Merchants with Evil Intent (37 page)

      
“My cell isn’t getting reception here.
May I please use your phone?”

      
He waited at the door while she retrieved
it. Butler motioned for Travers to join him on the stoop.

      
Izzy handed Butler the phone, unsure if
it was a good idea.

      
He smiled, taking the phone from her aged
hand and dug his cell phone from his pocket.

      
He hit the redial button on her phone as
he hit the station number on his cell phone. Izzy may have been old but she was
quick when she tried to grab the phone from his hand.

      
Travers held her at bay while Butler
rattled the number off to McShane. “I believe you’ll find Lukov once you trace
the number. We’ll wait until a squad can get here.”

      
She glared when he handed her back the
phone.

      
“Thank you,
Mrs
…”

      
“Mathers,” she spat.

      
“Now then, I’m sure Lukov offered you
money to keep him informed. Why don’t you tell me about it?” Butler said soothingly.

      
“Why don’t you go fuck yourself?” she
screamed.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Camryn crawled out of bed and pulled on
jeans and a brown crew-neck sweater. She brushed her teeth, then her hair and
decided against make-up. She had no one to impress.

      
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door
and followed the heavenly aroma of food.

      
Nellie greeted her on the stairway. The
traitor announced her arrival by barking.

      
“Shush Nellie! You’ll wake the gel,” a
female voice admonished.

      
Camryn’s eyebrows furrowed as she patted
Nellie on the head on her way to the kitchen. An auburn-haired woman faced the
stove.

      
“Um, hello,” Camryn stammered.

      
Siobhan Corrigan turned and smiled.
“Och!
Camryn! Aren’t you lovely?”

      
Camryn approached slowly, “It seems as if
I’m at a disadvantage since you know who I am.”

      
She came closer to Camryn and extended
her hand. “I’m Siobhan, Declan’s Ma.”

      
Camryn grinned and took her hand
enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Corrigan.”

      
“Siobhan, gel!
Are you hungry?”

      
“Very!” she replied, looking around the
kitchen, trying not to be obvious.

      
“He’s no’ here.
Left as
soon as I arrived.
Said he had things to do and Ian would be here to
watch you,” Siobhan announced.

      
Frowning, Camryn pulled a chair from the
table. “I’m not a child and don’t like to be treated as such.”

      
Siobhan sat down and patted her hand. “He
doesna think that gel. He’s worried aboot you.”

      
Camryn tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear. “You know?”

      
Siobhan nodded, “Aye, he told me aboot
the man looking for you. But Declan will keep you safe. He adores you.”

      
“I’m not sure about that,” Camryn
snorted.

      
“Not sure aboot what?”
Ian questioned as he walked through the back door.

      
Siobhan grinned and placed her palm on
Camryn’s cheek. “Not sure of Decky’s feelings for her.”

      
Ian rolled his eyes. He needed
nourishment before he got tangled up in women talk. “Tea?” he asked Camryn.

      
She raised her eyebrows hopefully.
“Coffee?”

      
Siobhan grinned, “I’ll get it. Declan
left half a pot, said you preferred coffee over tea, so he did.”

      
“I’ll get it,” Camryn offered. She
spotted the coffee pot with a mug next to it. “Is this okay to use?”

      
“Aye, Decky left it out for you,” Siobhan
smiled.

      
The endearment Siobhan used for Declan
was sweet and made Cam smile.

      
Ian brought over a small pitcher of cream
and placed it on the counter. “Thank you,” she grinned.

      
He shrugged, “Dec was very insistent I
bring fresh cream for ya. He wants ya to feel at home.”

      
Her eyes swept across the room. It was a
fabulous kitchen-any woman would die for it. The light colored wood flooring
added charm to the spacious room. Plenty of counter space not to mention the
kitchen island!

      
“Decky did a wonderful job on the
kitchen, aye?” Siobhan beamed.

      
“He did this?” Camryn gaped.

      
“Aye, he knocked down a few walls to make
the room larger and updated the appliances, put in the wood flooring. He and a
few of his mates rehabbed the entire house.”

      
Camryn nodded, “Yeah, he mentioned that
last night. I didn’t realize he designed the kitchen, too.”

      
Camryn studied Siobhan while she cooked.
She was a very attractive older woman. Her auburn hair was styled short and
when she smiled delicate lines formed around her mouth and eyes.

      
“Breakfast is ready!” Siobhan announced.

      
Ian put his newspaper away when Siobhan
brought his plate.

      
“Black pudding, dear?” Siobhan asked
Camryn, lifting the plate to her.

      
Camryn wrinkled her nose, “No thanks.”

      
Siobhan smiled and returned the plate to
the table. “It’s an acquired taste.”

      
“How did Teaghan’s get its name?” Camryn
asked, since she didn’t get any information from Declan. In fact, he steered
the conversation away from those questions.

      
Ian choked on his scrambled eggs and
Siobhan tsked-tsked. “God rest her gentle soul,” Siobhan murmured, making the
sign of the cross over her chest.

      
Camryn lifted her eyebrows. “She died?”

      
“Aye, poor ting,” Siobhan sighed.

      
“Who was she?”

      
“She was Declan’s gel,” Siobhan stated,
matter-of-factly.

*
     
*
     
*

      
McShane called Butler with bad news.
“Joe, we found out from Valik that Lukov only uses disposable phones so the
number you gave us probably won’t do a pinch a shit of good.”

      
“Did you run the number anyway?” Joe
ground out.

      
“What good would it do?” McShane barked.

      
“For fuck’s sake, just try. We won’t know
for sure until you do!”

      
When he put the phone back to his ear all
he heard was a dial tone. He threw his phone on the dashboard.

      
“I’m ready to get the fuck out of here. I
think I saw a rat the size of a small dog run across the street,” Travers
shivered.

      
Joe laughed, “A big cop like you scared
of a rat?”

      
“They carry diseases, asshole! Plus,
they’re
ugly
.”

      
Joe turned his attention towards the
window, snickering. A laugh caught in his throat when he jumped. “Fuck! What is
that
?”
     

      
“That’s the fuckin’ rat I told you
about!”

      
As soon as a squad arrived they tore ass
outta there.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Declan left as soon as the sun broke
through the clouds. Well, as much as it would today. Storms were predicted, but
it didn’t dampen his spirits.

      
He had a woman to romance!

      
He made his way to McManus farms,
surprising Angus with his arrival.

      
“Why it’s himself! Didja run outta cheese
already?”

      
Declan smiled and took his friend’s hand
into his, shaking it firmly. “No, I need to ask ya something.”

      
Angus ran his hands over his jacket and
peered at the sky. “Let’s get to the office where we won’t get rained on, aye?”

      
Once inside Angus waved his hand towards
a padded chair. “Tea?” he asked.

      
“Whiskey,” Declan murmured.

      
“This
is
serious!”

      
“Aye, I’ve only known this gel for minutes
and yet I’m in love,” Declan whispered, taking a half-filled glass from Angus.

      
“So? What’s the problem?” Angus asked
with a smirk.

      
Declan’s eyes bulged. “Didja not hear
what I said? I havna known her for long and I think I’m bloody in love with
her!”

      
“Dec, love isn’t rational. It just
happens, mate.”

      
“Aye, but I was with Teaghan for ten
months and didna feel this way.”

      
“She wasna the one, Dec. Feck, I only
knew Gillian for a short time,” Angus grinned.

      
“So I’m not going barmy then?”

      
“Aye, you’re goin’ barmy, but that’s what
love feels like.”

*
     
*
     
*

      
The words ‘
Declan’s gel
’ reverberated in her ears and made her chest ache. But
still, she had to know.

      
“I don’t mean to pry, it’s the nature of
my business, but can you tell me more?” Camryn prodded.

      
“Aye, suppose it doesna matter now,”
Siobhan sighed. “They were together for mayhap a year or so. He was with the
Garda and was trying to nab a drug smuggler. He kept chasin’ his tail with that
one, so he did.

      
Well, he and Teaghan were on holiday
together, in Dublin, walking in the park, when the bloody bastard shot Decky.”

      
Camryn gasped, “Oh my God!”

      
Siobhan nodded gravely. “Aye
gel,
he was touch and go for a while. That’s not the worst of
it though. Oh no. For the bullet went through Decky’s chest and into
Teaghan’s.”

      
“How long ago did this happen?”

      
Siobhan sighed, “Two years ago. Decky’s
not been the same since; walking around mopey-faced, angry at the world.” Her
eyes crinkled as she looked at Camryn. “That is, until he met you.”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Joe’s phone rang. “Butler.”

      
“Ya son-of-a-bitch!” exclaimed McShane.

      
Butler’s eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?”

      
“We got him! It’s a land-line phone! I’m
on the way right now!”

      
McShane rattled off the address and said
he’d meet them.

      
Butler repeated the address and Travers
quickly made a u-turn in the middle of the street.

      
Lukov’s ass was grass and they were the
lawn mowers.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Viktor had no trouble finding the quaint
B&B where Camryn was staying.

      
He drove past it slowly, trying to peek
in the windows. A horn rang out behind him. “Impatient fucker,” he grumbled.

      
He pulled to the side and parked. It was
mid-morning and shoppers milled on the sidewalks. He donned his baseball cap
and looked at himself in the rear-view mirror.

      
She wouldn’t recognize him now.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Camryn helped clean the kitchen before
running upstairs to her room. She needed to think, to digest what she’d heard.
She looked out the window and decided a run was in order. She threw on sweats
and running shoes and pulled her hair into a pony tail. She grabbed her I-Pod
and headed downstairs.