There was a long silence while Keogh brooded. Finally he nodded. You know, youre right. It could work.
Ryan laughed delightedly. Good man yourself, Martin. Lets have a drink on it.
Bell got up, opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of Bushmills and three glasses, and at that moment there was a crash in the yard outside as a trashcan went over.
Ryan laughed delightedly. Good man yourself, Martin. Lets have a drink on it.
Bell got up, opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of Bushmills and three glasses, and at that moment there was a crash in the yard outside as a trashcan went over.
WHEN RYAN SUGGESTED the drink, Tully decided it was time to go. He opened the back door, closed it softly behind him, and started across the yard. It was then that he blundered into the trashcan, dislodging the metal lid which clanged as it fell to the stone flagging. He carried on, got the gate open, and ran along the alley. As he reached the far end, Keogh emerged into the alley, but by then it was too late as Tully crossed the busy main road and was lost in the evening crowd.
When Keogh returned, Bell had turned on the yard light and was standing at the back door with Ryan and the girl.
Was there someone? Ryan demanded.
Oh, yes, Keogh said. And youre not going to like it one little bit. I just caught a glimpse of him as he turned into the road. It looked remarkably like Tully to me.
The bastard was checking up on us, Ryan said and led the way back into the parlour.
So what do we do now? Bell demanded. This blows everything.
No, I dont agree, Keogh said. He wants to see the affair go through because he wants the rest of his money.
That makes sense. Ryan nodded.
Id say he was simply sniffing around to find out more.
Which means hes a shifty swine, Kathleen put in.
Who knows more than he did if he overheard our discussion. Keogh pulled on his reefer coat.
Where are you going? Ryan demanded.
Back to the Irish Rose. Keogh took out his Walther and checked it. Im going to do some sniffing around myself.
Ill come with you, Ryan told him.
No need, I can handle it. Keogh smiled. After all, thats what youre paying me for.
As he turned for the door, Kathleen Ryan said, Take care, Martin.
Ah, but I always do, girl dear. He smiled and went out; there was the sound of the yard gate opening and closing, and he was gone.
IT WAS RAINING again as Keogh paid off the taxi and turned along Cable Wharfe. It was a place of shadows, a touch of fog in the air. He kept to those shadows by the old disused warehouses and paused when he was close to the gangway. There was no sign of life. He thought about it for a while, then decided to take a chance and darted across to the stern of the ferry which at that point was lower than the wharf.
He dropped down to the deck, paused for a moment, then moved through the darkness to where the central section and the wheelhouse reared into the night. There was a light up there. Keogh went up an iron ladder to the landing below the wheelhouse, then approached, crouching. He could hear voices, smell cigarette smoke. They were all in there, Tully and his crew. Keogh stood, protected by a life raft, and listened.
He heard the man Dolan say, Gold? Are you kidding us, Frank?
No. Im bloody not. The truck that we pick up at Marsh End will be loaded with the stuff. Theyre going to knock it off on its way to the smelters in Barrow-in-Furness.
But who are they? Dolan demanded.
Well, theyre Irish, thats for certain. Id have said IRA, but I dont think so.
Why not?
Two things. Our destination, Kilalla. Thats Ulster, not the Republic. Another thing. The William and Mary in Kilburn. Thats a Prod pub, not Catholic. I think theyre probably the other side.
Loyalists? Dolan asked.
Same difference as far as Im concerned, Tully told him. I couldnt care less which side theyre on. All Im interested in is that gold.
There was a stirring amongst the crew. Dolan said, You mean were going to knock it off?
Who knows? Tully laughed. After all, lads, anything can happen at sea, but lets get moving. Prepare to cast off. Weve only got two days to get up there.
Keogh crouched behind the life raft as the crew emerged and descended to the deck. He stayed there thinking about it, then stood up and moved to the wheelhouse door.
TULLY, LEANING OVER the table, was aware of a small wind that lifted the chart for the Cumbrian coast a little. He looked up and found Keogh leaning against the door lighting a cigarette.
As they used to say in those old Agatha Christie plays, all is revealed. I was outside, old son, and I heard your little speech to that motley crew of yours. Tully tried to open a door and Keoghs hand came out of his pocket holding the Walther. Dont be stupid.
Tully glowered at him. What do you want?
Well, I know you were at the William and Mary. By rights I should put a bullet between your eyes, but Ill settle for the fifty thousand pounds Ryan gave you earlier.
You can go to hell.
Keogh raised the Walther and fired. There was the usual dull cough and the lobe of Tullys right ear disintegrated. He cried out sharply and clutched at the ear, blood spurting.
That was for starters, Keogh said. Come on, the envelope.
Tully got the drawer open with his free hand, took out the envelope, and tossed it over. Keogh put it in his pocket. Tully took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it to his ear.
My God, look what youve done.
So whats the difference? Keogh said. You couldnt look worse than you do.
Fuck you. Tully opened a cupboard one-handed, took out a bottle of Scotch, and pulled the cork with his teeth. He took a long swallow. Now what?
Now nothing, Keogh told him. Ill see you at Marsh End on Friday.
Tully looked astonished. You mean its still on?
Too late to get anyone else now, Keogh told him. This is what I call an I-know-that-you-know-that-I-know situation, so behave yourself and youll get this envelope back plus the other fifty thousand pounds when we reach Kilalla.
Sod you! Tully said.
Yes, I know that, Keogh told him. But you will be at Marsh End on Friday.
Yes, damn you, I will.
Good man yourself. Now you can escort me to the gangway and well say goodnight.
The engines rumbled into life at that moment. Tully led the way out, negotiating the ladder with difficulty, blood streaming from his ear. Only Dolan and the German, Muller, were working on deck. Muller was casting off and Dolan was about to haul in the gangway. He looked up in astonishment.
Here, whats going on?
Whats going on is that you leave the gangway alone until Ive gone down it, Keogh said.
Dolan tried to rush him and Keogh wiped him across the face with the Walther. Dolan staggered back with a cry of pain and Keogh went down the gangway. He turned at the bottom and smiled up at Tully.
To our next merry meeting at Marsh End.
Bastard! Tully called.
Keogh laughed and walked away through the rain.
JACK BARRY WAS sitting at the desk of his study when the portable phone rang.
Keogh said, Its me.
Barry said, Where are you?
Wapping High Street in old London Town.
So whats happening?
You were right about the gold.
Is that a fact? Tell me.
Its complicated, but here goes, and Keogh went through the whole business step-by-step.
WHEN HE WAS finished, Barry said, Christ, but its the ruthless bastard you are. Will Tully play?
WHEN HE WAS finished, Barry said, Christ, but its the ruthless bastard you are. Will Tully play?
He will. A hundred-thousand-pound payday. He isnt going to turn that down.
Right. Lets say everything works. What happens on board the Irish Rose once you put to sea? Theyll try to take you.
Of course, but well be prepared.
You, Ryan, and his niece? God save us all.
Oh, He will, He will. What about the Kilalla end?
Oh, I think I can promise you an interesting reception. A considerable contribution to IRA funds. It could win us the war.
Just think of that, Keogh told him. And its only taken seven hundred years.
Barry laughed. Go on, dark hero, get on with it and keep in touch, and he switched off his phone.
IN THE PARLOUR at the William amp; Mary, Ryan and Kathleen sat at the table and listened to what Keogh had to say. Keogh helped himself to a Bushmills on the side.
Bell said, You shot him?
Only a little. Keogh sipped his Bushmills. The lobe of his right ear.
Kathleens face was infused with excitement. That taught the bastard a lesson.
Ryan said, You think hell still come?
Of course he will. He wants his hundred thousand pounds.
But hell try for more on the run to Ulster?
Yes, well, we know that, so well just have to be prepared.
I suppose so. Ryan took a deep breath. Well catch the Glasgow Express in the morning. Well leave at Carnforth and take the local train to Barrow.
Then what?
Well be met, Ryan told him. Something else I didnt tell you. I have a cousin who runs a sheep farm in the Lake District not far from Ravenglass. But enough of that now. Im for bed. Well need an early start.
AS THE IRISHROSE moved down the Thames, Tully stood at the wheel, his head disembodied in the light of the binnacle. His right ear was covered by a taped bandage. The door of the wheelhouse opened and Dolan entered with a mug in one hand. He put it down by the wheel.
Tea, he said. Are you okay?
Im fine, Tully told him.
So what about that little bastard?
Oh, when the right time comes Im going to cut his balls off. Tully reached for the mug and drank some tea. Theres an old Sinn Fein saying, Our day will come. Well, mine certainly will where Keoghs concerned.
He swung the wheel and increased power.
THREE
THE GLASGOW EXPRESS wasnt particularly busy. Keogh sat opposite Kathleen at a corner table. Ryan took the one opposite. Almost immediately he opened his briefcase and took out a file. He started to work his way through it, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.
The girl took the copy of The Midnight Court from her carrying bag and an Irish dictionary, which she put on one side. A strange one, Keogh thought, a strange one, indeed. He sat there gazing out of the window, wondering what she would say, what her reaction would be if she knew he was everything she hated a Roman Catholic and an IRA enforcer. God, but the fat would be in the fire the day that got out.