“And Collins? Did they pick up a trail?”
“No,” Jake lowered his head. “Shamrock seems to have vanished in thin air.”
“I hate to hear that. What about Beth? How’s she doing?”
Jake smiled. “She’s doing great. She came out of the coma. She’s weak and anemic from blood loss but she’ll recover now. They moved her out of Intensive Care and put her in a private room. I talked to her last night.
“She sounded good. I can’t wait to get home and see her. I was so worried she wouldn’t make it and I was going to be way over here.” His voice wavered. He paused. “I don’t think I would have ever forgiven myself.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jake. You and Gregg saved a lot of lives—maybe even hundreds or thousands by keeping those weapons out of Al Qaeda’s hands. Look at the bright side, you killed the man who shot her.”
”Yeah, Jake. You turned into a regular Dirty Harry.” Kaplan smiled.
Hunt grinned and held up her thumb in a victory gesture.
Kaplan laughed and patted Jake on the back.
Jake’s eyes felt scratchy from the lack of sleep and he was sore, as well as tired, but he smiled at both of them.
It felt good.
CHAPTER 77
Beth hung up the phone beside her bed. Jake had just called from the flight phone on the jet to say he was coming home. He would be in Langley, Virginia, early the next morning where he’d undergo a debriefing with DCI Admiral Scott Bentley. Admiral Bentley promised to fly Jake down to Savannah the moment they were finished so he could be with her.
She was happy now. Jake was coming home. When she had come out of her coma, she was scared and angry that he was gone. After her father had explained Jake’s decision and told her that he supported Jake’s move, she understood but still wished he was with her.
Jake had promised to fill her in on all the gory details when he arrived. He told her to watch CNN tonight to get a glimpse into what had transpired. She grabbed the remote control and flipped through the stations until she found the channel. Just as she did, she caught the announcement for the upcoming news segment.
And coming up on CNN News, Amber Larsen brings us up to date on the death of Laurence O’Rourke. At eight-thirty, the floor nurse came into her room. She picked up the clipboard from the foot of the bed. She checked Beth’s pulse and blood pressure, then took her temperature with their new digital thermometer. After noting all the vital signs on the clipboard, the nurse handed Beth a tiny paper cup holding three pills. The same three pills she’d taken the night before, two painkillers and a sleeping aid. The nurse left her room just as quickly as she entered.
Beth saw the introduction for the news segment beginning and turned the volume a little louder. She readjusted her pillow and rolled onto her side.
Laurence O’Rourke is dead. I’m Amber Larsen. Just over a week ago I reported the bizarre and bloody story of Irish peace activist Laurence O’Rourke. At that point the death toll had reached eleven. Well, now the death toll is up to fourteen and some sources believe as high as seventeen.
The bodies of Laurence O’Rourke and his brother, Sean O’Rourke, were found in an abandoned home jointly owned by the two O’Rourke brothers in Dromahair, Ireland, last night in an apparent assassination. One SIS agent was found dead in his car parked outside of Demon’s Lair Bar and Bistro in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, a pub owned and operated by Sean O’Rourke, and another agent was shot and seriously injured here in Dromahair near Creevelea Abbey. Authorities believe the death and the shooting to be attributed to the assassin Shamrock, whose true identity is now known as Ian Collins of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Interpol has initiated an extensive manhunt for Collins.
A week ago I reported that Laurence O’Rourke declared he had earth-shattering news that would destroy the New Northern Ireland Assembly. Well, now we may never know what that news really was.
When asked her opinion on this whole O’Rourke episode, Sinn Fein President Mairéad Brady said, “Although we had our differences, Laurence O’Rourke was a true fighter for the peace process. He will be missed.”
An unnamed source had a different theory altogether, claiming that Laurence O’Rourke killed the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, his assistant, and his bodyguard. The same source claimed that Laurence and Sean O’Rourke were killed by an agent of the U.S. Government. The informant also claimed that Collins was wounded in a shootout and is now seeking refuge elsewhere in Ireland.
SIS authorities had no comment on these allegations. The United States Government authorities denied any involvement whatsoever.
I’m Amber Larsen reporting live from Dromahair, Ireland.
Beth’s eyes closed as the effects of the sleeping pill took hold. She knew she would dream of Jake and spies, but her thoughts were peaceful. Jake would be home tomorrow.
* * * At midnight, a doctor stepped into Beth’s room. He was wearing his full-length doctor’s jacket, skullcap and surgical gloves. Beth was sound asleep, courtesy of the sleeping pill. He pulled out her charts, put his reading glasses on and studied her charts.
He gently placed the clipboard back in the bracket and removed a syringe from his coat pocket. He injected its contents into her IV line. He threw the syringe into the red hazardous biological waste box and left the room.
The doctor walked past the nurses’ station. They paid him no attention. He walked toward the exit. He rounded the corner and ripped off his white coat and stuffed it into a garbage can. He removed the skullcap and gloves, pushed them into the garbage can as well, and then walked through the exit door.
* * * Beth woke up. She felt like her chest would explode. Her chest pounded with each beat.
Her body temperature rose higher.
She grabbed her call button then glanced at the heart monitor.
It read 72.
It must have been a nightmare. She told herself.
Her body temperature returned to normal.
She placed the call button down beside her.
She relaxed and closed her eyes again. She quickly fell back to sleep.
60.
50.
40.
30 …
Alarms sounded in her hospital room. She couldn’t hear them. A shamrock lay next to her head on the pillow.
AUTHOR NOTES This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
The aviation accident investigators of the National Transportation Safety Board have a complex and sometimes gruesome job filled with detailed procedures, guidelines and techniques that are utilized to accurately determine the probable cause in aircraft accidents. This arduous journey takes many weeks and months to accomplish and not days as in this book. The procedures in this book have been drastically abbreviated and simplified and are only a superficial representation—at best. Their job is too complex to do it justice in any novel.
As is the case with most authors of fiction, certain liberties are taken with the truth. Here is where I’ll try to separate the fact from the fiction. I have listed several areas my readers inquired about accuracy and truthfulness. I suggest you wait until after you have finished reading The Savannah Project before you read what follows.
THE H.M.P. Maze prison existed and was used to house paramilitary prisoners from 1976 to 2000, when it was closed. The conditions were reported by most as deplorable.
The “Graveyard Tour” at the Savannah International Airport is real as is the plaque that is embedded in the asphalt on the east/west runway.
References made in Chapter 43 to General Noriega’s second-incommand Raul Diego and the prostitute Angelina Vasquez are a fabrication of the author’s imagination.
Stormont Castle and Stormont Parliament Building are real—the floor plan of the Parliament Building and the drainage canal are a fabrication.
En
niskillen is an actual town in Northern Ireland on the A4 highway and High Street is an actual street in Enniskillen. The truth ends there. Demon’s Lair Bar and Bistro and all the descriptions that accompany it are a product of the author’s imagination.
Dromahair, Ireland exists and has been called the “ridge of two demons.” Creevelea Abbey and the O’Rourke Banqueting Hall also exist.
The Friars’ Chamber and the Friars’ tunnels do not exist and are fictitious—as is any cache of weapons and documentation eluding to collusion between the parties involved in the New northern Ireland Assembly. Pure fiction.
The O’Rourke clan is real and did occupy the Dromahair region. The O’Rourke clan did build the O’Rourke Banqueting Hall. However, Laurence and Sean O’Rourke are fictitious—their creation and name was entirely coincidental and was used for convenience.
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
First and foremost, I want to thank my beautiful wife, Debi, for all her support and assistance. She is my best friend, biggest fan, and toughest critic. Without you, this would never have been possible.
I want to recognize Nancy Cleary and Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing for making this possible and for her guidance and patience as I stumble through this process for the first time.
A special thanks to Jennifer Munro for talking me into starting a lifelong ambition. Without her positive thinking and encouragement, I never would have picked up a pen.
For their editorial skills, guidance, and advice to a neophyte, my sincere gratitude is extended to Emily Carmain and Arlene W. Robinson. You too, Terry.
To my good friend Mary Fisher—Wow, what an amazing book cover! You’re the greatest. Thank you.
Thanks to my friend and co-worker Johnny McNabb for his graphic illustrations of Savannah and Dromahair.
Another special thanks to my group of readers—Bob DeBrule, Chris Klein, Jim Dwyer, Marlena Collins, George and Karen Mills, Jennifer Montgomery and Charles and Doris Barrett. Thank you for taking time from your busy lives to read this book and provide me with your valuable input and advice.
I would also like to thank Jim Wilson and my critique group at the 2009 UNF Writer’s Conference for helping me shape and reshape the beginning of this book.
My good friend David Cook (the real life Cookie) allowed me to steal his identity for this book. I hope you’re not disappointed. Thanks.
I want to recognize a few others whose input helped with the creation of this book. David Rigney, Aimee from Barry’s Pub for the use of her personality and appearance, the management of the Savannah Westin for their hospitality, Dr. Jonathan Kantor for his evaluation and diagnosis of Ian Collins’ medical condition, and my co-workers at Jacksonville ARTCC for providing me with an unlimited pool of personality traits from which to choose.
The Savannah Project (Jake Pendleton series) Page 30
