The door opened and a suit and tie walked in. CJ wondered if it was Detective Reason, who the police officer had referred to. He stopped in front of Agent Taffer.
"I'm on hold," Taffer said. "What you got, Detective?"
The detective presented him with a folded sheet of paper. Taffer glanced at it.
Taffer's surprise was evident. "Is this the statement?"
"It is. The British Delegate was presented with one, in a business-size envelope, just before he was shot with paintballs. They left several more scattered about."
"Do you know if they also released this to the press?"
"Haven't heard at this point."
Taffer's attention returned to his phone. "John Taffer here. Keep an eye on all the news outlets. Let me know what pops up in the reporting of this. There might be a statement being released by UIRA. It seems that that might have been their purpose, simply to gain attention and then release a statement of who they are and what their goals are, their mission statement, you might say." There was a pause and then he said, "How do I know they might release a statement? I'm holding one in my hand. I just want to know if it has been released to the media... Right."
Taffer put the phone away and then took a few minutes to read through the statement. When done he handed it over to Josh.
CJ and Stella looked over his shoulder.
UIRA
United Irish Republican Army
Sinn Féin of the Saorstát Éireann
We Ourselves of the Irish Free State
Dedicated toward the Sovereignty, Independence and full Irish freedom of the 32 for the reestablishment of the united and free people of Éire, the Sinn Féin of the Irish Republic.
We, the united and free people of Éire, demand to be recognised as the representatives of the United Ireland, as Sinn Féin of the Irish Republic, Sinn Féin of the Saorstát Éireann, We Ourselves of the Irish Free State.
We, the united and free people of Éire, in the spirit of the Proclamation of 1916, its ideals and principles, and the Ireland Act of 1949, declare the full and forever tireless struggle toward Saorstát Éireann, the Irish Free State.
We, the united and free people of Éire, declare the right of Irish people as a whole to flourish in national self-determination, with complete and total independence from all control–politically, militarily and financially–from Britain and the United Kingdom, bordered entirely and inclusively by the Irish Sea, the North Channel, St. George's Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
We, the united and free people of Éire, declare our sovereignty, and shall stand against any and all denial of our national and democratic rights.
We, the united and free people of Éire, shall not rest before the full realisation of an Irish Democratic Socialist Republic.
We, the united and free people of Éire, declare the presence of basic human rights, that is to say that in the spirit of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we...
are all born free
have the right to a fair and free world
have the right to live our lives, freely and safely
shall not be made slaves nor take anyone else as slaves
shall not torture nor be tortured
have a right to our nationality
have the right to public assembly
have the right to democracy, to take part in our government, to choose our leaders
are all equal before the law
cannot be denied our rights as they are protected by the law
We, the united and free people of Éire, declare the presence of basic civil rights to include civil liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws and freedom from discrimination.
We, the united and free people of Éire, shall recognise the equality of linguistic diversity as well as the dominance of Irish of which shall be taught in all schools.
We, the united and free people of Éire, shall maintain the right to exercise prudent force as necessary to compel the British to withdrawal from Northern Ireland; in two words... BRITS OUT!
We, the united and free people of Éire, are the United Irish Republican Army and shall be dedicated toward the realisation of all rights and declarations as stated here within.
Signed, the UIRA council.
"This isn't much different from other statements released by the various factions of the Irish Republican Army over the years," CJ said. "What's the point and why go to so much trouble, take such risks? They could have easily released it without the fanfare."
"Who would have read it?" Taffer said.
"Who's going to read it now," Josh said, "and will it change anyone's mind at the levels that will make a difference?"
Taffer considered that for a moment. "That's a good question. I don't know. It does seem like there's another shoe waiting to drop here somewhere, doesn't it."
"It does," CJ said.
Taffer's phone rang again. "Yeah," he said into it. After a few seconds he said, "What network?" and then, "All of them!?"
He put his phone away and said to Josh, "Pull up CNN on your tablet. They've got the statement with pictures. YouTube has video and it is in the process of going viral."
"Video?" CJ exclaimed. "Of what?"
"The British delegate getting shot with paintballs while you two lounged around in your suicide vests."
"Lounged around?"
"It includes a voiceover of someone reading the statement."
Josh propped up the tablet so they all could watch the YouTube video, the views of which were already in the tens-of-thousands and rapidly climbing.
"Holy..." Stella said.
"Exactly," Josh said.
"So you think this is the second shoe?" CJ said.
"Actually, I hope so. I was afraid that the second shoe was going to be another attack with real bullets and/or real explosives, so if this is all it is, we can weather the storm."
"I'm glad our faces were covered," Stella said and then turned to Taffer. "Our names aren't going to be released, are they?"
"We won't give your names out, however, I can only speak for the FBI. Who knows what the locals will do."
"Can you put some pressure on them?" she asked.
"I can only try."
After a minute of contemplation by everyone, Stella said, "When can we leave, go back to our hotel?"
"Anytime," Taffer said. "As a matter-of-fact, go! Get out of here! Please check for flights back to Arizona along the way. You're starting to fall into the category of houseguests and leftovers."
"We're not leftovers or houseguests," CJ said.
"Yeah, but the effects are the same."
CJ and Stella looked at each other, CJ sticking out his bottom lip. "Are you ready to go home?" he said.
Stella looked between CJ and Taffer, then at Josh. CJ could almost read her mind; he'd been getting better at predicting her moods lately so he had a good idea what she was thinking, and she didn't disappoint.
"I don't think our work here is done," she said. "Besides, you promised to take me sailing."
CJ grinned. "That I did. We have a date." He turned to Taffer. "Could we get a lift back to St. Petersburg?"
Chapter 44
Following a long hot shower, another icing for him, a change of dressing for her, and a nap, Stella and CJ dressed for dinner and prepared to go out by themselves. Josh had decided that the two of them no longer needed a bodyguard, so he was off doing FBI stuff with Taffer, or doing the bidding of Taffer seeing as he was down two agents at the moment. Blain was still with his family. His mother had made a turn for the worse and then died. There remained a sliver of doubt about Coulter, despite the theory that CJ presented about Douglas being compromised and then used to feed false information to his handlers.
Agents Taffer and Washburn were back in Tampa, the Orlando field office handling the investigation of the World Center paintball attack. Josh was to remain onboard until Coulter was fully reinstated and Blain had returned, at least a week.
There was still a lot of work to do trying to follow the trail of all the players, which they figured numbered somewhere between ten and fifteen.
Stella had gone online to find a restaurant, expecting that they'd drive somewhere, only to discover something to their liking within walking distance. She made reservations for thirty minutes and then they set out on foot for the less than half-mile walk.
When they stepped through the door of z grille, Stella said, "I don't know why I made reservations middle of the afternoon. They aren't at all busy and certainly not as fancy as I thought considering they offered an on-line reservations service."
"Would you rather we go somewhere else?" CJ said.
"No. Actually, this looks perfect, don't you think?"
CJ shrugged and looked around. "Sure."
As the name, z grille, implied, it was a walk-off-the-street grille; big windows along two sides, counter seating at the grill area with a widescreen television displaying a sports commentator talking about football, indoor and outdoor seating elsewhere. The upscale twist involved a huge wall display of a variety of fine wines.
They placed their orders, choosing a wine to start, and seated themselves out on the sidewalk under a huge red umbrella and a tall palm tree. Stella sighed. "Now I feel like we are on vacation."
"After what we've been through the last few days, going back to Tucson would be a vacation," CJ said.
"No kidding." She watched him for a few minutes. "What's the matter?"
CJ had felt uncomfortable even before they opened the door. Now he was looking up and down the street, as though expecting someone. "I..." He looked over at Stella, surprised that she had noticed. "The place felt odd from the moment we walked up. Now I know why. This brings back memories of the front of the coffee shop three days ago. The four of us were sitting under an umbrella just like this when a bomb came flying at us and all hell broke loose."
"I doubt very much that's going to happen again, but I understand your fidgetiness." She looked up and down the street as well. "We can go inside if you want."
"No. I'll get over it. It'll be fine."
"How're your ribs doing?"
"Sore. I have to say, as much as I hate to admit it, the icing does help."
"I won't say I told you so."
"Good."
"You don't have to be such a baby about it, though."
"I wasn't being a baby. It just... surprised me is all."
"Sure." She took his hand. "So, sailing tomorrow?"
"I can't wait."
After a time a waitress delivered their meals. They ate and drank wine, talked of everything expect the events of the morning, wanting to put the fake suicide vests and paintball bullets behind them, never to speak of them again. Even though it was all a sham, the fear that it raised in them was as real as it gets.
After the meal, which CJ found to be much more satisfying than he thought it would be, they ordered strawberry shortcake and double chocolate cream pie, his and hers respectively. Nothing to do to occupy his mind while waiting for the desert, CJ started looking up and down the street again. He couldn't get the bomb throwing vision out of his head.
"Why don't we go inside for dessert," Stella said. "You're starting to make me nervous."
The desserts arrived as they reseated themselves at an inside table. The waitress didn't question their move at all.
Except for murmurs of delight from Stella, and a somewhat more masculine agreement from CJ, they said little until their plates were clean, sharing bites back and forth. Then Stella went online and left a glowing review for the z grille.
"This is a different world, isn't it?" CJ said. "We eat an excellent meal and you're able to tell the world about it before we even pay for it."
"If you like something, tell someone. That's what my mom used to say."
"I think I would like her. Is she still in Cleveland with her online boyfriend?"
Stella sighed. "Yes. They seem to be doing alright, but he does have some debt he didn't disclose to her before she moved out there. She mentioned that she wanted to sell the house, but Sara and I said no."
"What is it, four years since your dad died?"
"Yes, and we think she's jumping into this thing way too fast. If she decides to sell the house, there really isn't much we can do to stop her. At least for the time being, she's listening to us. I'm just afraid that he's going to steal her heart and then steal her money. Sara and I are talking about flying up there and just dropping in on her unannounced. Sara has been there but I haven't."
"That probably wouldn't be a bad idea." CJ sat back and took a sip of the wine. "Before we go home I'd like another shot at Eddie Hall."
"You still think he's Douglas' father?"
"Yes and no. I just don't know, but I'd like to close that page one way or the other." He stared off into the distance for a time and then said, "I'm not sure that going at him directly will accomplish anything. He has already put on the mask of denial, that is that he knew nothing of Eveleen's history. I don't think he's going to back down from that. Besides, I don't think it'll be very easy to find him if he's one of the top dogs in this morning's event."
"What do you have in mind, then?"
"If he is who I think he is, Eveleen Danohough will have proof. A woman doesn't discard her history. Am I right there?"
Stella nodded. "She'll hide it, but she won't necessarily throw it away. Her apartment is probably still a crime scene. How do you propose we get in?"
"Don't we have a detective friend who's biting at the bullet to do some private investigative work?"
"He should be staying home resting."
CJ took a sip of his water. "So should we, probably."
"True."
"I'm sure he's driving Gracie crazy. She'd probably pay to get him out of the house for an hour or two."
"She might be back to work."
"Didn't she say she was extending her vacation to a week?"
Stella thought about that for a few seconds. "Maybe she did." She pulled her phone out of her purse.
A phone call and a little over an hour later, the two of them were again sitting on DuPont's back deck, admiring the view across the lake while they imparted the events of the last twenty-four hours to Parker and Gracie.
"It was all a fake?!" Up until her exclamation, Gracie had just sat there with her mouth hanging open. Now she jumped to her feet and pulled Stella into a hug. "Oh, God! That must have been awful seeing as you thought it was real."
"It was," Stella said, "and I still get the shakes thinking about it."
"When I saw it on the news this morning," Parker said, "I wondered about you guys, but thought that you'd gone back to Arizona today. Seeing as it took place in Orlando, I didn't even think to check in with my cohorts here in St. Petersburg."
Thirteen year-old Tracy came out of the house to declare that she was home from school, the last of the three to arrive, said hi to Stella and CJ and announced she'd be in her room doing homework.
Once the four of them were alone again, Stella and CJ went on to describe the looks of shock and then relief mixed with doubt on the faces of the G8 people when CJ figured out that the explosives were fakes and pulled off his vest. CJ then described his brush with hotel security, eliciting a chuckle from Parker.
"So, now the reason we're here," CJ said. He saw the concern on their faces, so he added, "It has nothing to do with that."
"Okay," Parker said.
"I'd like to be able to go through Ms. Danohough's apartment. If she was in fact Douglas' mother, she most likely has something that will prove it and maybe even spell out who his father was."
"I thought you figured it out that it was Eddie Hall," Parker said.
"There's too much doubt there, still. I'm not even sure she was his mother, though I have to say she was rather convincing. I need to find out for sure, though I don't know what difference it would make in the big picture, now that she's dead."
"You think there might be a birth ce
rtificate?"
CJ shook his head. "My understanding is that the only birth certificate was homemade and with the baby when he was left on the doorstep of the hospital and that it was believed that the mother's name that was on it was false. The father wasn't named. That would be too easy."
"Didn't she say something about giving birth in the middle of some battle in Northern Ireland?" Parker said.
"Battle of Bogside, yes. It was a riot that took place in Derry, Northern Ireland from 12 August through 14 August of 1969. Douglas was born on the 13th."
"Could it be that the mother and/or father were killed, that a friend left the baby because there was no next of kin?"
"I was told that injuries well exceeded 1,000, but that there were no deaths. Besides, Danohough told me herself that she was the one who left Douglas."
"If she was in the middle of it," Parker said, "then we can only assume that he, the father, whether he be Eddie Hall or not, was likely in the middle of it as well."
"It's a reasonable assumption."
They all sipped at their iced tea for a time, each in their own thoughts. Finally, Parker set his tea aside and stood. "Let me make a call. I could get us in there, but if the captain found out... well, I'd just rather go through proper channels, at least get Don Gorky's go ahead. As far as I know the crime scene tape has already been pulled. I would still need him to gain official access to the key."
With that, Parker walked into the house.
An hour later the three of them–Gracie saw no purpose in going along–and the building manager stepped through the door and into the apartment where Eveleen Danohough had been murdered. Although the tape had in fact been removed, nothing else had changed.
"Any idea when someone will come in to clean this place up and move her stuff out?" the building manager said. "It would be nice to have this rented out by the first of October."
"Nothing I can tell you," Parker said.
"Who did she have listed as her next-of-kin?" CJ asked.
"No one."
"No one?"
"That's right. No one. No contacts of any kind under next-of-kin. Believe me, if there had been someone I'd have called them already."
Sailing into Death (CJ Washburn, PI Book 2) Page 29