by Diana Ryan
“You don’t suppose Mrs. Quinn would scuffle back down here to give us a quick orientation?”
Drew rolled his eyes. “You should have the graveling I had to do to get her to allow us down here in the first place.” He dug a small grey device out of his jacket and lined it up on the table next to his tablet.
“What’s that?”
“This little baby will piggyback off an Internet signal from miles away—even through these stone walls. I should be connected in seconds.”
“Nice.”
Drew took a picture of one of the crests with his phone and then sent it to his tablet. I pulled a random book, set it on the table, and started to page through it. I couldn’t read a word; most of it was in Gaelic. I put it back and grabbed another book from the shelf on the adjacent wall. Nothing but Gaelic. My heart dropped as I realized this was a dead end. I snapped the book shut in frustration.
“How the hell are we supposed to figure this out, Drew?”
Without looking up from his computer he said, “These are the coats of arms of the thirty-two traditional shires of Ireland.”
“Shires?”
“Counties, my friend.” His eyes met mine. “Do you know which county Myers’s ancestors were from?”
“I have no idea.” I tried to hide it, but I was sure he could hear the disappointment in my voice.
“Can we look up Myers’s county of origin in these books somehow?” Drew suggested.
The coals of a tiny fire began to heat up my heart. “They’re in Gaelic! Do you read Gaelic?” It came out laced with a little more sass than I had intended, but Drew didn’t seem to notice.
“Not the slightest.” He let out a few chuckles and then realized how serious I was. “Listen, this is just one setback. We’ve got the Internet and our arsenal of agency apps. I’m sure I can find a translator.” He went back to his tablet. “Grab a book off the shelf and turn to the back. Is there an index?”
I did as he said, but couldn’t find anything that looked like an index. I turned to a random page in the middle and picked a word. Drew translated it on his computer, and it turned out to be the word “farm.” We thought we could tell which words were names and translated for a few more minutes, but in the end we knew our search would simply take too long this way.
I let out another frustrated sigh.
“We’ll figure this out another way, I promise.” Drew’s eyes looked sincere, but still they didn’t encourage me much.
“Fine. Let’s get out of here.”
Drew packed up his things, and hurried through the creepy cathedral basement. Mrs. Quinn was standing guard at the top of the steps. “Done so quickly, my dears?”
“I’m afraid the records weren’t as helpful as we had hoped,” Drew replied.
“Too bad,” she said, not too sadly. Mrs. Quinn bid us good day as we passed a children’s school group waiting near the front door.
On the cab ride back to the hotel I texted Agent Bowman to let him know about our dead end, and within a minute he had sent a reply—Contact Agent McCombe for further suggestions. Don’t give up too easily.
After I showed Drew the text, he said with a smile, “Orders are orders. I better call her right away.”
* * * *
Friday, October 17th
Agent McCombe agreed to meet us the next day for a pub lunch at some place called Buskers. Drew and I got up early and went for a jog through the Temple Bar neighborhood around our hotel before our meeting. It felt nice to burn off some steam and clear my head. I didn’t know if it was the because of time change, but I hadn’t slept well at all the night before, alternating between dreams of Ava and nightmares of Myers. As we ran I tried not to, but I wondered what Ava was doing that very second. I decided to call Adam later to check in.
Shortly after noon, Drew and I waited on the bumpy cobblestone sidewalk outside the bar. “Hello, boys,” Agent McCombe greeted us as she approached from behind. Drew swung around, smiling a charming grin.
“Good morning, Agent McCombe.” He spoke long drawn-out words and reached for her hand to shake.
“Please, call me Darcy.” She smiled, looked him straight in the eyes, and pulsed her eyebrows quickly with a hint of flirt.
That little bugger. He broke her.
“Agent Hill, how are you?”
“Fine, thanks, Darcy.”
Drew took the first step toward the door and opened it. He motioned for Darcy to head in. “Shall we go get a table? I’ve got a hankering for a pub lunch.”
Darcy smiled at him as she entered, and then stood by the long mahogany bar for a few moments. She met eyes with the bartender, a redheaded local man.
“Darcy! How are you this lovely day, my dear?” The old man stopped wiping a glass with the bar rag and looked up at her.
“Wonderful, Liam. And you?”
“Not a care in my heart. I see you’re here with company today. Will it be the usual table?”
“Please.”
“It’s all yours, dear.”
“Many thanks. Could you bring us three Smithwick’s and bowls of your pot roast Guinness stew please?”
“At your service.” His head did a little bow.
“Best stew in Ireland,” Darcy said as she led us past several patrons and to a quiet table at the back of the pub. Liam arrived with three tall glasses of beer before we could even settle into our places at the table.
When Liam walked away Darcy got right to business. “So, what have you discovered about Myers so far?”
“Unfortunately we don’t have much to report. Our trip to the cathedral left us with nothing.”
“Really? Absolutely nothing?”
“It seems our Gaelic isn’t up to par, and without knowing his county of origin, we weren’t able to narrow down any of the information.” Drew took a long pull from his beer. “Ooh, that’s good.”
Darcy suggested we inquire at Eneclann, a well-respected genealogy and history research firm associated with nearby Trinity College. She asked Drew to call to set up an appointment, and although they were reluctant at first, they agreed, but requested a day for research. We were to meet on Sunday afternoon. It was killing me how long this was taking. I had been hoping we’d uncover all we needed in a matter of days and be back in Wisconsin by the end of the week.
Before Liam brought our stew, Darcy and Drew engaged in small talk while I shuffled through the pictures I had of Ava on my phone. My heart was flooded with memories of the way she looked and how sweetly she spoke. I missed her a great deal and would give anything to have her back in my life, to be the way we were last summer. My agony turned quickly to anger as I thought about the state of our relationship now.
Myers. Who was he to ruin what we had?
Drew poured on the charm, inducing laughter from Darcy and showing interest in her by asking personal questions. I was very quickly beginning to feel like the third wheel, and my heartache was about to explode, so I excused myself to the bar and sat in front of a pint for a while, watching people pass by the window.
Liam was wiping again, but stopped the old wet rag right in front of my beer. “If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times before—heartache. It isn’t young Darcy you’re after, is it boy?”
“No, no. I’ve got a girl back home—or at least I used to.”
That was depressing to say out loud.
“Ah, yes. Is she beautiful?” He looked at me with a gentle smile on his face.
“Incredibly.”
He smile grew larger. “Is she funny—does she keep good company?”
“Without a doubt.”
Liam leaned forward, placing his elbow on the bar and his chin on his upturned palm. His soulful eyes lit up to full power. “Is she good in the sack?”
I just about spit my mouthful of beer in Liam’s face, but was able to recover and swallowed it. “Well…I…I…um…we…” I coughed, trying to cover the fact that the old man’s question took me off guard and I was flustered.
“Just remember this, my son—The man who is worthwhile is the one who can smile when everything is dead wrong.” He stared me deep in the eyes for several long seconds. “You’re a good man. I can feel it in me bones. She’ll find her way back to you. ”
“Thanks, Liam.” But I wasn’t so sure that could be true.
Liam got back to work, whistling an Irish tune and leaving me with my thoughts. After five more minutes I swiveled on my stool to check if Drew and Darcy were still flirting, and suddenly it felt like my heart stopped beating for a full three seconds. I grabbed my chest with my hand and stared at the sight in front of me, eyes wide in awe. It couldn’t be. I was stuck frozen on my stool, ears flooded with the sound of my heartbeat.
Ava Gardner was in Ireland.
Panic added to my overly astonished state. Had Myers captured and brought her here?
She was sitting with her back to me at a table with three other women about her age. I could see her familiar body type and her straight, brown hair. One girl said something funny and as soon as I heard the laugh I knew it was definitely her. I slowly slid off my chair, and with my jaw inevitably hanging to the floor, I willed my feet to move one in front of the other. A hummingbird was drumming inside my chest cavity as I cautiously approached the table.
You’re not supposed to let her see you, my brain reminded me.
Shut up, my heart replied.
My feet continued to carry me forward as I wondered if she would even know who I was? Did she still have no memories of us?
I barely heard Drew call from a few tables over, “Nolan? What are you doing?”
I stopped right in front of the table, but Ava’s back was still facing me. I swallowed a big lump of nerves hiding in my throat.
One of Ava’s friends noticed me. “ ’Lo, boy. Can I help you with something?”
I couldn’t find a voice inside me.
And then she turned around and stared right at me.
“Nolan? What the hell?”
I should have known.
“Hey, Laura,” I tried to sound enthusiastic but I felt like a deflated balloon. It was Ava’s sister. My heart was so desperate to have Ava’s sweet face in front of mine at that moment, I felt like I might lose it right there in the bar.
I was still in a stupor when Laura stood up from the table and gave me a big hug. “What are you doing here?” She threw her hands up in the air and swung her head around looking for her sister. “Is Ava here?”
“Ava’s not here. I’m sure she’s in Stevens Point.” As far as I knew, Laura had no idea what had happened with Ava’s memory wipe. I didn’t have a backstory ready so I answered with another question, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m studying abroad at Trinity College. It’s just down the way!” She pointed out the window and then slid a hand through her hair. “I just can’t believe I ran into you halfway around the world!”
“Yeah. Incredulous,” It really was amazing that we would happen to meet in the same pub at the same time on the other side of the world, but I was still so disappointed I didn’t have much enthusiasm behind my voice.
“Do you have a few minutes? We should share a pint!”
I accepted her invitation and returned to the bar to pick up my beer. Drew quickly got up from his table and slid into me like a giddy teenager. He half-whispered rapidly about an inch from my face. “Did you just pick up that hottie?”
I wiped Drew’s spit from my forehead. “That hottie is Ava’s sister, Laura,” I whispered back.
“Shut. Up. Ava’s sister?” He blatantly looked over at Laura and checked her out. She was chatting with her friends and not paying attention to us. “What the hell is she doing in Ireland?” He rubbed his hands together like an excited chipmunk.
“She’s studying at Trinity. I thought I’d sit and chat with her awhile, so calm down.”
“Take your time, Darcy and I are having a nice little conversation.” He winked and I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, don’t forget. You can’t say anything about Ava’s memory wipe. Remember, it’s all classified.”
“Yeah, I know.” I glanced back at Laura. Her friends were getting up to leave the table. “I’ll be careful.”
“Good luck, buddy.” Drew threw me a slap on the back and then quickly returned to Darcy. I took a long drag from my beer. Liquid courage.
Stop feeling so nervous, my heart instructed as I sat down at the table.
Laura spent the first several minutes rambling on about school in Ireland.
Say something about Ava, my heart shouted, Is she doing alright? But I played along, trying to be interested. As she spoke I studied her face. She had many of the same features that Ava did, but looked completely different at the same time. Visions of Ava floated above her head as she spoke. I kept in the conversation with my words, but in my head I was picturing Ava at the table.
“So Nolan, have you talked with my sister lately? I’ve been so busy since I moved over here that I haven’t had time to call her and she isn’t returning any of my emails.”
She’s not returning any emails to her sister?
“I figured she was busy studying to get into the School of Ed, anyway.”
I lowered my voice since I didn’t know who could be listening. “No. I haven’t talked to her much since I’ve been training for the agency.” I took a drink from my beer and swallowed a bit too loudly. “But I do know she’s been busy with school.”
Laura followed suit, lowering her voice almost to a whisper, too. “Oh right, the real FBI. I know Ava is happy for you being able to go through training, but I know she misses you terribly while you’re gone.”
“I miss her too, more than she will ever know.” I stared out the window for a moment while I waited for my heart to stop aching.
“Oh, you are such a sweetheart. I’m so happy my sister found you. Don’t you go messing it up with her now, you hear?” Then she laughed the same sweet laugh I heard Ava laugh many times.
Soon I realized it was torture and bliss at the same moment. Hearing Ava’s voice and seeing her face through Laura’s was both filling my heart with joy and ripping it apart with hopelessness.
“Since Ava is so busy with school and I don’t want to be a distraction to her, my cousin Drew and I took a short vacation to Ireland before we have to return to work.” I turned back toward Drew and Darcy and gave a wave. They were staring at us and waved awkwardly in return.
“Oh that’s cool! Hey, how long will you be in town? My parents are flying out to visit in a few days. Apparently my dad’s bank needs him to set up some new branches in Great Britain, and so my mom took some time off of school to come with. They thought they’d sneak in a visit with me while they are overseas. That would be cool if we could all go out to dinner or something.”
Before I knew what I was saying, I agreed to dinner with Laura and her parents.
My brain loudly retorted, What are you thinking? You don’t have time to be social!
Don’t piss off your potential in-laws, my heart argued.
Laura’s phone rang on the table so she checked the screen. “Oh sorry Nolan but I’ve got to run.” Then she looked at me the same way Ava did when she wanted me to know she was sincere. “It really was great running into you.”
She dug a pen out of her purse and wrote her number on a napkin from the table. “Here, give me a call if you want to get together again while you’re still in town.”
Then she stood up from the table and I did the same. “Since Ava can’t be here to give you a kiss, I guess you’ll have to settle for one from another Gardner girl.” For a quick second I thought she was about to lay one right on my lips, but she leaned forward and kissed me on both cheeks, true European style.
I took in a whiff of her hair and just about fell over. It smelled of coconuts—she must use the same shampoo as Ava.
I wished she were Ava. I wanted so badly to have Ava in my arms. I wanted to be the one to keep her safe from Myers. How c
ould I be so defenseless in Ireland while she was back in the US unknowingly dodging Myers and recovering from brain surgery without me?
“Thanks, Laura. I appreciate it.”
Then she turned and left, ringing the little bell above the wooden door. I stood there, staring out the door’s window, wondering what had just happened to my heart.
Chapter Five
Drew and I had a day to waste while Eneclann did their research. He attempted to talk me into touring the best attractions in Dublin, but my heart wasn’t in it. I felt obligated to be back at the hotel continuing my research, so I faked a headache and sat in the room sipping hot black coffee and Googling everything I could on the name Myers.
After almost an hour with no avail, I frustratingly shut the laptop and grunted, throwing my pen and blank pad of paper across the room. I had found absolutely nothing helpful. Bowman’s suspicion that Myers’s tech crew blocked content on the web must have been true. I stood up from my chair.
Come on, Nolan. There had to be a way to beat this evil villain.
I began to pace the room.
How’s Ava doing? My heart wondered. You should call her.
I took my phone and found her name in the contacts. I stared at the screen, my finger hovering over the send button. I could pretend I was some survey company just to hear her voice.
Don’t do it. Focus on Myers.
It took everything in me not to press that damn button, but I set the phone back down on the dresser and walked to the window. Would I ever be able to hold her close to me again, or would Myers be able to carry out his agenda?
“No!” I said aloud to no one. “I will defend her life even if I die trying.”
The little black fuzzy box sitting on the desk caught my eye. I packed it in my luggage when I left Milwaukee a few days ago. Not that I intended to use it, but I couldn’t leave it there. I took the diamond ring and held it up to the light streaming through the window. The prism sent beautiful sparkles of color all over the wall.
My heart ached. Just like the sparkle in her eyes when the sun hit them just right.
