Flawless(91)

Craig worked all possible trajectories and searched the buildings one by one, running his hands over stone and concrete, paint and graffiti.

He couldn’t find the bullet.

Eventually he gave up and decided to head back to Finnegan’s.

But not until he made a stop at home.

At his place, he changed. He was all set to leave when Eagan called.

“May mean nothing,” Eagan said once he’d finished talking.

Or it could mean something big.

In fact, Craig was pretty sure it did.

Glad that he had decided to change, Craig left hurriedly and headed to Finnegan’s, careful to park his car well down the block.

*

The night seemed especially long, even for a Tuesday.

At ten o’clock Declan ordered his younger brothers and Kieran to go home.

Kieran, of course, refused. She was waiting for Craig.

Danny and Kevin argued, but they finally agreed, promising that they would stay together, go straight to Declan’s place and phone when they arrived, which they did not long after they left.

Danny would return with Declan in the morning, while Kevin had another acting job for the dating service.

Declan shook his head at his sister. “You should have stayed home, all locked in, too.”

“No, I would have imploded, worrying about all of you. And now I’m not going anywhere until Craig shows up.”

“Well, we’re going to close early. We’ll lock up and wait for him.”

He announced that they were going to close by midnight. The only people left in the place were a few regulars and the cops, so no one objected when the last call went out.

Kieran saw the couple she’d pegged as plainclothes cops stop to speak to the uniformed officers, and then they left.

The two in uniform stayed. “We’re here to keep an eye on you all night,” one of them assured Kieran.

“I’m waiting for Agent Frasier to get back,” she told him.

“Then we’ll wait until he does,” the second officer said.

Kieran had walked their last customer to the door and was ready to lock it when someone came running toward the door from the street, calling her name.

“Kieran, wait!”

It was Gary Benton. He looked like hell, as if he’d been in a fight.

As if he’d been crying.

She backed away, so surprised by his appearance that she didn’t think to protest.

“Gary, what the hell? We closed early tonight.”

One of the cops came forward. “If you need us to—”

“No, no,” Gary said. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Kieran, please, I have to talk to you. About Julie.”

Declan had come forward by then, along with Marty.

She lifted a hand. “It’s all right. Give me a minute. I’ll talk to Gary in the office.”

“Wait,” one of the cops said.

“Wait?” Gary murmured. He looked at them and lifted his arms. “Frisk me, if you think I have a weapon.”

The cop took him at his word, then nodded at Kieran. “He’s clean.”

Gary followed her as she led the way to the office, Declan following close behind. The cops and Marty waited at the bar, ready to leave whenever she was.

“Care if I fool around behind the bar?” she heard Marty ask as they walked down the hall toward the office. “I did some bartending in college.”

“Go for it, Marty,” Declan said. “Knock yourself out.” Then he joined her and Gary in the office.

“What the hell is it, Gary?” Kieran demanded, closing the office door behind them. “Because if you’re in on these thefts, I’ll strangle you myself.”

“I’m not, I swear,” Gary said desperately. “But I think I know who is. Those guys who were in here with Jimmy.”

“We know that already,” she said, her tone cold and hard.

“They’re working with someone. They talked about their investor when Jimmy and I met with them. They wanted to know all about where I was working. I think...I think they were watching all of you...maybe afraid you saw something, heard something, when you were waiting on people. And then after you helped catch those thieves, they seemed to be watching you in particular. I didn’t think that much of it at first. I mean, guys watch you all the time. Then—then there was the subway thing. Kind of fishy, I thought. But then tonight I got a call. It was a raspy voice. I don’t know if it was a man or a woman. And they seemed to think that I knew something, too! They said they had Julie, and that they’d kill her if they couldn’t talk to you.”

“Kieran isn’t talking to anyone,” Declan said.

“They’re going to kill Julie!” Gary said.

“Like you care,” Kieran said. She was terrified for Julie, but she knew, too, that if she went anywhere near whoever had made that call, she would be dead herself.

“Yes, I care, damn you!” Gary said. “Yes, I was a bastard! She’s hugely successful in her career, everyone loves her—and she loves those damned dogs. Yeah, I thought I wanted something else, some excitement, someone who was into me. But I was married to her, and whether you believe me or not, I still love her. Kieran, I’m scared. I was on my way here to talk to you when someone in a mask and a frigging cape caught up to me just outside my building. Slammed me against the wall and put a knife to my throat. Told me they had Julie, and that if anyone ever wanted to see her again, I had to get you to meet up with them.”