Taking the Town

by Ford Murphy

  “I will,” Finn promised.

  Mike turned to Julia, lifted her veil, kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “You look amazing. I’d marry you myself if I wasn’t promised to someone else.”

  “Cheeky devil,” she whispered back. “You clean up well yourself. Who’d have thought that?”

  Father Martin, the local parish priest, officiated the ceremony. He had gotten to know Julia in the past year and a half and was aware of how much she had suffered. He seemed delighted that things had worked out for her.

  When it was Julia’s turn to take her vows, she reached out and took Finn’s face in her hands, looked into his eyes and after she said the words “’til death do us part” she added in a whisper, “I don’t ever want to be without you.”

  Vows exchanged, they sat back and waited for Father Martin to give a sermon. Instead he said, “I know it’s a bit unusual but the bride has requested that she’d like to sing a song.”

  Finn looked at Julia in surprise. They had discussed the ceremony in detail and this had never come up.

  She whispered, “This is for you,” then she walked to the lectern. She removed the microphone and went to the center, in front of the altar. She stood for a moment looking out at the expectant crowd in the jam packed church, then lifted the microphone.

  “The song I’m about to sing is very special to me. I love both the melody and the message. During the deepest, darkest moments of my life, I’d play this song as reminder that there is always light at the end of the tunnel, there is always hope and if you truly believe that you can make it, you will. Now, I want to sing it for you all, but particularly for Finn, the beautiful, strong, loving man who brought me and an entire community back into the light. I am blessed to have him as a husband and the father of the little life within me.”

  Then, in a very clear, beautiful voice, she began to sing, The Rose. When she got to the last verse, she turned and looked directly at Finn as she began to sing those final uplifting words that so mirrored her own life.

  Finn loved her so very much he thought his heart would burst. He was so mesmerized by her, he scarcely registered the sound of footsteps that broke the silence. But then Julia’s brow furrowed momentarily, then her puzzled look changed rapidly to sheer terror. He turned his head to see what had spooked Julia so. An instant later he was out of his seat and dashing towards her. He dove at her and tried to envelope her in his arms just as the shots began to ring out. He lay on top of Julia as the noise in the church turned from gasps of shock to sheer panic.

  Someone screamed, “Get the gun, get the gun.”

  Then another shot rang out, loud and harsh over the spreading pandemonium followed seconds later by yet another shot. Slowly and carefully, he lifted himself off Julia for a second only to see red blood stains start to spread out wider and wider on Julia’s white dress.

  His world shattered.

  ~ * ~

  That evening, as the story made headlines all over the world, the most memorable image was an iconic picture captured by a photographer who’d entered the church at the sound of gun fire.

  In the tragic scene, Finn knelt on the altar, cradling his bride, blood blossoming across her gown. David knelt in the aisle, his dead sister in his arms. Both of them wore expressions of such abject sorrow, it was impossible not to be moved.

  It was the photograph of a lifetime that captured pain and sorrow in their rawest and most visceral elemental states. The picture, published in hundreds of newspapers and magazines, would eventually be on the cover of Time Magazine and was ultimately awarded the prize of Photo of the Year.

  Finn learned later that Margo Kirk, the girl he hadn’t wanted to invite to the wedding, was the one who had screamed, “Get the gun,” as she had rushed out of her seat and attempted to reach the shooter. She had been killed instantly by a bullet to her heart. The assailant had then turned the gun on himself, firing a bullet into his mouth.

  In the split second Finn had spared to glance down the aisle as he rushed to try and save Julia, he knew instantly who the man with the gun was.

  Morgan Herman.

  Chapter Forty-One

  It had been nerve-rackingly touch and go for a harrowing forty-eight hours but incredibly, both Julia and the baby she was carrying survived. Finn’s lightning quick reflexes, coupled with the fact that Morgan had used an old manual revolver, had given him a split second chance to save them. As a result, just one of the three bullets Morgan had fired hit Julia and mercifully it was far enough away from the baby that no permanent damage had been done when the bullet was removed during the very delicate and intricate operation.

  Morgan Herman, who had died instantly in the church after firing a bullet into his mouth, had done so not knowing he’d failed in his mission.

  In the first hours, as Finn paced the surgical waiting room with Mike McGill, he could not fathom how Morgan Herman could have been in the church. Eventually, Mike was able to make a few calls and they learned that Morgan was none other than Cam White, Laura’s boyfriend.

  “Cam White. Cam White. It’s a play on Whitney Campbell. Damn it, why didn’t I put that together? Margo’s dead and Julia is fighting for her life because of my stupidity.”

  “Christ almighty, Finn, stop torturing yourself. Who would have made that connection?”

  When she was finally out of surgery, Finn had stayed by Julia’s side in the hospital the whole time, refusing to eat and unable to sleep. He just sat there holding her hand as she clung to life. He talked to both her and their unborn child, urging them both to pull through no matter what.

  Whether this had made a difference or not, something worked as gradually the doctors became more optimistic about their chances of survival. Finally after two days of desperation, they declared them both out of danger. Finn almost collapsed with relief and allowed himself reluctantly to be led away from her bedside by Mike McGill so that the doctors could continue to care for her. He refused to go far and McGill had to practically force feed Finn some sandwiches, standing in the corridor immediately outside Julia’s room.

  McGill had ensured that officers were posted outside the hospital entrance and the entrance to the ward where Julia was. The media and public interest in Julia’s status was as global as it was intense. It seemed that the whole country had waited with bated breath for every single update.

  Vigils sprang up in all corners of the country as people gathered to pray in silence for Julia’s survival. Somber candlelight processions were held in numerous towns and cities and the empathy and good will that ordinary people showed towards Julia was beyond touching. Perhaps the largest gathering though, was the one outside of the hospital. There were people there, night and day, praying for her and hoping she’d pull through.

  When the good news broke, the crowd erupted in cheers and tears which echoed across the country. Even the hard-nosed police officers who were stationed at the hospital could be seen with tears of joy and relief in their eyes.

  An elderly woman who had been among those keeping vigil at the hospital was interviewed by a television reporter. She said, “There was too much love for her and her baby in this country. God was never going to let her die.”

  And Finn had to agree.

  ~ * ~

  Finn was sitting by the bed when Julia finally opened her eyes. She looked at him and whispered, “The baby?”

  Finn’s face broke into a huge smile as he choked back his tears. “He’s fine, and so are you.”

  Julia closed her eyes again and breathed a huge sigh of relief as she too broke into tears. She lay there for a moment in silence, sobbing softly, then opened her eyes again. “So it’s a boy, huh? How do you know?”

  Finn laughed. “I’m highly confident of it.”

  Julia smiled, waited a moment and whispered, “It could be a girl, you know.”

  Finn just beamed back at her. “I’m highly confident of that too.”

  “Idiot.” It thrilled him to see a hint of a twinkle in her eye
.

  “You must be feeling better, if you’re already giving me hell.”

  Julia closed her eyes again and remained silent for so long that Finn thought she had fallen back asleep.

  “You were here the whole time, weren’t you?”

  “I was. I didn’t have anywhere better to go.”

  “It’s weird. I know I was out of it, but I felt like I could sense your presence and hear your voice. It kind of made me want to keep fighting and not let go. Besides, you need me here to keep you in line.”

  “You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to that.”

  Julia closed her eyes for a few more minutes. When she opened them again, her expression was somber. “What happened? Who was that crazy guy with the gun? Was he a gang member?”

  Finn thought for a moment. Maybe it would be better to let her believe that for the time being, he thought. There’d be plenty time for her to learn the truth when she was stronger. But he’d kept the truth from her once before and it nearly destroyed them. Plus, if she thought the gang was after them, it might terrify her.

  “Finn, what happened?”

  “Do you remember me telling you about Whitney Campbell and Morgan Herman?”

  She frowned. “Yes.”

  “Well, the shooter was Morgan Herman.”

  “How…why?”

  “The how is pretty clear. Of course he knew I was a student at Cork University. Apparently, he came to Ireland looking for me, just after I came to Roan. He was a smart guy. He apparently made a few friends, asked a few questions and found out where I’d gone.”

  “So he found out you were here. How did he get into the wedding?”

  “He came to Lissadown and did the same thing. It’s a small enough town. He hung out in different pubs until he figured out where most of the Roan employees went. He was biding his time, looking for a way in to hit the jackpot.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He chatted up Laura at Nutt’s Tavern one night. Somewhere along the way, he figured out that she was my office mate.”

  “He was the mysterious boyfriend?”

  Finn nodded grimly. “We invited him to the wedding.”

  “But why did he want to kill me?”

  “That’s a tougher question. Once I knew it was him, McGill liaised with cops in the States to see if the story could be pieced together. As best they could tell, Morgan’s family knew he had some mental issues for which he was medicated. When Whitney was found murdered, they moved heaven and earth looking for him. They found him in Canada. He’d gone off his meds. They got him straightened out and moved him to England. On his meds again, he seemed to settle in to a quiet life. Not wanting him to risk being recognized, they encouraged him to bleach his hair blond, grow a mustache and wear bright blue contacts.”

  “And they just left him on his own after he’d murdered someone?”

  Finn shook his head. “I guess no one wants to see the worst in their children. His parents believed he was not a danger. But apparently, before they got him back on his meds, he had raged on and on about me. In his twisted brain he had convinced himself that the voice he heard, telling him to kill Whitney, was mine. Since, in his mind, I took his love away, he wanted to take someone from me.”

  Julia frowned. “I’m sure Laura’s shattered.”

  “She is. She blames herself. But there is absolutely no way she could have known he was anything but what he said he was. Morgan is clever and personable.”

  “So exactly what happened? Was anyone else hurt?”

  Finn really didn’t want to tell her this but it couldn’t be avoided. “Morgan had an old manual revolver. He fired the first bullet and it hit you. The person closest to him was Margo.” Finn took a deep breath. He was very cut up over Margo’s death. “She jumped in front of him. I think she was trying to get the gun. She took the next two bullets.”

  “Oh, dear God. Is she okay?”

  “She was killed instantly. Then Morgan killed himself.”

  Julia closed her eyes and tears slipped down her cheeks. Finn held her hand tightly. After a minute, she opened her eyes. “How’s David?”

  “Devastated. God, Julia, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

  “How the hell did you arrive there?”

  “Morgan came here because of me.”

  “Morgan came here because he was ill.”

  Finn shook his head and looked away.

  “Finn, look at me.”

  He dragged his eyes back to hers.

  “You are a smart, strong, wonderful man. But no matter how smart, strong and wonderful you are, you are just one man. This was all outside of your control. Don’t start our married life weighed down by misplaced guilt. Please. Promise me.”

  He sighed and let her words of absolution wash over him. She was right. They had to go forward. He leaned down and kissed her gently. “I promise.”

  Julia closed her eyes, appearing to doze for a few minutes. “What day is it?”

  “Tuesday.”

  “We were supposed to fly to France tonight. We aren’t going to have our honeymoon.”

  Finn cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, about that. I thought it would be a shame to waste the tickets so I figured I’d just go on by myself tonight. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “Finn Lane. If I had the energy, I’d smack you.”

  “You could, but I’m pretty good at taking a punch.”

  “That’s what I hear.”

  “So, since it’s a ‘no’ on me going to France alone, I have another idea. After the baby is born, we’ll christen him Francis and then the three of us will go to France and have that honeymoon. It will be different to what we planned but I think it might be even more special.”

  Just then a nurse entered the room to shoo Finn away so Julia could get some rest.

  Finn reluctantly agreed. He stood up and kissed Julia softly. “I’ll be right outside.”

  As he reached the door, Julia called, “Hey Finn, what if it’s a girl?”

  “No problem. We’ll call her Francesca and still go on the trip.”

  He smiled at the sound of her soft laughter.

  ~ * ~

  Four days after that, Margo Kirk was quietly laid to rest in a little cemetery in West Cork. Finn attended alone as Julia was still in hospital. He was almost glad of that as he didn’t want her to have to suffer through what turned out to be a painfully emotional day.

  After saying tearful goodbyes to David and Mrs. Kirk, Finn got back on the road that evening to drive to Lissadown. He found it hard to concentrate with the volume of thoughts flowing through his mind.

  Whitney, Brian Davis, and Margo, all dead now.

  He thought of Morgan Herman and how messed up he’d been. He too was dead.

  “Too many deaths. So unnecessary.”

  He thought about Julia and their baby and a smile worked its way onto his face for the very first time that day.

  “Hold that thought,” he told himself. “The sun is starting to melt the snow.”

  About the Author

  Ford Murphy was born and raised in Ireland and moved to the US with his wife in the mid-1990’s. Since then, they have lived in the greater Washington DC area, where they are raising their three children. Taking The Town is the author’s debut novel. A second book, also featuring Finn Lane, is currently in progress. Ford Murphy is a pseudonym honoring the author’s grandmothers.

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