.’ She smiled at him. What was she getting him into? she wondered. If all hell broke loose, she couldn’t protect him. She tried to keep up a conversation but only half her mind was on it. All the time she was observing in the mirror. Every time someone stood up to leave or every time the door to the street swung open, she tensed. When one table of six who were obviously out celebrating together suddenly burst out into raucous laughter, she jumped.
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
‘Yes. I’m fine. How many times are you going to ask me?’ she snapped at him. She saw his hurt reaction and suddenly thought, if anything happens to us, I don’t want our last words to be angry. She reached across and put her hand on top of his. ‘I’m fine. Honestly and I’m having a great time… with you,’ she added and smiled at him. She could feel his foot touch her ankle under the table and his eyes twinkled.
‘Let’s get you some more water. Keep you hydrated.’ He swivelled in his seat and called to a passing waiter, ‘Could we have another carafe of water, please?’
‘Of course, sir.’
It was not the waiter who had been serving them but he seemed happy to oblige and next time he passed carrying two bottles of water he set one down on their table.
‘Thank you.’ Seb’s voice sounded from very far away. Gawn’s mind was in a spin. The waiter’s sleeve had risen up his arm as he had stretched across to place the carafe of water in the centre of their table. That arm had a mark on the wrist, a burn scar. She knew it, recognised it immediately and was in no doubt that this was the Fleischer. She didn’t think she had made any move but something about her had alerted him. He turned quickly and moved towards Tain’s table. God, don’t let there be a shootout, she thought. Or a bomb. He wouldn’t have explosives, would he? There were so many people in the room, some children too. It would be a bloodbath. She had to do something.
Gawn sprung up and shouted, ‘Vanhoeven!’
It was the first word that came to her mind. He would know she had recognised him. Maybe he would be so focused on getting away, expecting that there would be other police here too, that he would simply turn and run. She lurched forward to grab him but she never got there. The two burly bodyguards intervened, blocking her way. One grabbed her by the arm. When she kicked out and tried to punch him, he twisted her arm violently and she felt a searing pain shoot up through her shoulder. She thought her arm was dislocated. All around was shouting and screaming. Tables were overturned as patrons tried to get out of the way. At one point she caught a glimpse of Seb rushing towards the man holding her. But before he could reach her, her captor had turned and slammed him in the face. One punch and he went down. His head bounced off the edge of a table and then hit the floor hard and she could see his eyes immediately glaze over.
In the confusion Vanhoeven or whatever he was calling himself now got away. Garda had materialised from nowhere, and for a second she thought they had had the whole place under surveillance and she had blown it for them, but from their demeanour it was soon obvious these were Traffic Branch who had been looking out for over-the-limit drivers not international assassins. Their presence, however, was enough to bring some semblance of order to the chaos. One organised the diners into a conservatory at the back of the building where they could be held until reinforcements arrived. Tain, his fellow diner and his goons were nowhere to be seen. They had made a speedy exit. One of the younger guards was on his knees beside Seb working with him. Even more quickly than she had dared to hope, other black-attired and heavily armed guards arrived. They had obviously been somewhere nearby as part of the Bako raids. Their leader wanted to question Gawn but the paramedics who had now also arrived insisted that she needed hospital treatment. She was packed into an ambulance with an armed officer travelling with her, whether to protect or arrest her, she ’wasn’t sure. She tried to argue with them, refuse to go, but they wouldn’t listen to her. They were still working on Seb as the ambulance doors closed and hid him from her sight.
Chapter 51
A&E at Letterkenny Hospital was busy. It was probably a typical Saturday night and they had their usual share of car accidents and drunks. Being wheeled in with an armed escort ensured she was seen right away. It didn’t take the doctor more than a perfunctory look at her shoulder to diagnose a potential dislocation. They put an ice pack on it and ordered a scan to see the extent of any damage or tearing. That had taken what seemed like an age with Gawn all the time begging her guard for news of Seb. Eventually she was wheeled back into the cubicle.
‘This is going to be a bit painful but we’ll make it as quick as we can. I’m going to inject something that will relax the muscles and then I’m going to try to pop your arm back fully into its socket.’ The doctor was young and seemed a bit intimidated by the guard standing at the cubicle curtain, sub-machine gun at his hip.
He had said it was going to be painful and it was. They gave her gas and air to suck on as well as a muscle relaxant. She had seen pregnant women on TV giving birth and using something similar.
‘That’s done the job, I think.’
She wished he sounded more confident.
‘We’re going to give you a sling for your arm. It’s important to keep the arm immobile for a week or two to prevent future problems.’
She wondered what sort of future problems he was referring to. Just now she had more pressing present problems to worry about. She still had heard nothing about Seb’s condition and the guard refused to even discuss anything about Bako Investments or the Fleischer.
* * *
When she was discharged, clutching yet more hospital-prescribed painkillers, she was taken to the Garda Station in Letterkenny. Superintendent O’Haire was waiting for her.
‘My God, you look awful. Sit down before you fall down, woman.’
Gawn was sure she did look terrible. She had glimpsed herself reflected in the glass doors as she walked in and had noted her dishevelled clothes and untidy hair, her arm in a sling and even a slight limp from the car accident. She knew what Seb would say – she was going for the Die Hard look. She felt the tears pricking at the back of her eyes as she thought of him.
‘Now what the hell were you playing at?’ His voice was not unkind.
She wondered if he was just going easy on her because of her injury or if he had bad news to impart.
‘Please, sir, before I answer any questions, I need to know about my friend.’ She was surprised her voice sounded so controlled and reasonable. It wasn’t how she was feeling.
‘You mean Dr York?’
‘Yes.’
‘I thought he might be more than a friend.’
Friend, boyfriend, lover, partner. What did it matter what she called him?
‘How is he, sir?’
O’Haire took pity on her.
‘He was taken to Altnagelvin. I’ve no update on his condition.’
‘Can you find out?’ She waited. ‘Please.’
He moved around his desk, sat down and picked up the telephone.
‘Get me Altnagelvin Hospital.’ He waited then spoke again. ‘This is Superintendent O’Haire from An Garda Síochána in Letterkenny. I’m checking the condition of a patient you have there. My officers would have brought him in. Sebastian York. He was admitted a couple of hours ago after an incident in Moville.’ She watched his face closely, fearing he would hear bad news. ‘I see. Thank you.’ His expression was inscrutable. He set the receiver down. How much more slowly could he move? She wanted to scream at him. ‘He’s regained consciousness and they’ve got him in ICU but I got the impression that’s more a precaution than anything else. Now can we get onto the Fleischer and Tain?’
