A Change of Heart (The Heartfelt Series)

by Adrienne Vaughan

  “Will you join us Marianne?” Miss MacReady called back.

  “Maybe later,” Marianne said, smiling as the two women made their way down the path, still in dispute.

  Chapter Thirty

  A Leap Of Faith

  They were sitting on board the deck of Dream Isle.

  “It’s tomorrow or Thursday, depends on the weather. Still haven’t got the exact details of the vessel or its whereabouts, but the cargo’s on board and they’re getting ready to ship it out.” Dermot told him.

  “And we just have to intercept it, yeah? Tell them they’re under arrest and we take charge of the boat and tow them in - no heroics, no funny business,” Ryan said.

  “Precisely. A case of ‘you’re nabbed lads’. We’ll take them totally unawares - a couple of fellas out fishing is all we’ll be.” Dermot was swabbing down the deck, making sure everything was shipshape.

  That’s alright then, Ryan thought, because if Marianne is out sailing with Erin and Sinead, she will be none the wiser if I just give Dermot a hand bringing these blokes in. He was treading carefully. She had gone into a complete rant about deceit ruining people’s lives, when Brian Maguire had shown up, saying she could not believe he and Miss MacReady had been unnecessarily separated all those years, each still holding a torch for the other. And was it not strange Ryan had known him all along? Ryan told her Innishmahon was like that, weaving its charm around its people, keeping them close no matter how far away. No, the least said the better where any extracurricular activity was concerned, he told himself.

  “Okay, sounds like a plan,” Ryan agreed.

  “Good, do you want to go down below and make sure anything we need is nice and handy,” Dermot told him. Ryan started down below. “And make sure the firearms are somewhere dry, no use to us if they’re damp.”

  Ryan laughed, “Oh yes, the pistols.” But Dermot was not joking.

  Thursday dawned bright and blustery, a steady south-easterly forecast, very little cloud, no rain and a gentle swell. Erin stood on the quayside looking at the boat. It was a fine yacht, if a little neglected, but Oonagh would have adored it. Such a shame she had not been well enough to enjoy it for longer, yet it was the place she had chosen to say her goodbyes, surrounded by those she loved. It had a proud provenance. Erin was looking forward to taking her out and seeing what the old girl could do.

  By the time Marianne and Sinead and everything needed to give three adults, two children and a West Highland terrier a terrific day out on the water had been loaded, Erin wondered if it might sink, they were lying pretty low in the water.

  “Does she usually sit like this?” she asked Padar, who was fussing with the engine, squirting things at random with WD40 and rubbing mildew off with his sleeve.

  “I think so,” he said unconvincingly. “Well it’s used regularly and those lads who had it last time said they’d leave it back as they found it.” He kissed the children briefly; he did not want to be aboard any longer than necessary.

  “What time will you be back?” he asked Erin, stern line in his hand. Erin checked her watch.

  “It’s ten now - four-ish?” she said.

  “No later,” Padar told her, “it’ll be getting dark, get back nearer to three if you can.”

  “We’re only going to drop anchor and have our picnic the other side of the island, over by the Marine Research Unit. Sure, you’ll be able to see us from every lookout point,” Erin assured him.

  “So you say, but it’s treacherous enough, you know that.”

  “Ah, Padar, I was sailing round this island before I could walk,” Erin snapped, holding her hand out for the line. Padar threw it to her. Marianne was at the wheel.

  “Take it steady,” Padar shouted at Marianne. “Don’t make Sinead seasick,” he teased. Sinead had nearly cried off. She felt poorly that morning, but everyone was so looking forward to the trip, she splashed cold water on her face and told them she would come anyway.

  Padar could not help the lump in his throat as Bridget waved goodbye from the deck, the broadest smile on her face, the way Oonagh looked whenever she was on the water, loving the wind in her hair.

  Marianne guided the boat safely out of the marina with Erin at her shoulder, and as soon as they were clear of the other boats, she powered on, cutting through the blue, leaving bright white sparkles in her wake. They pushed into the bay, the island behind, the ocean smooth and welcoming, calling them out. Erin took the helm, guiding them beyond the buoys warning of rocks and then swung the boat west, up towards the top of the island, heading around the promontory of coastline that formed a point on the map.

  “We’ll get round Widows Peak and head into Cloudy Bay. It’ll shelter us from the wind, we can drop anchor there, and if it’s nice enough have a little sail after lunch and then head back,” Erin said.

  “Good plan,” Marianne agreed, smiling at the tinkling laughter of the little ones, watching the yacht sending out spray as it cut through the water, Monty looking over the side, tail wagging.

  To all intents and purposes Cloudy Bay looked like a small and very welcoming harbour, but any sailor worth his salt knew the silky smooth surface belied a craggy underbelly that could rip the guts out of a vessel in the merest of moments. Erin had checked the charts the night before and the sonar system on board was state-of-the-art, but she steered stealthily through, finding a clear deep pool to drop anchor and switch off the engine.

  The sumptuous picnic of seafood chowder, soda bread, cheese and fruit was soon devoured, followed by one of Marianne’s favourites - thick hot chocolate with clotted cream ice cream and home-made shortbread fingers for dunking. She laced the grownups mugs with a splash of rum but Sinead said her stomach could not take it and sipped water instead.

  “Is Miss MacReady recovered after being mugged in New York?” Sinead asked Marianne as they sat in the lower deck, the boat rocking gently. The village had been stunned by the news the postmistress had been robbed in the middle of JFK Airport, right in front of Larry.

  “Seems quite sanguine about it all,” Marianne told her.

  “I’m sure it paled into insignificance once she discovered Brian Maguire was alive and well and running the very bar she and Larry were sitting in,” Erin said, licking chocolate off a biscuit.

  Marianne gave Erin a look.

  “It seems everyone is pretty nonplussed about the mugging, almost as if it were bound to happen.”

  Erin avoided her eyes.

  “All’s well that ends well. The insurance company is going to pay up, Rossini will get his millions, the jewels will be fenced, goodness knows where they’ll end up, and that will be the end of it, my job’s done. I’ll be heading home soon enough.”

  Sinead settled the children in a bunk; the sway of the boat would lull them to sleep in no time.

  “Where’s home?” Sinead asked.

  Erin shrugged, “Here and there.”

  “Would you not stay awhile?” Marianne suggested.

  “What for? This place is hardly the centre of the universe, not a lot happens here,” Erin said. “I mean, when is there even any news, for God’s sake, same old, same old.”

  “I have news,” Sinead said, and a dreamy look came over her, ‘lovely news if you’d care to hear it.”

  They both looked at her, then at each other. “You’re pregnant!” They said together.

  “No wonder you’ve been a bit green around the gills,” Marianne said, smiling at her. “Are you delighted?”

  Sinead nodded, her cheeks turning pink.

  “That’s crap though isn’t it?” Erin said in her usual manner, “with your husband, what’s his name Phileas, in the slammer.”

  Marianne raised her eyes upwards. Sinead shrugged.

  “Not really, it’s not his.”

  Marianne’s mind flashed back to the scene in the big house, when she and Ryan stumbled upon a couple in a compromising situation. She willed the image away.

  “So you’re finished with Phileas?” Mari
anne asked.

  Sinead nodded. “I tried to make it work, but things haven’t been right between us for a long time. Phileas never wanted children. I thought I could win him over, but no. I can’t remember the last time we slept together and then he got involved with a bad crowd. I told him I didn’t want anything to do with them, and now with the robbery and everything, I’ve had enough. I just want a normal life.” She gave them a sad smile.

  “And the father, does he know yet?” Marianne asked.

  Sinead’s eyes widened. “No, it’s very early, you’re the only people who know. I’d like to keep it that way for a while, till it’s time to tell him.”

  Marianne lifted her mug, “Congratulations then, your secret is safe with me.”

  “And me,” Erin smiled at her, “but who’d want to bring a child into this hell hole called Planet Earth is beyond me,”

  “Just as well the continuation of the human race doesn’t rest in your hands then, Erin.” Marianne said, clearing things away.

  “Too right,” Erin replied, then “what’s that?”

  They could hear an engine, voices, then clattering feet running down the deck towards them. Monty started to bark. Erin jumped up, heading for the stairs, when two pairs of boots appeared above.

  “Hey ...who are …?”

  A man pushed her back down below. Another man followed. They were dressed the same, all in black, balaclavas pulled over their heads.

  “Stay calm and no-one will get hurt,” one of them said, his voice muffled by the fabric. The other man started to move around the salon, as if looking for something. Monty was barking wildly, he went for the man’s ankle. The man kicked him away. Marianne was on her feet.

  “Stop! What are you doing? What do you want?” she demanded.

  “Shut that thing up, or I will,” the man said, taking a gun out of his belt and pointing it at Monty.

  “Jesus Christ!” Sinead blessed herself.

  Erin jumped on the first man, twisting his arm expertly behind his back. He screamed in pain. The man with the gun turned it from Monty to Erin but she pushed her prisoner in front of her.

  “Put the gun down,” she said.

  “Let him go,” the man replied. Marianne was straining her ears, trying to hear an accent, trying to identify the voice.

  “What do you want?” Marianne asked as coldly as she could, willing the fear out of her.

  “We want you to quietly and calmly get on our boat and go back to wherever you came from,” the man with the gun said.

  “Put that gun down or I’m going to break his arm, I mean it,” Erin said, as her captive moaned in agony. He nodded at his partner. The man put the gun back in his belt.

  “There are children with us,” Sinead said, appealing to the man with the gun.

  “We won’t harm them or you, just take our boat and go. Now, as quickly as you can,” he spoke more softly to her. Marianne looked at Sinead, did she recognise him?

  “No way,” Erin said fiercely,

  “Let’s do as they say,” Sinead replied, getting up. Marianne had Monty in her arms, he was trembling. She looked at the man Erin had in an armlock.

  “If she lets you go, you’re not to hurt her. We’ll go quietly but you’re not to hurt anyone,” Sinead glared at him.

  “Come on, move it, go, now!” The man with the gun said.

  “I’ll get the children,” Sinead disappeared.

  “I’m not letting him go until everyone’s safe on the other boat.” Erin gave her captive’s arm another tweak to show she meant it.

  “What can you see?” Ryan asked Dermot. Dermot was looking through binoculars at a yacht in the bay, Padar’s yacht.

  “There’s a tender alongside I don’t recognise. No-one around though, wait a minute, I can see Sinead and Marianne. There’s a man on deck, looks like they’re getting in the other boat,” Dermot handed the glasses to Ryan.

  “They’re offloading them. Bloody hell, they’re hijacking the boat!” Ryan said.

  Dermot nodded, eyes fixed on the vessel ahead. “Yep, looks like Padar’s boat is the one the cargo’s on, bet those bastards got a shock when they went to sail it away this morning and the mooring was empty. Bet they’ve been going mad looking for it.” Dermot was powering towards the yacht now.

  “What’s the plan?” Ryan looked through the binoculars.

  “Have they cast the women adrift?” Dermot asked.

  “Erin’s just getting on. She’s remonstrating though, looks like she’s giving them a right mouthful,” Ryan said. “They all look okay though, as far as I can tell.”

  “I hope so, those bastards will be armed.” Dermot replied.

  “I was afraid they might be.” Ryan put the glasses down. Dermot was travelling so fast, the lenses were covered in spray.

  As soon as Erin was on board, Marianne started the engine.

  “Fecking pirates,” Erin shouted up at the men as they pulled off. “You won’t get away with this!”

  Sinead was in the stern with Bridget and Joey, rugs over their life jackets, she was singing to them. Marianne tried to keep the little boat steady as they bounced across the water, heading back, following the coastline to her right, up along the bay to swing back over Widow’s Peak towards Innishmahon and the harbour. Erin spotted the other boat first.

  “Look, it’s Dermot!” she said. Dream Isle was speeding towards them. Once alongside, Ryan ran to the rail, throwing his leg over. Dermot stopped him, “Wait.”

  “Everyone okay?” he asked Marianne, looking in the stern for Joey.

  She nodded, “No-one’s hurt.”

  “Gave us a bloody fright though,” Erin said, holding onto a fender to keep them alongside, “one of them has a gun.”

  “Just two of them?” Dermot asked. Erin nodded. “I’m sure they’re both armed.”

  “What’s it all about?” she asked.

  “Notice anything, cargo, boxes?” Dermot said.

  “Yes,” Sinead said, “in the hold, under the sails, I was looking for blankets. Metal boxes, big ones.” She opened her arms wide, demonstrating the size.

  Dermot looked at Ryan. “That’s it!”

  “Smugglers?” Marianne asked.

  “Erin, can you get Sinead and the kids safely back in that?” Dermot asked.

  “Sure,” Erin said, moving towards the wheel.

  “Marianne, are you able to keep Dream Isle alongside Padar’s yacht if Ryan and I go aboard and arrest those men?” Dermot was preparing to go.

  “No,” Ryan said, “no way, she needs to go with the others, it’s not safe.”

  “We’ve no choice,” Dermot looked at the yacht disappearing. “They’ve seen us, Erin’s the best sailor, she’ll get the others back. Marianne will be okay with us, but we need another pair of hands.”

  Marianne was already climbing on board. Reluctantly, Ryan held out a hand to help her. Monty followed, waiting for the bigger boat to dip in the water so he could jump easily aboard.

  “Okay?” Dermot shouted above the roar of the engine. “Let’s get this job done!”

  Marianne lifted an eyebrow at Ryan.

  “Thinks he’s Miami Vice,” he offered. A blue light flicked on, sirens started to wail. Marianne could hear Dermot giving precise co-ordinates over the radio.

  “Don’t tell me, another undercover operation?” she said, strapping on the buoyancy aid he passed her.

  “You know of another one?” Ryan asked.

  “Island’s swarming with undercover agents, pretending they’re going on innocent fishing trips and the like.” She gave him a half-smile, “what’s on the yacht?”

  “Arms and cocaine destined for the north, a double whammy. The arms are a decoy for the drugs, seems gun-running is a fairly common occurrence around these parts, left well alone by the authorities.” Ryan was wiping the binoculars, watching the smaller boat heading back towards Innishmahon.

  “So if drugs are travelling with guns they’ll get to their destination unchallenged,�
�� Marianne said, impressed.

  “Unless of course you give the job to Dermot Finnegan, ex-shining light of Dublin’s Gardaí, masquerading as the island’s new lifeboat boss.” Ryan indicated for her to hold on tight.

  “And what are you doing here?” she had to shout above the noise.

  “Just fishing,” Ryan smiled grimly as Dermot spun the boat round in front of the yacht. A wave flipped over the side, just missing him. He cut the engine.

  Dermot came out of the wheelhouse and tossed Ryan a gun. Marianne’s eyes widened.

  “She’s in neutral, hold her steady,” Dermot told her. “Ahoy there, it’s the police,” Dermot shouted through a megaphone. The yacht started to pull away. “Swing her round, Marianne, block him,” Dermot shouted back, as Marianne pushed the gears forward, turning the boat smoothly, accelerating and positioning it expertly at the bow of the yacht.

  She looked up and gasped. Phileas was at the wheel. No wonder they were let go unharmed. He looked down at her, waving his arms, telling her to back off. She shook her head. He tried to ram the smaller boat with the yacht.

  “Hang on,” Marianne roared at her passengers and blasted away, taking a circle turn back to the yacht once they were clear.

  “You’re under arrest, turn the engine off and come quietly,” Dermot said into the megaphone as they came alongside again.

  A man appeared on deck. It was Shay, the ganger for the building lads. Shay who had rented the boat off Padar the previous weekend. Phileas appeared at his side. Dermot registered no surprise.

  “Heard he’d escaped via the police network this morning,” he told Ryan under his breath. “Thought we might see him today.”

  Ryan was amazed. “Any word on Pat?”

  “If he’s any sense he’ll stay put, sure he already has a record.” Dermot looked up at the men, “Come quietly now.”

  “Fuck off, Dermot,” Shay replied. “You’re out of your depth.” He and Phileas started to laugh.

  “I guessed you’d gone over to the dark side, sergeant, or is this what you call annual leave?” Dermot asked. Ryan gave Dermot a look. Dermot nodded at Shay, “That’s the arse who was supposed to be my partner on this one.”

  “Undercover?” Marianne and Ryan said together.