Blow(25)

I took it and sat on the couch. In a much calmer voice, I said, “Tell me exactly why you went to O’Shea’s like a madman today and what he told you when you were there.”

My old man let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know, Logan. There were a few factors that played into my demeanor today, but mostly I’m just tired of people getting hurt. And if this son of a bitch thinks he’s going to get a pass from Patrick because he’s blaming his wife or because his old man Mickey O’Shea, Patrick, and me grew up together, he needed to know neither means shit to Patrick. I wanted to make that crystal clear right off the bat.”

“Did you get his attention?”

“I don’t know. I hope I made him weigh his options because if he doesn’t stop thinking out of his ass, he might not even get enough time to try to right the wrong he claims his wife caused.”

Sympathy?

I got it.

He didn’t want any undue harm to come to anyone else.

And finally, I was learning something that mattered. “What makes you speculate O’Shea thinks he might get a pass?”

My old man steepled his hands. “It’s just a feeling I got on the phone.”

I treaded lightly. “Tell me more.”

“It’s the way he’s handling this whole situation. He’s not stupid. Either he thinks he can get out of this or he has an ace up his sleeve.”

“What do you think the ace might be?”

“Who knows? His wife, maybe, or the source.”

I gave him a questioning look.

“Some time ago, I was in a meeting with Patrick when Tommy burst in and announced he’d discovered an underground drug operation taking place on Blue Hill turf with a woman as the front man. Patrick didn’t ask questions. Just told Tommy to take care of it, find the source, and squash it.”

“Patrick leaves something like that for Tommy to take care of? Are you kidding me?”

“There’s been so much underground drug activity going on over the last few years, Patrick is tired of dealing with it.”

“But he chose to lead the gang.”

“I know. But Patrick only wants to deal with the girls, the goods, the numbers, and protection. The rest is up to Tommy.”

“So what happened after Patrick told Tommy to take care of it?”

“Months later, Tommy shows up out of the blue and tells Patrick he tried to find the source by playing the chick, but it didn’t work out the way he thought. Patrick flipped out and told Tommy he didn’t want to hear it, he just wants him to take care of it. Later I asked around. It turned out the girl not only somehow lost the drugs, but she lost the cash Tommy had paid her for them as well, and the worst part is, shortly after that, she went missing.”

“Who was the chick?” I already knew the answer.

My old man closed his eyes. “O’Shea’s wife.”

Interesting. Maybe she wasn’t in rehab like Elle had said. “Do you believe she somehow lost the drugs and money?”

He opened his eyes. “Do you?”

“It sounds like she was working with someone who double-crossed her or she stashed them both for later and then disappeared.”

My old man nodded in agreement.

“Where does O’Shea think she is?”

“He says he knows as much as we do. She just up and disappeared. He claims to have known nothing about the operation she was running, and says he doesn’t know where the drugs or the money are that she told Tommy she lost.”

I scrubbed my jaw. “Do you believe him?”

He flung me a look. “No reason not to. He hasn’t been involved in Blue Hill affairs at all—ever.”

“But?”

“But, no reason to believe him, either. The whole thing is weird.”

“What exactly does Patrick want from him?”

“He hasn’t told me, but my guess is he wants both the money and the drugs as compensation. I overheard Tommy say he wants the girl.”

“All three? That’s insane.”

“O’Shea’s wife disappeared with Blue Hill money and what were also, technically, their drugs. Patrick wants retribution.”

“And O’Shea. What was his answer when you told him his payday would be coming?”

“He didn’t have one. He kept quiet.”

“But he knows he needs to deliver something soon?”

“He does. I told him twice. He also knows that if he doesn’t, something bad is going to happen. All I can say is, he’s been warned.”

“And even after you delivered the message, he was still acting calm and cool, like it was no big deal?”

My father nodded.

“Do you believe he has a huge trump card to present if he doesn’t deliver all three things? Because, come on, he can’t be that stupid.”

His shoulders lifted. “He could be just buying time, hoping his wife turns back up before the deadline.”

“Or maybe he does have something in his back pocket as you mentioned earlier, like the missing drugs and money that his wife stashed away.”

He pursed his lips. “Yeah, could be either. Not sure.”

“Does he have money to front if all else fails?”

My father shrugged. “I can’t imagine he has the kind of money he’s going to need.”