‘I hope you’re right.’
Charlie thought she heard him say, ‘So do I’, but his words were drowned out by the roar of the engine starting up, and they jolted forward roughly.
‘Charlie, you have to remember to cooperate with them,’ Simm said when the truck stopped temporarily, possibly at a traffic light. ‘Do whatever it takes for them to set you free. We’re not in this to sacrifice our lives.’
‘What about you? You have to do the same.’
‘Don’t worry about me.’
‘Don’t worry? Of course, I’m going to worry. What if we’re separated?’ The thought of something happening to Simm sent her into a fresh spasm of panic. What would she do?
‘It’s possible we will be. If you get free, head straight back to the hotel, get your passport, and fly home. I’ll meet you there.’
‘Are you crazy? I can’t just leave you here. I have to get help.’ She fought to control the trembling in her voice. She knew she had to keep her mind clear if they wanted to have a hope of getting out of this.
‘Tell the cops what happened, and then go home. You have to promise me, Charlie.’
She heard the desperation in his voice and knew it was important to him.
‘I promise,’ she said, knowing she was lying to him merely to put his mind at ease.
After several more minutes, the truck rolled to a final stop. Doors creaked open and banged shut, and heavy footsteps shuffled around them as the tailgate opened. Charlie felt a hand close around her leg. She was tugged backward by the ankle, but her hands hooked in something behind her. Her arms were dragged backward and upward, and she knew they would only go so far before they would break. She tried to scream, but it came out as a hoarse groan.
‘Be careful, ya eejit. She’s hooked.’
Loud cursing followed, and the bed of the truck dipped as someone climbed in to pick her up. Again, she was tossed, not knowing where she would land, but arms closed around her and eased her feet to the ground. She didn’t think Simm was being handled so considerately, judging by the groans and noises coming from his direction. She wished he would follow his own advice and cooperate.
They were shoved and jostled blindly, until she felt a difference in temperature and assumed they were inside a building of some kind.
‘There’s stairs in front of ya. Pick up yer feet now,’ a gruff voice commanded them.
Charlie tripped a few times, unable to balance herself with her arms, until someone became frustrated and threw her over his shoulder. She landed roughly on her feet once again when they reached the top of the stairs. She heard heavy clumping and thumping behind her, and was thankful to know Simm was being led in the same direction as her.
Her thankfulness was short-lived. She was shoved into an unlit room, pushed onto a cot, and her hood was removed in the dark.
‘Where’s Simm?’ she said, knowing she was alone in the room with this stranger. He remained silent. She saw a sliver of light when he opened the door to leave, revealing nothing but a drab hallway and the large shape of the man leaving the room. When he slammed it shut, the sound echoed through the room, and she was in darkness.
Chapter 53:
Charlie had no conception of time. Her world consisted of blackness. She understood how prisoners in solitary confinement lost their minds. She tried to focus on her predicament, hoping to find a way to escape, but her thoughts kept straying elsewhere. She spent a lot of time worrying about Simm. They hadn’t hurt her as yet, and there may be a reason for that, but she had a feeling Simm wouldn’t be treated with kid gloves. If he put up a fight, which he undoubtedly would, they would reciprocate. Add to that the fact that there were more of them, and the likelihood they were armed, and things could get very messy.
She listened for even the tiniest of noises, but heard nothing. She was either in an isolated part of the building, or the walls were soundproofed. She shivered. Her sweater and lightweight pants were not enough to shelter her from the cold and damp.
She tried to figure out who was behind their abduction. It clearly was connected to Aidan Connelly, but would he have hired a bunch of thugs to take them captive? And for what purpose? Was it just to scare them? Or did he have a plan to get rid of them permanently?
Charlie thought about the possibility she would never see Simm, Frank, or Harley ever again. As more hours passed, the more pessimistic she was about her chances of surviving the ordeal.
She fidgeted on the hard mattress beneath her. Her shoulders were aching and her hands were numb. If they wanted to keep her tied, it had to be because there was something in the room she could access and use against them. She stood and shuffled around in the dark, hoping she would bump into something useful.
She found a wall and walked around the room while leaning against it, but she never touched another piece of furniture, a picture frame, or any other object apart from the bed. She tried to venture into the middle of the room, but became disoriented, and it took several minutes to find her way back to the bed. She sagged onto the mattress, discouraged. There was nothing she could do to help herself.
She remembered Simm’s words, telling her to cooperate with them. She couldn’t cooperate with them if she didn’t know what they wanted, and she was impatient to find out what was expected of her. That was likely their strategy – make her desperate to do anything to escape this dark prison.
She must have drifted off to sleep, because she was jolted awake by the scraping of a lock, followed a moment later by the background light from the hallway as the door opened. She squinted and turned her head from the light, wishing she could look and learn something about her surroundings.
The door was shut again, dousing the room in darkness once more, but she heard someone walking toward her. A lantern was lit and set on the floor close to her. It barely illuminated her immediate area, revealing the bed, the dirty white linoleum floor, and the booted feet of the man before her.
‘Are ye happy with your new home?’
She detected a hint of glee in his voice. Her heart pounded, and she fought to control her breathing. She didn’t want him to sense her fear.
‘The cat got yer tongue, did it?’
‘Why are we here?’
‘Ya know the answer to that one. It’s Aidan. Ya were up his arse. We tried to warn ya, but ya wouldn’t listen.’
‘We’re not doing you or anyone else any harm.’
‘Askin’ questions can be harmful, didn’t ya know it. Yer diggin’ up shite and ya don’t even have a proper shovel.’
‘Why are we here?’ she repeated.
‘We wanted to have a little chat with ya.’
‘Where’s Simm?’
‘Don’t worry yer little head about yer friend. He should be okay – in a week or two.’
His laugh sent chills up Charlie’s spine. She hoped he was merely trying to scare her.
‘Now, yer very curious about our man Aidan. I suggest ya leave him alone and hightail it beyont. Ya can forget ya ever saw him.’
‘We won’t hurt Mr. Connelly. We just wanted some answers.’
‘Ya don’t say. Now what might ya be wantin’ answered?’
Charlie hesitated. Should she reveal her hand? In the spirit of cooperation, she decided to go ahead.
‘Someone’s been harassing me. We thought Mr. Connelly could tell us who and why.’
‘Harassin’ ya, ya say. And where would ya get the peculiar idea that Aidan could help ya? Why would ya be thinkin’ he had anything to do with ya?’
‘We had a lead that brought us here, to him.’
His laugh bordered on evil.
�
��Yea, I have a good idea where your lead came from. I tell ya what, I’ll be gettin’ back to ya on that one.’
He bent to pick up the lantern, but kept it too low for her to see anything but his lower body.
‘I want to see Simm.’
‘Yer not in a position to be makin’ demands, are ya now? Ya can hold yer horses for a bit longer.’
‘Could you at least untie my hands? They’ve gone numb.’
He set down the lantern again. His hand dug into his front pocket and removed an object. He pushed a button on the handle and a blade shot out. Charlie held her breath. Had she gone too far with her demands?
She leaned back as he stepped toward her.
‘Do ya want me to cut ya loose, or not? Sit still.’
She almost choked on the putrid smell rolling off him as he leaned over her and sliced through the rope tying her hands. The pain in her shoulders eased as she pulled her hands in front of her and rubbed her wrists.
‘Thank you. That’s better.’
He chuckled.
‘Ya owe me one now,’ he said, as he brushed a finger along her cheek.
Chapter 54:
Hours passed, perhaps a day, she wasn’t sure. The monotony was broken up twice by a silent person who brought in a plate of almost inedible food and a lantern. He returned several minutes later to pick up the plate and the lantern, but she was ridiculously thankful to have the brief reprieve from the interminable darkness. She used the lantern to look around her room, but it was as she had suspected, empty and windowless, except for the bed she was sitting on. Charlie asked the man questions about where they were, how Simm was, and when they would be released, but he ignored her completely, without any indication he had even heard her.
At some point, the door opened and the other man came in. She recognized the boots and the pants. He was also of a stockier build than the food delivery man, as she had come to think of him. Like before, he set the lantern on the floor beside her.
‘Well, ye’ve been providin’ some conversation for us. We’re all very curious about this harassment ye’ve been talkin’ about. What happened to ya?’
‘I received anonymous letters talking about strange things. Once I received a package with animal organs in it. Another time, someone put posters of lost children on my door with something that looked like blood.’
‘Ya don’t say now.’
The words were casual enough, but there was something in his tone that sounded like concern. She doubted it was concern for her well-being.
‘And what did the letters talk about?’
‘To me it sounded like nonsense. It was written by the same person, but repeatedly using a different name. He’d talk about how he’d have liked to live in Montreal, or how he would have liked to play sports, or things like that. It didn’t make any sense to me.’
‘I see. So, ye and yer friend decided to take it upon yerselves to find this person. And, somehow ya decided Aidan was yer man.’
‘No, we don’t think Aidan sent the letters, but we think there’s a connection, that’s all. We just have a few questions for him.’
‘And how would ya make such a grand leap from letters ye’re getting’ in Montreal to a man livin’ in peace here in Ireland?’
‘I told you. We got a lead.’
‘Don’t take me for a blitherin’ eejit. Someone gave ya a name. Who was it?’ he said, almost shouting.
Charlie swallowed. She sensed he was nearing the end of his patience, but handing over Marty Sullivan’s name was not something she was willing to do. They had been warned by the Gang boss, and she took the warning very seriously. A little white lie would do the trick.
‘We got another letter, an anonymous one, telling us to go see Aidan Connelly in Ireland.’
She hoped the lie was plausible enough for him to believe. But, he didn’t answer or react in any way. He picked up the lantern and left.
Charlie prayed she had handled it the best possible way. She lay in the darkness and second-guessed herself for hours. When she heard the lock scraping again, she didn’t even look toward the door. She assumed it was another meal, but the bark of a voice startled her.
‘Sit up. I’ve got someone who wants to talk to ya.’
Charlie scrambled to sit up straight, tucking her legs underneath her. She was surprised when a man sat on the bed beside her, openly revealing his face. He was in his forties, with a full head of black hair. He was dressed in a nice, dark suit with a white shirt and tie. He looked like a lawyer, making a stop on the way to his office. Yet, his face was far from that of an everyday lawyer. It was clean-shaven, making it easier to see the scar that ran from the corner of his mouth, over his jawline, and down his neck to disappear under his shirt collar.
His eyes were a cold blue-grey. They held no warmth and little of anything else. His gaze covered every inch of her face before trailing down her body. She suppressed a shiver.
‘You’re a very lucky woman.’
She didn’t know how to respond to that statement. At the moment, she didn’t feel lucky.
‘Aidan is being very generous with you. I would not have been so lenient.’ He paused and they exchanged stares for a few moments. ‘You’re going to leave Ireland. You’re going to leave Aidan alone. You’re going to forget he even exists. And in return for doing so, I’ll let you walk out of here, instead of sending you home in a box.’
Charlie knew he was offering her a very good deal, and she should jump at the chance to accept it. She also sensed everyone did what he said without question.
‘That’s very nice of you, but I need two things.’
His eyebrows shot upward, and she heard a grunt of surprise from the man holding the lantern, but she kept her gaze locked on the man in front of her.
‘I need Simm to leave with me unharmed, and I need to know how I’m connected to Mr. Connelly.’
‘I don’t bargain.’
‘I know, but it’s very important to me.’
‘More important than your life?’
‘It wouldn’t be much of a life if I spent it looking over my shoulder all the time, wondering when someone will attack me. And it wouldn’t be much of a life without Simm.’
She detected something in his eyes. It could be appreciation, or it could be sadistic humor. He stood and straightened the creases in his trousers. He left without another word.
Chapter 55:
Charlie lay on her back on the inflexible mattress. Tears ran down the side of her face onto the dirty pillow underneath her head. She made no effort to wipe them away. Her chest heaved with sobs. She was convinced she had signed her death warrant. Any moment now, someone would come and kill her. Simm was perhaps already dead. Maybe he would have had a chance if she hadn’t made those last demands. Maybe they would both be headed for the airport. Maybe not.
Over the next few hours, Charlie agonized about her decision. She hoped it would be quick and painless. A gunshot would be best. She had no clue how the Irish criminal mind worked, or what was their most popular method of disposing of those who dared to question them.
She should have said, ‘Thank you very much, and I’ll be off now.’. Why had she thought she could negotiate with a man like that? His eyes told the story; she just hadn’t read it properly.
Charlie eventually dozed off until something woke her. It was the scraping of the door, and once again, the same two men entered. She couldn’t see any weapons in the hands of either of them. Again, she sat up and watched as the dark-suited man sat beside her.
‘You’re a twice-lucky woman. Now, I’m going to tell you straight out that after this conversation i
s over, there will be no more bargaining. None. You either accept the deal I’m offering, or you die. Is that clear to you?’
No sound would pass her throat, so she simply nodded. She was granted a reprieve, and this time she would accept it.
‘First of all, Aidan is a personal friend of mine. I quite literally owe my life to him. And now, so do you. He insisted no harm come to you. Believe me, the boys were very eager to get their hands on you and have some fun, but because of Aidan, you were left in peace. Do you understand?’
Charlie found it hard to breathe. The picture he had painted in her head was terrifying, and she definitely felt grateful to Aidan Connelly at that moment.
‘I can assure you no one in Ireland sent you those letters, or committed any acts against you, and I can also tell you we have no idea who did. Now, regarding your demands, we have decided to grant them to you, but there will be a price to pay in return.’
He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing.
‘Your friend Simm will be brought to you, and I will count on you to keep a short leash on him. Because, if he decides not to respect the agreement, both of you will suffer the same consequence. That takes care of the first request. As for the second, I will grant you a little knowledge, and you will have to be satisfied with what you get. There will be no more. And you can do nothing with the knowledge I give you. If you try to go to the authorities, or the media, or anywhere with this, you will have broken our agreement. Are you still following me? Speak up now.’
‘Yes. Yes, I understand,’ she stammered.
‘Good. Then listen well, because I won’t be repeating it, or offering any other explanation. Many years ago, Aidan worked as a doctor. He helped women who found themselves in trouble. He helped get rid of their trouble, if you know what I mean. Do you now?’
‘Yes. He performed abortions.’
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