Charlie managed to remain silent for a few more minutes.
‘Apparently, it’s not that warm, even in the summer.’
Simm sighed. There was nothing to be done. He straightened up in his seat and prepared for conversation.
‘You’ve been doing your research, I see.’
‘Of course, you can’t travel without doing research first.’
‘I didn’t think you knew much about travelling. This is your first time on a plane.’
‘You’re right. I know nothing about travelling, but I can still figure things out.’
‘Did you never go on family vacations as a kid?’
‘No, not at all. My father worked very hard, and when he took a vacation, he just wanted to rest and get things done around the house. He was a homebody more than anything.’
‘What about your mom?’
‘I don’t think she liked to go anywhere either. At least, she never complained or talked about travelling. She seemed to like to stay close to home. My dad went to Ireland once, but he went with Jim.’
‘He went to Ireland? When did he go? Why would he go with Jim?’ Charlie had Simm’s full attention now.
‘I don’t know when he went. Maybe before I was born. I just remember him mentioning he went to Ireland with Jim. I didn’t ask why.’
‘Your mother didn’t go with them?’
‘No. Now that you mention it, I remember her not being happy about the conversation. She seemed very annoyed with my father for bringing it up. I guess she wasn’t happy about not going with them.’
‘What about Jim’s wife? Did she go?’
‘I don’t know. Again, I didn’t ask.’
Simm had a feeling this information was significant for some reason. It was odd Pat Butler and Jim would go off to Ireland together. As if reading his thoughts, Charlie piped up.
‘I never thought it was a big deal. I mean, Dad and Jim were good friends. Jim went to Ireland many times before. I guess he just wanted to share the experience with my dad. It wasn’t that unusual.’
She sounded as if she wanted to convince herself.
‘Why did Jim go to Ireland so often? What was he doing there?’
‘I don’t know exactly. Jim was very proud of his Irish heritage. He was born in Canada, but his father was born in Ireland, and he had a large extended family over there. Whenever he met an Irishman, he treated him like a member of the family. I imagine he travelled to Ireland to visit his relatives and to stay close to his roots.’
Simm thought she may have a point, but there were too many coincidences to make him comfortable with the explanation.
‘You never thought it strange that an outgoing, back-slapping mobster was friends with a quiet, introverted dentist?’
‘Don’t call him a mobster. He wasn’t like that.’
‘He was arrested as a person who had a connection to the mob. That makes him a mobster.’
‘If you want to be technical about it, you’re right. But he wasn’t like that. He was such a nice, friendly, kind man. He would give the shirt off his back to whomever needed it. I think his problem was that he couldn’t say no. That’s probably what happened. The West End Gang asked him for something, and he said yes. You heard Marty Sullivan say Jim was a great guy. They were friends. Sullivan is another Irishman. Jim would do anything for another Irishman.’
‘I understand, but you didn’t answer my question. Didn’t you find it strange that Jim and your dad made such an odd pair?’
Charlie stared out the window for several moments. Then, she turned and looked at Simm with a sad expression.
‘Yes, I did.’
Chapter 41:
‘We could die today.’
‘We’re not going to die. We’re perfectly safe.’
‘If this plane crashes, there’s no way we’d survive.’
Simm had succeeded in distracting Charlie for a short while, but when their conversation ended, she reverted to worrying about the flight.
‘It won’t crash. There are less deaths by air travel than there are by car. It’s proven.’
‘At least in a car you have a chance of survival.’
‘Stop being paranoid. It’ll be okay.’
‘I’ve always had a fear of dying alone, with just a stranger by my side.’
‘That’s not the case. I’m here.’
‘I hardly know you.’
‘What are you talking about? We’ve known each other for weeks.’
‘Superficially. I know nothing about you or your background.’
Simm banged his head against the headrest.
‘That’s what this is all about? You’re trying to manipulate me into telling you about my family?’
‘You know about mine.’
‘That’s not true and you know it. I’ve been trying to find out about your family since day one, and it’s like pulling teeth.’
Charlie stared out the window for a minute, and then twisted in her seat to face him.
‘All right, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll tell you about my family if you tell me about yours.’
Simm considered the offer thoughtfully. He felt he needed to know more to move the case along, but he detested the idea of revealing his life to Charlie. On the other hand, if he was crafty enough, there was sure to be a way to sugar-coat it.
‘Deal. You first,’ he said.
Charlie looked at him with narrowed eyes, obviously trying to read him. He worked on giving her his most innocent face. It apparently worked, because she turned face-forward again, put her head back, and began to talk.
‘I had a great childhood, or at least, it was great from my standpoint, and I guess that’s what counts. My parents doted on me, probably since I was the only child. I was a bit of a tomboy and spent a lot of time with my father, playing ball, going hiking and fishing. I really looked up to him.’
‘What about your mother?’
‘I loved her, but she was more of a background player for me. She took care of me physically, and kept me organized, clean, and healthy, but she wasn’t the type to get overly involved in my activities. It was my dad who did that.’
Simm saw the sadness creep into her expression.
‘And then he didn’t anymore,’ she said.
‘He left,’ Simm said.
‘You knew?’
‘I knew they were divorced, but I don’t know the reasons behind it.’
‘You and me both. One day he was there, and we were all happy, and the next he was gone, like we never existed.’
‘You didn’t see him again?’
‘Yes, but it was awkward, and it was obvious he didn’t want to be there.’
‘Was there another woman?’
‘No, apparently not. He changed. It’s as simple as that, but at the same time, it wasn’t all that simple.’
‘What was your mother’s reaction?’
‘Strange. It was very strange. It was more of a non-reaction, as if she expected it. When I asked her, she said they had grown apart, but that was bullshit. You don’t grow apart from one day to the next. And, she also changed after he left, or maybe it all happened simultaneously. I can’t say. She became…I don’t know…bitter, I guess. She would say things about my dad, like how weak he was. I never thought of him as weak.’
‘How old were you?’
‘Fifteen.’
‘You were pretty young. Maybe everything had seemed great between them, but they’d succeeded in hiding it from you.’
/> ‘Maybe you’re right.’
‘What happened after that?’
‘Jim stepped up to the plate. He took me under his wing. As a friend of my father, he had continually been a background presence in my life, but he moved into the foreground. He gave me a job in the pub and became my mentor.’
‘Why do you think he did that?’
Charlie shrugged. ‘I always assumed it was because he loved me.’
‘That’s believable.’
‘So, that’s my story. Your turn,’ she said, turning to face him. He sighed.
‘I had a pretty normal childhood. I have a brother and a sister. Walt, you’ve met. Susan is my sister, the youngest of the kids.’
‘Are your parents still together?’
‘They might have been, I guess. My mom died of cancer when I was thirteen, Susan was eight.’
‘That’s awful.’
‘It was. My father remarried a few years later. They’re still together.’
‘Do you like your stepmother?’
‘Yeah, she’s okay. She was good to us.’
‘And?’
‘And what?’
‘What’s the issue you have with your brother?’
‘I don’t have an issue with him. We get along fine.’
‘Do you see him often?’
‘Not really. We’re both busy. Charlie, you’re looking for something that isn’t there. You won’t find anything interesting in my life story,’ he lied.
‘We’ll see. I still need more details about Helen.’
Simm laid his head back and closed his eyes. He had dodged the bullet for now, but he knew it would turn around like a boomerang and come back at him someday soon.
‘There aren’t any more details to give. Besides, we agreed to discussing only our families today.’
‘I know. That’s okay. I’ll be patient.’
Simm gave a short laugh. ‘That’ll be something new.’
Chapter 42:
The remainder of the flight, for the most part, was uneventful. There were two other instances when Simm’s knee was attacked. The first time was when they had some turbulence, but luckily for him there was only one incident of rough skies. The second, of course, was on landing. Simm knew that would be another tricky part. If she reacted badly to takeoff, the landing was likely to be worse, but he came out of the experience relatively unharmed.
They landed in Dublin to rare, clear skies and 15-degrees Celsius temperature. After they picked up their luggage, they grabbed a taxi for the ten-minute ride to the hotel. Simm had booked adjoining rooms for three nights, hoping that would be long enough to track down Aidan Connelly and get the answers they needed.
The rooms were clean and comfortable, as expected. Charlie wanted a refreshing shower before setting out to Dublin center. It occurred briefly to Simm he should take off without her while she was in the shower, but he knew the recriminations would be painful. He also knew she would find him, and it would be nothing short of embarrassing.
Within half an hour, they were on their way, again by taxi. Their destination was An Garda Siochana Headquarters. Simm was sure he had botched the pronunciation of the name, but the good-spirited taxi driver didn’t blink an eye.
When they arrived, it was to a locked-down and gated establishment. Both Simm and Charlie had to produce identification, be searched for weapons, and give a reason for being there.
Simm’s statement that he was a private investigator from Canada, searching for the key to a crime in said country, was enough to allow them entrance.
The taxi driver, however, wasn’t allowed to drive through, so Charlie and Simm walked through the gate and over to the main building. It was a large stone building, undoubtedly built several decades earlier. The inside was modernized, giving it a bright, efficient look.
The desk sergeant spoke in a particularly heavy Irish brogue, and they had to ask him to repeat himself twice before they knew what he asked them. Finally, they were shown to a waiting area that was decorated with enlarged photographs taken from various periods in the police station’s history. Charlie remained standing and browsed through them as they waited. She had changed from her jeans into a pair of beige dress pants and a light sweater. Her hair was shiny and thick, standing out against her sweater. Simm noticed she had added a touch of lipstick. The only other occasion he had seen her wearing lipstick was when they visited Marty Sullivan.
The same desk sergeant showed up and said something in his unintelligible accent, but from his hand movements they understood they were being shown to another room. The man they met there was not tall, but very round. He had wisps of red hair circling his head with a shiny pate on top.
‘Hello to you both. My name’s Inspector James O’Reilly.’
They took turns shaking the man’s extended hand. Charlie gave Simm a quizzical look, as if to say, ‘Could it be a relation?’. Simm shook his head slightly to ask her not to pursue it. The amount of O’Reilly’s in Ireland would be astounding.
‘Would you know Jim O’Reilly?’ she asked. ‘His family’s here in Ireland, and he used to come visit them frequently.’
Simm wondered why he went to the trouble of sending her a mental message when she chose to ignore it.
‘Well now, there are a lot of us O’Reillys in Ireland, and a good many would be named Jim, as I am meself. Is this the nature of your business here? Are ya looking for this Jim lad?’
Simm stepped in, hoping to gain control of the situation.
‘Not really. Jim passed away a few years ago. We’re looking for a man who may have been an acquaintance or associate of his, Mr. Aiden Connelly. Would you have any information about him?’
‘Another common name. Would this man happen to be a criminal? I ask because ya chose to go through us to find him. That leads me to believe he may not have always walked the straight and narrow.’
Simm and Charlie exchanged a glance.
‘Possibly,’ Simm offered. ‘All I know is that he was from Ballymun.’
‘Oh, Ballymun. Well that may narrow it down a bit. Let’s see if I can help ya out with that. Sit yerselves down now.’
Charlie and Simm waited while the policeman entered information into his computer. Simm noticed his expression became grimmer as the minutes went by. The man sighed.
‘Well, I have a few Aidan Connellys from Ballymun in the system. We would have to try and narrow it down by a bit more. Would ya know how old the fella might be?’
‘Jim would have been in his late sixties by now. I’m not sure if they were contemporaries or not, but let’s see if anyone fits into that age group,’ Charlie suggested.
‘Yes, there would be one about sixty-five years of age.’
‘Is he still alive?’ she asked.
‘Well now, that’s a bit hard to say. He was alive about ten years ago when he was released from prison.’
‘What did he do time for?’ Simm wanted to know.
‘He was involved in a variety of crimes. Worked for the mafia, he did.’
‘I think he’s probably the one we’re looking for. Do you have any information that would tell us how to find him?’ Simm said.
‘Not a lot. I can give ya his last known address.’
The policeman hesitated and glanced at Charlie before addressing Simm again.
‘I could give ya some names of his past associates, but I don’t think they’d be the friendly sort, if ya know what I mean. It could be dangerous.’
‘We’ll take the information, and we’ll decide how we’ll handle it from there. But, don’t worr
y, we won’t take any unnecessary risks.’
‘I’d appreciate that, lad. I don’t want to get called out just to find the two of you in deep trouble, or worse.’
Chapter 43:
‘So, will we go to the address now?’
‘Not yet, we’re going back to the hotel and we’ll sleep for a bit.’
‘I’m not tired,’ she said.
‘You will be. To keep ahead of the jet lag, a little nap is called for. Then we’ll check out the address.’
Charlie frowned, but didn’t put up an argument. Simm took that as a good sign. He deposited her outside the door of her room, and continued to his. Once inside, he didn’t lie down. He stood at the window for a few minutes, paced the floor, and occasionally listened at the adjoining door. He heard the toilet flush and a small noise as if someone had sat on the bed. He guessed he was safe.
He opened the door to the corridor and closed it softly behind him. The elevator was around a corner and far enough away from the room. He knew she wouldn’t hear the noise.
In the lobby, he stopped by the desk to ask for a map of the Ballymun region. Map in hand, he turned to leave and bumped into Charlie. An angry-looking Charlie.
‘I knew it. This was your plan. Dump me in a room and then leave.’
‘I couldn’t sleep. I decided to go for a walk, get to know the area.’
‘You are such a liar, Mr. Simm Simmons.’
‘Okay, I’ll admit it. I was going to check out the address, but just to see what the area’s like, nothing else.’
‘Liar. C’mon let’s go.’
‘Charlie, I don’t want you to come with me. We don’t know what this place is like. It could be dangerous. Let me check it out first, and I’ll come back for you.’
‘No way. I’m going with you now.’
Simm didn’t think he had ever met anyone so hard-headed before. There was no reasoning with her. And there was no way around it. Either they turned back and returned to Montreal, or they did what they had set out to do. Since Simm didn’t want to waste his time or this trip, he gave her his fiercest scowl and turned to the door.
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