“Perhaps that’s so, but a bird in the hand, as they say. Besides, she’s easier to handle than you are, aren’t you, sweetie?” I heard a muffled scream.
My blood was boiling. “I’m warning you Dalton, if you hurt my wife in any way there won’t be an inch on this planet where you’ll be safe.”
“How gallant. Well, Sir Galahad, if the PSNI won’t give me my property back, then it must pay fair value. Don’t you think that’s reasonable?”
“What do you want?”
“You always come back to that, don’t you? You keep repeating yourself. I can see you don’t enjoy the art of negotiation. Or you’re just shitty at it. Well, the bottom line is this: I want one million euros and a helicopter with a range of twelve hundred kilometers. Call you back soon.” The line went dead.
“That would put him somewhere in Belgium or France to refuel,” Megan said.
We paced for fifteen minutes until the phone rang again. McLaughlin said, “Tell him you don’t have the money and you need to talk it over with me.”
“I don’t have a million euros, Charles, you know that.”
“Of course, I know that, but I’m not selling the guns to you, Liam. I’m selling them to the PSNI and they’re worth every shilling. The lovely state of Northern Ireland isn’t going to lose a single pound sterling on the deal. The government buys guns every day and mine are just as good as the next fellow’s. We’ll keep it quiet where the guns came from and the government can take the money out of its general accounting office to make the purchase. Or out of some slush fund, and don’t tell me there’s no such thing. It will all be quite legal. Talk to whatever police official is standing next to you and I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes. But don’t take long because your wife is probably hungry and thirsty and doesn’t look very comfortable at the moment. Am I right, sweetie? Do you have to use the toity? Aww, how inconvenient. Bye-bye.”
I put the phone down and walked outside with Megan and McLaughlin. “Someday, somehow, I’m going to kill that man,” I said.
“Just stay cool. As long as we’re still talking she’ll be all right.”
“Farrell, you have to protect my wife. Whatever you have to do, you can’t let this bastard hurt Catherine or take her out of the country. We’d never see her again. You have to make a deal with him. If we have to go out there with a bag of money, then that’s what we have to do.”
“Liam, I’m going to do everything I can, but think about it. He’s demanded money and a helicopter. He’s committed three murders, and how many countless others are dead because of his guns? I don’t want this guy getting away.”
Annie, who had been standing behind us, said, “I think I can keep him on the line. He despises me. I’ve counseled Janie to leave him numerous times; I’ve even had her stay at my house when they were fighting. He resents my intrusion. He calls me a meddlesome bitch. I get under his skin. I may be able to keep him on the line long enough.”
The phone rang again and my inner rage shook my hand so badly I could barely push the speaker button. “I want to talk to my wife,” I said right off. “I want to know she’s okay.”
“Well, ‘okay’ is a relative term, Liam. I don’t think she would go along with the characterization. She’s bound and tied and has a gag in her mouth. Would you say you’re okay, sweetie?” I heard muffled anger from Catherine. “She says no.”
“I’m going to kill you, Lefferty.”
“Oh, God, stop, will you? What about my demands?”
“We can get you what you ask for, but it’s going to take time.”
“You don’t have much of that, Liam. Neither does your wife.”
Annie stepped forward. “Charles, it’s Annie.”
“Well, if it isn’t the world’s most meddlesome bitch. Fuck you, Annie.”
“Same to you, you misogynist bully. I want you to let that woman go. She’s innocent.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll make a deal with you.”
“A deal? What could you possibly have to offer?”
“Me. The meddlesome bitch in exchange for Catherine Taggart.”
“No, Annie, you can’t do that,” I whispered. “He’ll kill you.”
Annie grabbed my arms and squeezed hard. “Please, Liam, don’t interfere. He’ll make that deal; he hates me. I don’t have a family. I don’t have anyone. Let me do this for you, for Catherine, for your baby. It’s what I should do. It’s what I need to do.”
“The slate is clean, Annie. There are no debts to pay.”
McLaughlin shook his head. “I can’t let you do it. I’m not sending in another hostage. That’s not what we do.”
Annie wouldn’t back down and she leaned forward to speak into the phone. “Charles, I’m offering an exchange. Catherine Taggart means nothing to you. But me, I’m the bitch. I’m the one you can’t manipulate. I’m the one who tells the world what a complete asshole you are.”
“Well, all that’s true and it’s certainly an attractive offer, very tempting, but I’ve grown quite fond of sweetie here, and she’s a Taggart. So … no.”
Megan nodded and quickly jotted down that he was calling from a road four miles east of his country club along the Antrim coast. Janie was right. It was the Dunluce Castle. “We can have him surrounded within twenty minutes,” Megan said. McLaughlin nodded and motioned for me to continue. “We have to make him believe we’re going to meet his demands. Tell him it’ll take time to get the money and the copter, but we can get them. Get the details on the exchange.”
“Charles, I’m told that we can meet your demands. We ordered the money and we’re trying to get the copter, but it will take time.”
“You don’t have time. I want to talk to whatever police commander is standing next to you. I’m upping the ante.”
I nodded to McLaughlin. “This is Inspector McLaughlin.”
“Farrell, is that you? My goodness, I went right to the top, didn’t I? A fifty-year vet just for me. I feel so honored.”
“Let her go, Charles. We can talk after you let her go. We can work things out. We know where you are.”
“Of course you do. I’ve been on the damn phone for ten minutes. Tell Janie I’m the Earl of Antrim.” He laughed. “And please don’t try any of your psychological police negotiator crap on me. It won’t work. I have only one way out. I’m not going to die in your prison like my father. But I want to tell you that I have additional items to bargain with now. Before we go any further, I need for you to know that I’m upping the ante.”
“What does that mean?”
“What are your names?” he said, and we heard other voices. “They are Mr. and Mrs. Goodston and their two children Steven and Emily. They’ve traveled here all the way from Ohio and had the misfortune of visiting the castle while I was in charge of the tower. They are now my guests. We’re having a party.”
“You’re going to take this out of my hands, Charles. I’m working on getting you a helicopter. Now I’m going to have to turn this over to headquarters. You’ll be talking to someone else. Let your hostages go before we have an international drama. Do you want to see this on CNN or Sky News? That will limit my ability to get you what you want.”
“I’m calling the shots here, Farrell, and I’m only going to talk to you. So, you’re still in the game and you can get me what I want, just like you were planning to do. If you make it an international crisis then the blood will be on your hands.”
“Let the hostages go and we can talk further.”
“Au contraire. You will promptly supply the helicopter and a million euros or you will have the deaths of five innocent people on your hands. It’s nonnegotiable, Farrell. I’m not going to let you lock me in your prison so I can die like Sean Lefferty did with a knife in his back. I’ve got five hostages and I’ll take them all down before I let you grab me. At least I’ll go out in a blaze of glory. Let’s see, it’s five fifteen. Have the money and copter here by ten o’clock. Bye-bye.”
“Dooley,” McLaughlin said between clenched teeth, “Call the visitor center. Make sure the area is clear. Then call Huntley at HQ. We’ll need to set up a command post. Tell him to shut down A2 and A26 on the coast, all roads going in and out. Tell them to send the mobile trauma unit. Dunluce is dark, we’ll need spotlights.”
My heart sank. There was no way this would end without bloodshed. My only hope was that it would be Lefferty’s and not Catherine’s or those innocent tourists.
As we prepared to leave, McLaughlin turned to Megan and said, “I’ll want you on the point. Tripod, night vision scope, range finder. Bring everything you have.”
“Megan’s going to be the sniper?” I said.
He nodded. “She’s not only the best we have, she’s the best in the UK. If there’s an opening, Dooley’s the one to take it.”
“Farrell, I’m not the kind of guy who relies on other people. I don’t have to tell you that my whole world is in your hands.”
“I know it is, Liam. Let’s go get her.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
THE COMMAND POST WAS established on Dunluce Road outside the visitor center, and McLaughlin and I stood by the side of his Land Rover fifty yards away. Before us lay an open grassy field leading to the ruins of the historic Dunluce Castle. Farrell had an intra-department mic clipped to his shoulder pad with an open channel to his units. Spotlights and barricades were set up before we arrived. Thankfully, no news crews were present along the road or on the grassy perimeter of the national heritage site, and McLaughlin had closed off the highways so that none could approach.
Spotlights were focused on the medieval castle, lighting the gray stone structure as though it were daylight. The sixteenth-century castle had not survived the years intact. Large chunks of the castle were missing and gaps were notched in the imposing fortress walls, resembling a mouth of broken teeth. Portions of the walls had crumbled to the sea below, but two of the towers remained in pretty solid shape, and Lefferty was cloistered in one of them with his hostages.
The castle was built on the flat surface of a rocky, windswept outcrop, stretching far out over the swirling North Atlantic. Though the castle was only a shell of its former self—there were no roofs intact and the northern walls were merely stubs—the front walls stood at least fifteen feet high, a fortification solid enough for Lefferty to defend. The original design was brilliant—the castle walls were constructed right up to the edge of steep precipices on all sides, a vertical drop hundreds of feet to the sea and the rocks below. The only ingress to the castle was by a narrow stone bridge over a deep, sloping crevasse that lay between the castle and the grassy field. If an advance were to be made on the castle it would have to be over the bridge, one person at a time, an easy target for the castle’s defender.
As I stood there I couldn’t figure out Lefferty’s plan. It was obvious that a helicopter couldn’t land on the castle and there was no other flat surface on the outcrop. There wasn’t even five feet between the castle walls and the edges of the cliffs. A helicopter’s only landing spot was the grassy field. To reach the helicopter, Lefferty would have to march his hostages over the bridge and out to into the field. There might be a good chance to take him down when he did that and I was momentarily heartened. It seemed as though Lefferty had boxed himself into a corner.
But my hopes were dashed when McLaughlin laid out a diagram and an overhead photo on the hood of his car. Lefferty was one step ahead of us. The photo depicted a large open courtyard inside the walls at the rear of the castle where it extended farthest out over the sea. If a copter were small enough it could land in the open courtyard, pick up passengers and fly north over the sea and out of sight.
Cell phone negotiations between Lefferty and McLaughlin seemed to be at a standstill. Lefferty was demanding a million euros and a helicopter, and McLaughlin was asking for Lefferty to release the children as a show of good faith.
“How lucky am I that the Goodstons came along?” Lefferty said. “People always seem to care more for children than adults, though why that is I don’t understand. They annoy the hell out of me. But as long as I’ve got them, and you care about them, they serve their purpose. Especially when they’re bound and gagged. You know the old saying: seen and not heard?” He laughed loudly. “Where’s my copter, Farrell?”
“C’mon, Charles, we need a sign of good faith. Let the kids walk. You’d still have three hostages.”
“I’ll show you my sign of good faith, Farrell. If the copter’s not here in an hour, I’ll throw one of these kids over the wall.”
McLaughlin spoke softly into his shoulder pad, “Dooley, do you have a sight line on him? Is he near a window or an opening?”
Megan, who had stationed herself on a grassy hill directly southeast of the tower, was lying in the darkened shadows looking through her scope. “Occasionally, sir. He’ll pop his head into the tower opening and then duck back. It’s a risky shot unless he’s standing still.”
McLaughlin went back to his cell phone. “Charles, you don’t want to kill those kids. All you want to do is get away, and I’m going to help you do that. The copter’s on its way.”
“Good. You have forty-eight minutes. If the copter doesn’t come, I’ll have to toss a kid. My credibility’s at stake. If I don’t toss one of these little monsters, then you won’t believe me and I’ll lose my bargaining strength. I’m a better negotiator than that. Thank goodness I’ve got hostages to spare.”
McLaughlin studied the drawing and the dimensions of the back courtyard of the castle. “A small copter can land in the courtyard,” he said. He looked at me and shook his head. “And that’s a bad idea.” He spoke into his radio, “Harris, send the Sikorsky, the large one, twenty meters in length.”
“You can’t land an aircraft that large in the courtyard,” I said.
“I know. If we land the small copter in the back of the castle where we can’t see him or the hostages and he loads it in the dark, and flies out over the sea, we’ve lost the game.”
The phone buzzed. “Seven minutes, Farrell. I’ve got the little girl in my hands. She’ll make quite a splash, don’t you think?”
“Hang on, Charles, the copter’s on its way. Just be patient and you’ll get what you want. All I care about is the safety of the hostages; you can have your money and your copter.”
Suddenly there was buzz of utterances among the policemen and on the castle, a figure emerged. It was Lefferty standing on a ledge behind the front wall and he was holding a squirming little girl high above his head.
“Dooley, do you have a clear shot?” McLaughlin said.
“Negative, sir. He’s holding the child in front of him.”
Screams echoed through the night.
“Now he’s holding her over the wall, sir. I’m clear on his head, but…”
“Take the shot.”
“I can’t. He’d drop the child. She’d fall a hundred meters.”
“Farrell?” Lefferty shouted, shaking the child. “Do you see me? Do you think I’m kidding? Your time is up.”
“It’s coming, Charles,” McLaughlin said calmly into his cell phone. “Listen. You can probably hear the chopper. Give me a few more minutes. You don’t want to kill a child.”
“Oh, you’re wrong. I don’t give a damn about this child. Of course, I’d rather kill a Taggart. That’s my only regret—I didn’t get all the Taggarts. Should have had Robert Taggart. I don’t know what got into Montgomery; he never misses. It must have been Robert’s lucky day. But talk about lucky, along comes Liam Taggart. King Rat, himself. The biggest prize of them all. The bastard that turned in my old man. And now I’ve got his wife. How fortuitous!”
McLaughlin spoke into his radio, “Harris, where’s my Sikorsky?”
“Two minutes out, sir.”
“All right, Charles, the copter is minutes away. Hold tight. I’m keeping my end of the bargain.”
“Where’s my money?”
“Got it right here. Do you
want to come and get it?”
“Funny, Inspector, I see you’re keeping your sense of humor.”
Screams from the child traveled through the windy night and echoed off the hillsides, as Lefferty shook her and dangled her from the wall far above the rocks below. “Let’s keep on joking, Farrell, although I have my doubts the little girl appreciates the levity in all this. I want my money.”
“Dooley, if he steps back or lifts the child inside the wall, and if you’re at all clear, take that shot.”
Watching this play out and doing nothing was killing me. “I’ll take the money to him,” I said. “Give me the bag of euros and let me go.”
Farrell looked at the large duffel bag filled with fake bills and shook his head. “I can’t let you do that. He’d like nothing more than to kill you.”
“I’ve got my gun.”
“I can’t put my hostages in the middle of a gunfight.”
“If he doesn’t get the money, he’ll kill Catherine.”
“I’m not going to give him money early, that’s a mistake, and he’s not getting the copter just yet either. He’s a cold-blooded killer. The Sikorsky’s too large to land in the courtyard. I have to lure him out of the castle, maybe onto the bridge, maybe into the field, just far enough to let Dooley take her shot. That’s our best play.”
I stood there feeling helpless. It was an impossible shot. The wind was howling, the distance was significant, he was a moving target, and if Megan missed, Lefferty would go berserk. He’d already threatened to go out in a blaze of glory. If he thought he couldn’t get away, he’d kill everybody. My whole world was hanging on the sharpshooting skills of that twenty-six-year-old policewoman lying in the grass.
The chopping noise of the helicopter’s rotor was heard in the distance. Lefferty pulled the child back and disappeared behind the wall. The large Sikorsky landed in the grassy field two hundred yards in front of the castle.
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