by Liz Gavin
“I have to say I don’t like the idea of having the Garda spy on innocent people like that, Inspector,” Declan replied on her behalf.
“You’re not exactly innocent, sir. You put the man in the hospital in the first place,” Connor stated, adding more fuel to Declan’s already quite volatile mood. “You didn’t do the same to me just now because we were in public.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Declan banged his fist on the table.
“Mr. Slane, if you don’t get a hold of your temper, I’ll have to remove you from the room. This is your last warning, sir,” Inspector Heller scolded him.
Keira squeezed Declan’s thigh under the table and he turned to her. “Please,” she mouthed. He visibly relaxed, sitting back on the chair. He didn’t look pleased, though. His beautiful features were screwed up in a scowl, and he had crossed his arms over his chest.
“Connor, do you have the picture with you?” Inspector Heller asked.
Unlocking his cell phone screen, he put it down so that everyone could see the picture. It was quite grainy, however, they could see a woman talking to the officer outside Paul’s room. She resembled Keira. Inspector Dwyer used his fingers to enlarge the face. He whistled and handed the phone to Heller.
“Damn, she’s a dead ringer to you, Miss Ashe. What do you know about this woman, Connor?”
“I don’t know anything about her. I just got this from a fellow who works as security guard at the hospital. He owed me a favor and was on duty in the surveillance room. He sent this to me as soon as he found out O’Hallon had escaped.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, Connor. We’ll take it from here. You can go now”
“Is that all, Heller? I don’t get an exclusive or at least some info?”
“You’ve got plenty as it is. This is an ongoing investigation, you know.”
“What about him?” Connor nodded towards Declan.
“What about him?”
“Aren’t you going to arrest him?”
“We’ll take him in for questioning. However, if you want to press charges, you’ll have to come by the station later.”
Heller waited for Connor to leave before resuming their conversation, “This doesn’t feel right. It can’t be a coincidence. Nick, the garda in the picture, never mentioned this woman.”
“What happened exactly?” Keira asked.
“We know he attacked a nurse who was changing his bed sheets, stole his clothes, put them on, and sneaked out of the room. Nick knew O’Hallon couldn’t receive visitors, so he wouldn’t have let this woman inside the room. We need to find her,” Dwyer replied.
“We’ll relocate you to a safe house. We can’t gamble with your safety,” Heller added.
“Yes, of course,” she agreed without hesitation, terrified.
“When can we leave?” Declan asked.
Heller cleared his throat searching for the best way to explain the situation do the hotheaded boyfriend when Dwyer blurted out, “Slane, you’re not going with her. You’ll come with us to the station. We’ll book you for assault and battery.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. You attacked Connor in front of cameras.”
“I knew I’d have to pay for my actions. But you’d better make damn sure nothing happens to Keira, or I swear I’ll hunt you down. I don’t care if you’re the Garda or God Himself. That motherfucker slipped through your fingers. I don’t trust your competence very much right about now.”
“Don’t worry about Keira. She’ll be fine,” Dwyer promised as he stood up. “There’s one more thing, Slane. I’ll have to handcuff you - standard procedure. Turn around.”
“Miss Ashe, pack your things. I’ll send somebody to help you out and take you to the safe house,” Heller told her.
Keira wanted to go with Declan, to offer him her support, but the detectives wouldn’t allow her, so she decided not to cause any problems, even though her heart was torn to pieces. She stood up, holding Declan’s face in her warm hands, and had to stand on tiptoes to reach his mouth to kiss him. She forgot the other two men in the room. The only person who mattered to her was in her arms.
The inspectors left the room to give them a little privacy. When Keira let go of Declan’s face, he sighed, “What have we done to deserve this? We can’t catch a break. You’re still in danger. I’ll spend at least a night in jail. We should be going back to Dublin. You should be having fun on your vacation, not hiding from a lunatic.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. This is just temporary. The police will catch Paul again and we’ll have all the time in the world to be together and have fun. I promise. Stay safe, Declan. Don’t get in any more trouble. Come back to me soon.”
They joined the others in the corridor, then proceeded to the reception, where a young female Garda met with them. Her name was Katherine Murphy and she didn’t look much older than Keira.
After the introductions, Heller told the two women he’d return in half an hour to take them to the safe house. Dwyer got hold of Declan and the three left the hotel. Keira saw the ever growing mob of reporters swallow them up as the cameras flashed frantically, and the journalists shouted.
Keira felt her heart sinking because those images reminded her of the nightmare she had had, the one where Declan’s picture in handcuffs appeared under a headline saying he had been arrested for her murder. She had never had premonitory dreams. That wasn’t a good time to start having them. She shook visibly at those thoughts and turned around to face Garda Murphy, “We should get going, right?”
“Yes, Miss Ashe.”
They took the elevator to her floor and packed her things in less than fifteen minutes, which gave them enough time before their car arrived. Keira got her cell phone and unlocked the screen to call her parents.
“Excuse me, miss. Who are you calling?”
“My family. I haven’t talked to them today. They’ll worry when they hear about Paul’s escape on the news.”
“That’s not a good idea, Miss Ashe. We can’t tell anybody we’re leaving. The department will take care of your check-out later. We’ll have to hide you and leave the hotel undetected, so that we won’t be followed. No one can know where you’re going.”
“I know you worry about my safety. But, do you mean I can’t tell even my own family where I’m going?”
The young police officer hesitated a little before answering, “I know it’s a lot to process. Everything that’s going on with you, I mean. I don’t want to scare you further. You won’t be able to tell your family where we’ll take you because you won’t know where we’re taking you.”
“What do you mean?” Keira furrowed her eyebrows together.
“It’s for your own protection,” Murphy whispered as Keira felt the burning sting of a needle in her upper arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Those were the last words Keira heard before the world turned black as she lost consciousness.
As Inspector Dwyer took Declan through booking, he couldn’t remember the last time he had been in such a foul mood. He had been in trouble with the law before but this time there was too much at stake. Keira needed him beside her and he had put himself in that helpless position and hated himself for it.
“Look, I know you’re worried about Miss Ashe. She’s in good hands,” Dwyer told Declan as a Garda collected his fingerprints. “That bastard will never find her in the safe house and we’ll get him before you know it.”
A thousand different and colorful swear words warred inside Declan’s head, all eager to come out of his mouth and describe to the man in front of him exactly what he should do with his reassuring comments but he knew better than to make a bad situation worse. He owed to Keira to control his temper. He took a series of deep breaths, swallowed those words up and said, “I certainly hope so. Keira’s been through too much these past couple of days. She deserved to be relaxing somewhere beautiful and calm, not hiding away from a psycho.”
He was taken to a holding cell, which was surpris
ingly empty, while the other cells were crowded. He sat down on a hard bench, staring into space.
“Hey, Slane,” he looked up to find Dwyer standing outside, holding a cup of coffee. “Take this. You’ll need it.”
“Thanks,” Declan stood up to get the unexpected offer.
Dwyer grabbed his arm before he could sit down again, “I’d have punched somebody too if I were in your shoes,” he said quietly so that only Declan could listen. “I sympathize but I can’t do much about it.”
“Yeah, I hear you. I appreciate it, though. The individual cell and the coffee, I mean.”
“You bet,” Dwyer left Declan alone to his thoughts, which were quite gloomy.
He spent a sleepless night going through each event of the last days in his mind. The following day, Heller showed up, opened the door and stood behind it, saying, “You’re free to go. Connor didn’t press charges. Quite frankly, you’re much more useful out of this cell and with Miss Ashe.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Declan muttered. “When can I go to her?”
“Very soon. I need to take care of a few details.”
“Look, just give me the address and I’ll be out of your way in no time.”
“It’s not that simple. We’ll take you there but you’re not going to like it.”
He frowned at the comment and because the sudden brightness pierced his eyes as they came to the back door exit. To his surprise, Declan noticed they weren’t on a street but rather at a yard. Dwyer stood beside a black sedan with tinted windows. He had a syringe and a black piece of cloth in his hands.
“Which do you prefer - wearing a blindfold or being knocked out?”
“Neither, Dwyer, but I’ll take the blindfold, thank you.”
They had been driving for a while when Declan asked Heller, “How is Keira doing?”
“She is a sweet girl that one. She’s royally pissed off at us, though. She got angry because Garda Murphy didn’t give Miss Ashe the choice we gave you. Truth be told, we didn’t want to call too much attention on ourselves. We needed to get out of there quickly and I’m sure you’d have put up a fight if we had tried to sedate you.”
“I suppose I should thank you for that, then,” he sarcastically replied.
“Watch it, young man. I said you were useful but I can as easily change my mind if you keep up with the attitude. We’re on the same side here.”
“I know that, Heller. It’s just that I’m frustrated.”
Leaning his head back on the car seat, Declan made an effort to control his emotions, and lost track of time as they drove in silence.
“Have you got any new leads on the case?”
“As a matter of fact, we found the woman in the picture,” Dwyer replied.
“And?” Declan asked when the detective didn’t go on, “What happened, man?”
“We’ll fill you and Miss Ashe in on the details when we get to the safe house.”
Declan was impatient but kept his mouth shut until the car stopped. He took the blindfold off and got out of the car before the inspectors opened their doors.
At the same time, the front door opened and Keira came out of the cottage, running towards him, arms wide open. He caught her in his arms, kissing her like there was no tomorrow; like they were the only people on earth. She kissed him back with the same urgency. Their kiss was deep, passionate, but brief. She framed his dear face in her eager hands, angling her head while he grabbed her tiny waist, lifted and crashed her against his body, his hands roaming her smooth back, her feet dangling in the air.
After both detectives cleared their throats loudly for a couple of times, Declan reluctantly put Keira down , breaking their kiss. She kept her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. His beautiful green eyes, darkened by concern laced with raw desire, mesmerized her, “I’m so happy to see you. I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so relieved.”
“So am I, sweetheart. I was worried sick. Are you all right, Keira?”
“All things considered, I am fine. But, I had a horrible night last night. I couldn’t sleep. I kept searching for you in bed, stretching my hand to touch yours, forgetting you were not there. Whatever sleep I got was filled with nightmares,” she trembled at the memories. “Promise me you won’t leave me alone like this ever again, Declan.”
“I promise. I’m sorry I let you down,” he hugged her and buried his face in her neck, whispering against her warm skin. “I’ll never do that again, Keira.”
“You didn’t let me down, silly. I missed you, that was all,” she laughed and made light of his comments remembering his childhood traumas. “Come inside.”
She intertwined her fingers with his, pulling him behind her as they crossed the little garden. The small, white cottage looked cozy. It would have made for a perfect romantic getaway spot, if Declan hadn’t been worried. He noticed there were two more gardai outside, which was completely isolated from any surrounding buildings. In fact, there were no buildings around the house. He had no idea where they were, but it was clear the safe house was remote.
The inspectors had given up waiting for the couple a while before, had already made themselves comfortable, and sat in two big overstuffed armchairs in the living room. Garda Murphy was standing by the door, which led to the rest of the corridor and the house.
“I don’t know if I feel more at ease or more concerned to learn this place is so secluded,” Declan told the detectives as he and Keira sat on the couch opposite the armchairs. He put his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close to him. He needed to feel her body’s warmth caressing his side. He needed to make sure she was safe and unharmed.
Keira basked in his attention, in the powerful energy radiating from him. She snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest, smiling to herself when she realized she was too short to reach his shoulder. It only added to the feeling of protection he offered her.
“This is the perfect spot for a safe house, Slane. It’s far enough that nobody will come snooping around or show up out of the blue. It’s close enough to civilization that help can get here fast, if there’s need for any.”
“Rest assured O’Hallon will never find you here,” Heller added.
“By the way, you said you’d tell Keira and me about the case once we got here.”
“We’ve found the woman who tried to visit him,” Heller said as he observed Declan hugging Keira closer as if to protect her from anything alarming she was about to hear. The simple, yet poignant gesture, tugged at his heartstrings and he smiled. “Her name is Aishling Green. Our IT guys traced her steps from the hospital to her neighborhood. Dwyer and I went there and found her house. She wasn’t trying to hide from us or anything. Ms. Green told us she went to the hospital to visit O’Hallon because he’s her cousin. She insisted with Officer Nick for a while, gave up, and went home. She found out about his escape later that day.”
“You didn’t buy that, did you?”
“Not at first but her story checked out. We recovered footage from street surveillance cameras showing her leaving the hospital before O’Hallon. They never met.”
“We doubt O’Hallon even knew Ms. Green was there,” Dwyer added. “He took advantage of the nurse’s presence in the room and got lucky when he got out of there. He’d have tried to talk to her if he knew she was in the hospital. She told us he’s into her.”
“How so?” Keira was intrigued.
“She didn’t give us many details. I think she doesn’t see O’Hallon for what he really is – a psychopath. O’Hallon’s mother raised her, after her own mother died, when she was around four. He’s like a brother to her and she doesn’t seem to be aware of how dangerous he is,” Heller explained, pausing to drink a little water that Declan had fetched from the kitchen.
“She thinks we caught the wrong man,” Dwyer scoffed.
“We’ve talked to some of Ms. Green’s acquaintances, who told us the man is far more than into her. He’s obsessed since they were kids,” Heller resumed his narrati
ve. “They assured us she doesn’t feel the same way. She told us she’s fond of him, but she also said she feels uncomfortable around him because of his clinging behavior. She avoids him whenever she can. She went to visit him on account of his mother, her aunt. The old lady apparently called her, begging with her to go and check up on him. She couldn’t say ‘no’ to the woman. You already know the rest.”
“Don’t you think he’d contact her if he knew she’d been to the hospital?” Declan suggested.
“My thoughts exactly,” Dwyer sounded frustrated.
Heller scowled at his partner before answering, “We can’t put her in harm’s way. At this point, we don’t know what this man is capable of doing. He’s physically hurt, mentally unstable, and his violent nature may overcome any logical thinking he still possesses. We can’t risk Ms. Green’s safety like that.”
A heavy, long silence settled on the group as each one of them racked their own brains for a viable solution. Keira was the first to break it, “Use me as bait.”
“Over my dead body!” Declan shouted.
“Sweetheart, think about it. Ms. Green is out there, unprotected. I agree she’d be in danger if Paul went after her. I’m the one living in a safe house, protected by all of you. He wouldn’t have a chance to harm me,” she pressed her hand on Declan’s forearm. “We can control the situation. The police can leak some key information to the press to lure him out of hiding. When he comes looking for me, they arrest him.”
“That’s not a bad plan,” Dwyer nodded, sounding impressed.
“It’s a great plan for disaster, that’s what it is, Dwyer. Miss Ashe, I’m sorry. We can’t do that,” Heller was categorical and Declan sighed his relief. Keira looked at him and he shrugged in response to her frowning expression. She was frustrated and ready to argue her point, but Heller went on. “We aren’t totally empty-handed here. Although my partner doesn’t seem to agree with me, we’ve done some progress. Ms. Green’s told us about this place, near Killarney, where they grew up and where his mother still lives.”