“So, you got out of the Navy and became a private eye then.”
“No, I went to law school at San Francisco University. After I passed the bar, I went to work for a small law firm. I was doing routine pleadings and business contracts when they needed an investigation done on a client’s business partner. I wrapped that up in week and I was hooked. I opened an office a week later and have been very busy ever since.”
Mr. O’Doherty was impressed. “Well, I would have loved to have you interview for position at my company.”
“You did, Mr. O’Doherty, I interviewed at Standard Oil of California. You were in the conference room when I was interviewed.”
He was a little taken aback. “I’m sorry I don’t remember. I wish we would have offered you a job.”
“You did, Mr. O’Doherty. I had to decline because of a family emergency.”
A maid came in and placed a tray of canapés on the coffee tray. She straightened up and let out a small scream.
“Lieutenant O’Farrell. My God, lad, it’s you.” I stood and hugged her. It was Maureen O’Reilly, who I knew from my days in the Navy. She started to cry and told me how sorry she was, and how she prayed for me and my family. She was so overcome by emotion that I walked her out of the room and put my arm around her. I took her to the kitchen and sat her on a stool. She lowered her head into her lap and wept. Several of the ladies in the kitchen surrounded her and gave her support. I was getting embarrassed; I told her she did nothing of the kind, and returned to the parlor.
Mrs. O’Doherty and Kaitlin was a little shaken and concerned. “Is she all right, Sean? What was that about?”
I knew this moment would come.
“Might I ask what happened?” Shamus asked politely.
“Mrs. O’Reilly was my housekeeper in Alameda. She also helped my wife with our baby daughter.”
The words hung in the air; I had to let it out.
“My wife and one-year-old daughter were killed by a drunk driver. My wife Barbara was walking our daughter Susan in a bassinette; the Packard was going forty-five in a twenty. They were both dead on impact.”
I didn’t mean to drop this on them; I was hoping the Pinkerton’s report had included that information. But apparently Shamus didn’t know. I guess they weren’t very efficient.
Mrs. O’Doherty had tears streaming down her face. I knew she understood my pain.
“God almighty lad, I’m so sorry. I feel like a fool for asking. How could things be any worse than that?”
“That was bad enough, but that evening my father died of a heart attack. My mother died two weeks later. She had cancer and we never knew it.”
The room was quiet for several minutes. Kaitlin developed a perplexed look on face, then it turned to anger. I was getting a good look at Kaitlin O’Doherty about ready to explode.
“Daddy, I never told you that Sean and I were the same age.”
Shamus O’Doherty looked like a cat with a mouth full of canary, he was cornered. He had that look like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He started to hem and haw.
Kaitlin’s voice was rising.
“Daddy.”
I cut in.
“I’ll tell you how he knew, Kaitlin. He got the report on me from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. It probably came today.”
Mrs. O’Doherty was on her feet.
“Shamus O’Doherty! You promised me that you would never do this type of thing again. You said you would not poke and pry into Kaitlin’s private affairs.”
I jumped in.”
“Mrs. O’Doherty, please.” I put up my hand a motioned for her to sit down, and she did so gracefully.
“I’m a private detective, I don’t get into much trouble with my work, but you and your husband don’t know that. But if I was in your husband’s shoes, I would wonder how safe my daughter is with this guy. I lost my wife and my daughter. I can never change that. I would give anything to have been in a position to protect them. Your husband is in charge of a multinational corporation. He needed to know who I was and if I am worthy of the opportunity to gain your trust, and more importantly, if can I be trusted with Kaitlin. I would have done the same thing.”
Mrs. O’Doherty was satisfied, but gave Shamus a cold hard look. “We’ll discuss this matter later, Shamus” was all she said.
Oh, I bet they would. And Kaitlin might have something to say about this also.
Mr. O’Doherty was on his feet.
“Let’s eat.” The women walked out first. Shamus O’Doherty hung back a little. He slapped my back as we went out.
“You really are a silver-tonged devil, another fast-talking lawyer. Well, son, you saved my butt tonight, thank you.”
I smiled broadly. “Next time, hire somebody good. I made the Pinkerton on the first day.”
Shamus and I both chuckled as we drank the rest of our scotch, which had to be thirty year or older. It was the best I ever had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Dinner consisted of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with garlic green beans and fresh rolls. Dessert was lady fingers, cherries and kirsch. It was great. Mr. O’Doherty opened the wine I brought, and opened another halfway through the meal. Kaitlin painted her parents as tough customers, but they were actually very nice, just protective. In many ways, they were like my parents, only richer.
The conversation was light and humorous. The O’Doherty’s were wonderful and gracious people. I liked them; I was hoping the same was true in reverse.
When it was time to go I thanked them for the wonderful evening. We shook hands and Kaitlin showed me to the door. She walked me to the car.
“How did I do?”
“Well, I think they like you, and that’s saying something.”
I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close. I gave her a kiss. She returned my kiss and asked me to call her soon.
As I was getting into the Ford there was a note on my windshield: MEET ME AT THE TOP OF THE MARK IN THIRTY MINUTES, SHAMUS.
Well when the Irish Pope says come to a meeting, you go see the Irish Pope.
I drove a couple of blocks over to California and parked in front of the John Hopkins Hotel, across the street from the Fairmont Hotel and the Union Pacific Club.
The kid running the elevator was pleasant. “Which floor, sir?” he said.
“Top of the Mark, please.”
I have been to the Mark a few times. It offers the best view in San Francisco, a three-hundred-and-sixty degree view of the city. This evening was clear as a bell. It was so clear you could easily see sailors walking on the deck of a tanker in the middle of the bay. The Top of the Mark was empty, not a soul in the place.
I went over to the bar and took a stool. The bartender came over and placed a cocktail napkin on the bar in front of me.
“Good evening, sir. Welcome to the Top of the Mark, what can I prepare for you?”
“I’m meeting someone here for a drink. I’ll wait for him, if you don’t mind?”
“Not at all, sir. Mr. O’Doherty should be along in ten minutes.”
“How did you know I am meeting Mr. O’Doherty?”
“Sunday evenings are quiet here; things slow down after brunch. Mr. O’Doherty is here every evening at nine p.m., almost every night.”
I heard the elevator door open and out came Shamus O’Doherty. He had the dogs on a leash. He strolled right in and released the dogs’ leashes. They both sat and waited. Mr. O’Doherty went behind the bar and pulled something out from the lower shelf. It was a large, cushy-looking dog bed. He walked over to a corner and waved for me to join him. He put down the bed, and the two dogs ran over, got in, and laid down.
I looked at the bartender. “He’s a regular, I assume?”
He smiled and laughed. “Yes, sir. He drinks scotch, neat. What would you like?�
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“I’ll have the same.”
I sauntered over to the table. The dogs did not even look at me funny.
“Pull up a chair, Sean.” Shamus looked at the dogs in the bed, then me. “Don’t worry about the lads. All that barking at the house was just a show for Katie and her mother.”
I didn’t quite follow him. “Excuse me?”
“Katie thinks these dogs are hers. They are sort of; they would give their lives to protect her. But in reality they are mine, they have testicles, and they know where the bread is buttered, so to speak.” He took out a couple of dog treats from his jacket pocket. The pair eagerly snapped them up and sank back down.
“I asked you here, Sean to lay my cards on the table. I am a no-nonsense plain talker. I am going to speak my mind, but I wanted to do without the women around. Man to man. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” I said.
The bartender delivered the drinks.
“Thanks, Patrick, you are a good lad.” Mr. O’Doherty took a short pull and carefully considered his words.
“I know you look around my house and think I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My parents, God rest their souls, came to this great country with nothing but a dream. They worked hard and both died young. My older brothers and sisters raised me and kept the family together. I worked hard every day from the age of ten. I sold papers, delivered coal, moved furniture, and loaded cargo on ships, even shoveled shit at a horse paddock. I worked hard in school, but God was good to me and he gave me a skill. I was a boxer, a good boxer. With good grades I got a scholarship to Harvard. I made good use of my time and did very well; I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and geology.
“After I graduated, I got a job with an engineering firm and worked my way up. I was designing of all things, a sewage treatment plant, when Mr. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company came a-calling. They hired me away and I managed to catch on at the right time. Better than that, I became rich.”
“Sounds pretty perfect to me,” I said.
“It was almost perfect. I was at a Harvard Club society do one Christmas and my eye caught a beautiful young thing. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon. The same thing went for every other available man in the room. Catherine O’Shea was a sight. She was handsome, bright and a wonderful dancer. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. Well, I made up my mind right then and there that I would marry her one day.”
“I’m going to guess that you achieved that goal, Mr. O’Doherty.”
“Knock off that Mr. O’Doherty stuff. Call me Shamus. You should know right here and now that I like you.” Shamus took another tug on his scotch.
“I asked for a dance, and I believe she was smitten as well. Mr. and Mrs. O’Shea, on the other hand, had long ago decided that their daughter was going to do better than me. They had narrowed the families she might marry into down to two, and one did not include poor Shamus O’Doherty, the Southie boy from Charlestown. I think they thought since I was poor and from Charlestown, I was a gang member. Her father refused to allow me to see her, but I was persistent. It took me three years until I think they figured I had won her heart and they weren’t going to stop us. So we married.”
“I can sure see where Kaitlin gets her looks.”
“Well, she is a beauty like her mother. But Katie is stubborn like a mule and hot-tempered like I am. You need to know several things, Sean. I don’t want to appear to be forward, but you have to know certain things so you understand why the O’Doherty’s are the way we are.
“After we were married for a year, my Catherine became pregnant. Kaitlin was born, but she was a twin. Her brother was stillborn. My Catherine started bleeding and they couldn’t stop it. She was in surgery for six hours, and she lost a great deal of blood and she slipped into a coma. I found out in the surgery she lost her ability to have any more children. But that was the least of my problems. I had a new baby daughter and a wife in a coma. I nearly lost my mind.”
Shamus teared up. It was thirty-two years later and it still brought out strong emotions. I put my hand on his shoulder. He quickly pulled himself together.
“After eight days God shined upon me and my Catherine came back to me. She spent three weeks in the hospital, but a cloud came over her for a year. She was so depressed for so long. When she brightened up again and became her old self, she became a wonderful mother. She has never spoiled Katie, but she is very protective of her. She is all we have left. Has Katie told you about some of her past suitors?”
“Yes, she has. She was pretty upfront about it all.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph: a philanderer, a fruit, and woman-beater. I have to tell you right here and now, that that last bastard nearly killed my wife. She is hyper-vigilant now when it comes to Katie.”
“The first two that she was engaged to was one thing, but what happened to the last one that beat her?”
“Katie was in the hospital; her face was so bruised she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Her lips were so split that we couldn’t understand her when she tried to talk. I cried like a baby for an hour, and then I went looking for that bastard. I found him at the Harvard Club and I confronted him. The little weasel denied it, and then he told me I should have taught my daughter better manners and maybe her mouth wouldn’t have gotten her into that kind of trouble. Then he told me that the bitch got what she deserved. It took nine men to keep me from getting to him. He just sat there and laughed at me with a smug look on his face.”
Shamus wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and tried to regain his composure.
“I can see why you hired the Pinkertons. I’ll make a guess: I was not the first guy you had checked out?”
“True, I’m sorry about that, but I had to know who my little girl was seeing. They wrote a glowing report about my boy. I did have a question; you hit .340 and no errors at first base in your senior year and were offered a contract by the Seals?”
“I couldn’t accept it; I was committed to the Navy after college. Besides, I was married and a baby on the way, and baseball wasn’t that solid of a career. What became of the last guy that hit Kaitlin?”
“He got his comeuppance. Three weeks later he was robbed in an alley three blocks from the club. They beat him with a shillelagh and broke his arm in two places, and his left knee was shattered. Before you even ask, I was home with Catherine and Katie.”
“How much did it cost you?” I asked.
Shamus didn’t hesitate.
“One hundred bucks for the two of them. Best money I ever spent.” He spoke with a great deal of satisfaction.
The bartender, Patrick, brought another round.
“A month after he was taken care of, he came limping into the club. This time he didn’t have the smug look on his face. I looked right at him, and he knew I had it done. The lad didn’t understand the concept of the eleventh commandment.”
“The eleventh commandment?” I asked.
“Thou shall not get away with it. Little bastard laid hands on my little girl. He’s lucky to be alive.”
We were quiet for a moment.
“She is scared to death, Sean; her mother is even more frightened. I’ll be perfectly honest with you; her mother is going to be a real problem for you. You need to hear this from me; I’m in your corner. I know you just met her a few days ago, but I have a strong feeling about you. I haven’t seen my little girl smile like the way she smiles at the mention of your name since we left Boston four years ago. I like to think that I am a good judge of character, Katie can be a real handful, but I think you are up to the task. If you want to pursue her, I’m all for it. I’ll help you with her mother. As far as Katie goes, you are on you own with that chore, lad. I only ask one thing.”
“I can guess: don’t ever hurt her.”
“Right you are. I won’t have to pay a hundred buck
s to have it take care of you. I’ll have the lads here eat your balls for breakfast.”
A low-level growl in unison came from under the table.
“Okey dokey. Point well taken.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I took the elevator down from the Mark with Shamus. We shook hands and I saw him walk off with the lads in tow. I liked him. He was a straight shooter and that’s a rare item in this world. Kaitlin’s mother and father were strong-willed people; I could see where she gets her independent streak.
I climbed into the Ford and headed home. I had spent a great deal of time with Kaitlin and her family this weekend. Tomorrow was Monday, and I had a load of work to accomplish during the day. I had to arrange the meeting with the Wang’s and the Broadcreek’s, as well as their entourages. I was taking the Delta Queen to Sacramento to follow Morehouse for perhaps the last time. This time I needed to visit his bookie.
I got home and went right to bed. It had been a great weekend, but it was over, and I needed to get serious and get my head back in the game. I needed to rest, and most of all I needed to get Kaitlin O’Doherty out of my head. That would be hard to do. It took me over an hour to fall asleep even though I was exhausted.
In the morning I packed an overnight bag, put on the double-holster rig, and drove to the office.
Marty waved a Boston cream donut under my nose as soon as I walked in. I reminded him about the summit at the St. Francis, set for Wednesday evening at six. I got up the office and started making phone calls.
Special Agent Ashwythe at the Special Task Force Office said that he and Dunderbeck would be available. I told them that I expected the Broadcreek’s to come to this meeting on their own. They just needed to show up at the St. Francis. I gave him Jerry Ronkowski’s name and phone number. I told him which room the meeting was going to be in. There was a long pause on the phone.
“Listen, O’Farrell, Dave and I were talking. We don’t think you are going to be able to talk the old man into coming. He is one tough bird; he is so stubborn he may not come, just to be contrary.”
The Halfway to Hell Club Page 12
