Strong Tea

by Sheila Horgan

  You never really know what’s going on in someone else’s life. Even when you’re as close as the O’Flynns.

  Once we were done eating — Sinead ate enough for three people and their best friends — and everything that needed to go into the fridge was put in there, we moved out to the backyard to talk about the wedding.

  I was carrying out a tray full of cups and stuff for tea when I heard them all laugh and Maeve said, “Would have lost a leg on that one.”

  “What?” I put the tray down on the table, and Teagan started putting cups in front of everybody.

  Maeve laughed. “That’s the first time I think I’ve ever seen you walk away from dishes that need to be done. You didn’t even stack them. Times, they are a-changin’. I said I would have bet an arm and a leg you would never get to the point you could do that.”

  Suzi defended me. “I’ve seen her leave a mess before. Not for long… ” They all laughed again.

  “Hey, I’m not that bad.”

  “Nothing wrong with being a clean freak, dingleberry.”

  Maeve looked at Teagan. “Takes all kinds of freaks to run the world.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Maeve laughed. “Don’t you remember? When you were in about fifth grade? You got in that big argument with what’s his name — that guy that had the red bike and the blue skateboard? — anyway, you got into a huge fight with him in the front yard because you were half girl and half boy. You looked like a girl, and you acted like a boy, and he couldn’t wrap his brain around a girl that had boobs and everything and could still kick his butt in every sport. He called you a freak.”

  “I remember.” Teagan rolled her eyes. Hadn’t seen that in a while.

  “Mom came outside, and she said that he needed to learn more words. That you weren’t a freak, you were a well-rounded young lady.”

  “I remember, he made some comment under his breath about my well-rounded chest, and Mom sprung on him so fast that he didn’t have a chance to get away. She marched him all the way home and talked to his mother.”

  “Yep. Left his bike right there in the middle of the lawn, and Seamus had to ride it down the street to return it.”

  “His father came over and talked to Dad that night, too.” Maeve shook her head.

  “He did?” Teagan searched her memory. “I don’t remember knowing that.”

  “Oh, yeah, you were the talk of the neighborhood for days. Adults and kids alike.”

  “Great. Probably better I didn’t know.”

  “Some of the fathers didn’t think that you should be allowed to play sports anymore. They said you were a distraction. That you wouldn’t be able to play on school teams, and your presence would mess up their sons’ concentrations on and off the field.”

  “I didn’t know that. Nobody ever asked me to stop playing. None of the adults, I mean.”

  Troya chimed in. “Dad wouldn’t even hear of it.”

  “But Dad never really liked me playing with the guys. He was afraid I’d get hurt. Some of those guys were out to prove a point. When they weren’t trying to grope me, they were trying to really hurt me.”

  Maeve shrugged. “True, but he felt like you needed to learn those kinds of lessons yourself. If playing was what you wanted, then you should have the opportunity, although he would never have let it get all the way to you playing on the field at school. It’s one thing to play against kids you’ve known all your life, another thing to go up against kids from other schools who might really do you damage.”

  Teagan took a sip. “I’m still not sure how I feel about all of that. Probably won’t figure it out until I have kids of my own. Enough about this. We have a wedding to plan.”

  I couldn’t help but smile when there was a frenzy of excitement around the table.

  The perfect night.

  Damn. I miss my mom.

  A.J. got home late. He carried Evelyn inside in her car seat and handed her over to a waiting Suzi. “She’s had her bath. Gran pretty much took her over when we walked in the door. I was worried about her back, but she didn’t have any problems. We all had a great night.”

  “Us, too. Thanks.” Suzi said her goodnights and disappeared up the stairs.

  “Can I get you anything? I have some pretty good leftovers. I could make you something hot.”

  “I’m good. Gran fixed us dinner. She had everything ready when I got there. She said her friend Anna had come by this afternoon, and they chatted while they cooked. A bunch of stuff for some group they are into. I didn’t get the details.”

  There was something in his voice that worried me. “Is everything alright?”

  “Fine.”

  “A.J., you sound like something happened or like something is wrong.”

  “No, not really.”

  “What really?”

  “Gran just asked what we were going to do about my parents for the wedding. Do we want them to be a part of it, and if we do, what part? I hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “She’s got a valid question, but we don’t have to decide right away. I talked to all my sisters and everybody tonight. They had a gazillion good ideas. We have lots of decisions to make. Once we decide just what kind of wedding we want, then we can figure out who does what.”

  “I know everybody thinks I have to invite them.”

  “Probably.”

  “They are going to mess it up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They mess everything up. My mother is going to have to make a big stink about everything, and it’s going to piss off my father. They aren’t like your parents, Cara.”

  It smacked me hard. What I wanted to say was No, because your mother is still alive. What I said was “We’ll work it out.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I know you would give anything to have your mother there, and here I’m complaining because mine will be there. It’s not fair.”

  “It’s also not your fault.”

  “I know, but I should be more careful about saying stuff.”

  “And I should remember the universe doesn’t revolve around me.”

  “Sounds like something your mother would say.”

  “Only when she wanted to smack me.” I smiled. “My feelings don’t trump yours, you know.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes they do. And that’s okay. You want help with the kitchen?”

  “I got it. Ten minutes, max.”

  “I’m gonna go take a shower.”

  “You could shave.” I may have blushed there.

  His smile still makes me weak in the knees.

  FIVE

  “YOU WANT LUNCH?”

  “Hello to you, too, Teagan.”

  “Hello. You want lunch? My treat.”

  “What now?”

  “Can’t a sister invite her favorite sister to lunch?”

  “She can, but it usually means she wants something. What’s going on?”

  “Gord is back at work tomorrow. Today is my last day to figure out what to do or to let all of this go. I thought maybe if we talked it through, from beginning to end, we might come up with something brilliant.”

  “But I don’t really know anything we haven’t already talked about.”

  “I need someone to listen.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Noon, at my office?”

  “Sure, you want me to drive through?”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Don’t get me something I hate so you can then eat my lunch as a favor to me, Teagan.”

  “I don’t do that.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Okay. I won’t do that.”

  “Thanks. See you at noon.”

  A.J. called not five minutes after Teagan hung up. “You want to come down to the studio for lunch?”

  “Can’t, I’m meeting up with Teagan. Today is the last day of the drama.”

  “Can you come by the studio on y
our way?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Morgan has been doing some snooping around, and she’s got some information you might want.”

  “Can’t you just tell me over the phone?”

  “I guess, but she suggested you come by.”

  “There must be a reason. She’s the most efficient person I’ve ever met. I’ll be there at about eleven. Okay?”

  “I’ll let her know. Maybe you could take a quick nap? You didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  I felt myself blush and laughed. “No, I didn’t, thanks to you.”

  “You still aren’t one hundred percent, Cara. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “I haven’t felt this good in ages. I’m fine. I promise.”

  “Okay. See you at eleven. Oh, and can you bring me the black portfolio by the door in the workroom?”

  “So now we know the real reason I’m going to the studio.” I laughed again.

  “I can come home and get it.” His voice was a little too happy.

  “Oh, no. You just want to come home and help me take my nap. There’s no rest in that.”

  He was still chuckling when I hung up.

  I got to the studio a few minutes early. Morgan was already there; I parked next to her car in the lot. Suzi was talking to a client on the phone and had another client waiting in the reception area. I could hear A.J. talking to a client in the studio, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  Suzi directed me upstairs with her eyes, and kept talking.

  I found Morgan at one of the desks A.J. and Jovana keep crammed into the small upstairs office space.

  I grinned. “Hey, fancy seeing you again so soon.”

  “Thanks for coming to meet me. I’ve got a full day, or I wouldn’t have asked.”

  “Thanks for whatever information you’ve got. I hope you didn’t go to any trouble.”

  “No, it’s all third- or fourth-hand, but I think it explains a lot. When you were in the kitchen last night, Teagan told us a bit about what was going on. That, and the conversation I had with you the other night got me to thinking.”

  “Thinking is good.”

  “There have been some rumors, stuff some of the business owners were talking about.”

  “Business owners in Old Town?”

  “No, out in Hillsborough County. I do some stuff out there as well.”

  “Okay.” Morgan must be even busier than I always gave her credit for, and I give her credit for being really busy.

  “They have been having some problems out there lately. I’ll bet your brother knows about it...”

  “Which brother? Rory?”

  “Yep. They’ve been having problems with unofficial cage fighting.”

  “Cage fighting?”

  “Yeah, you know, where they stick a couple of guys in a cage and they beat the ever-loving snot out of each other for sport.”

  “I know what it is, although I have no idea why anyone would want to participate.”

  “Me either. The whole thing is just stupid, but it’s also illegal.”

  “Really? You see it on television.”

  “There’s a difference between the legal stuff you see on television and the illegal stuff amateurs do. And then there’s all kinds of illegal things going on that feed off the illegal activities of the amateurs. Everything from steroids to illegal gambling, and there are things going on in that world that I don’t care to think about.”

  “And Gord, the preacher’s husband, is involved in this? Isn’t that a little odd?”

  “Oh, it gets odder. More odd. Whatever. From what I heard, the good preacher and her husband are involved deep.”

  “How does that even make sense?”

  “What I was told is they seem to show up to these little churches. Small churches in questionable areas often have youth boxing groups.”

  “Churches have boxing for kids? Isn’t that a little weird? Kick the crap out of someone for Jesus?”

  “Keeps them off the street, gives them discipline. All kinds of positive things can come of it.”

  “Okay. I don’t get it, but okay. So Lola and Gord show up in town for boxers. I’m missing something. The whole thing still doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “It isn’t always a church that sponsors youth boxing. Sometimes the church is just a way to get in with people that are already involved in the sport outside of church. Showing up as a member of the church, a respected member, gives them all kinds of credibility they wouldn’t normally have. When you’re a ranking member of a church, you have all kinds of ‘ins’ that would take a long time to build. People trust you just because you’re who you claim to be.”

  “Okay, I get it.”

  “So they come into town, they find themselves a promising athlete, they get them involved in this underground fighting thing, and then they go on to the next promising athlete.”

  “Why?”

  “Money.”

  “Yeah, that much I figured out, but how do they make money by introducing some kid to getting his head kicked in?”

  “There is a lot of money in it. If the kids are good enough, they can turn pro. Most of the pros don’t make much unfortunately, between the expenses of training and the dedication you have to have. Then there are the kids that sign their lives away on contracts that are unbelievably unbalanced. There are the medical bills when you have a bad night. But if you consider yourself a promoter, or you’re betting on the outcome, all you need is one good one, and you can make a lot of money. A whole lot.”

  “How did you hear about all this?”

  “I’m not going to say.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t put yourself in any kind of danger.”

  “The people who talked to me have no idea I even know you or Lola and Gord or anybody else involved. When you look at me, Cara, you don’t immediately assume I’m part of a big ol’ Irish family.” She shrugged.

  “Plausible deniability might be a really good plan when it comes to being a part of our family.” I smiled.

  “I had my business built up pretty well before I met your brother. I didn’t change my name for the business. As far as my professional life, I’m not an O’Flynn.”

  “Just as long as you’re safe.”

  “You and Teagan need to remember that. These are some interesting people. I don’t think they would hurt you guys, because really, what would be the reason? But be careful.”

  “Got it. Now that Teagan will know what’s going on, I don’t think she needs to say anything about it. She already has cause to fire Gord. She doesn’t have to say anything about the fights.”

  “Good.”

  I got to Teagan’s office a few minutes early. The receptionist said she was locked in her office, and I should talk to her assistant Lindsey.

  It’s not a good sign that anyone in Teagan’s office would think I need to talk to her assistant before I could talk to her. Whatever the meeting is about, it’s gotta be really serious.

  The receptionist spoke quietly into the phone, nodded a couple of times, and then told me I could find Lindsey at her desk.

  Lindsey stood and pointed to the break room. When we got there, I asked a really dumb question. “Is everything okay?”

  “Not even a little bit. I’m glad you’re here, Cara. She’s going to need you.”

  “She’s not in any danger, is she?” I hoped the meeting wasn’t with Gord. If she was in there with him by herself, and he was a cage fighter, even the Teagan Takedown might not be enough.

  “Depends on what you mean by danger.”

  “Lindsey, I don’t want to play word games. What’s going on?”

  Lindsey should play poker. You can never read her. Ever. “I’m really not at liberty to say. Teagan should be out in a few minutes. She’s actually been in there for hours, so maybe not.”

  “Can you at least tell me who she is in there with?”

  “Those computer guys.”

  “Did the
y find something? Did Gord have more access than she thought?”

  “Gord is not the problem, and I really can’t say anything more. Can you please just wait until Teagan comes out? I could text her or something, let her know you’re here.”

  “She’s expecting me. She’ll come out when she comes out. Thanks, Lindsey.”

  No reason to pick on Lindsey. She was just trying to do her job, and I like the fact she’s so loyal to Teagan, even if it means she won’t talk to me.

  It was more than thirty minutes later when I heard Teagan’s door open. The two guys who made their way through the door looked like they had been through the ringer. One spoke up. “I’m sorry, Ms. O’Flynn.”

  I could hear Teagan reply, but I couldn’t tell what she said.

  Lindsey waited for the guys to clear her desk; then she was up and to Teagan’s door. I could hear her tell Teagan I was waiting. Instead of motioning me to the office, like I expected, Lindsey gave me a bit of a panicked look and then walked into Teagan’s office and closed the door.

  Two minutes later she walked out, paler than usual, and said, “She’s ready for you.”

  I stood to walk into the office, and Lindsey reached out to touch my arm. She didn’t say a word. It was like Teagan was dead on the other side of the door or something. My heart started to beat so hard I wasn’t sure I would be able to hear Teagan over the sound of it in my ears.

  I used to be so good at stuff like this. Never let myself get so upset. Especially when I didn’t even know what the problem was.

  I walked into Teagan’s office and closed the door behind me.

  “You okay?”

  “Not really. Sit.”

  I sat.

  I waited.

  It took her a full ninety seconds to say anything. “I could lose everything.”

  “I’m sure it isn’t that bad. What’s going on?”

  “The computer guys. They found out Mr. Fisher... all these years... conservative and, you know, he never once, not one time did he ever… ”