Hard Irish

by Jennifer Saints

  Jesse shook his head. “No. The bottom line is we don’t know. Do you have family records stored someplace?”

  “There is a box in the attic at my house. After my father’s stroke, I put his furniture in storage and all of his personal things at my house.”

  “If it is all right, I’d like my data expert to look through everything of your father’s. Maybe we’ll find some answers. Meanwhile, let’s go down to the lab. Most of the contents of the hatbox are salvageable to some degree. Hopefully you will be able to make sense of them and solve this growing mystery. We’ve lifted several sets of fingerprints from the hatbox and the contents. We’re hoping to find a match in the system.”

  Rocky’s trepidation grew as she followed Jesse. Were it not for Jared’s supportive arm at the small of her back, she might have been tempted to run the other way. She didn’t believe Collin had a hand in his father’s death, but it seemed that the contents of the hatbox had. Either something her mother left caused Uncle Pat to commit suicide, or made someone else kill him. Why else had someone attempted to burn it all, unless they wanted to destroy its existence?

  She wished she could turn back the clock. To go back in time where innocence reigned and this web of intrigue and deception encircling her didn’t exist. If what Jesse was suggesting was true, then her parents had lied to her all of her life.

  Hadn’t they? Or had she just assumed her family was just like everyone else’s?

  Assumptions had a way of turning out completely wrong. She’d assumed that Jesse and Jared’s security company was a small local company. The facility she was walking through right now was a multi-million dollar project. It completely daunted her. The builder in her couldn’t help but admire the architectural design and little construction details that spoke well of the builder. The lab turned out to be huge and fully staffed.

  “Anything new, Ringo?” Jesse asked as he led them to a large plexi-glass box. “We’re taking every precaution to protect the evidence.”

  It looked like something from a sci-fi film. Inside the box, raised on a clear platform was the hatbox. She drew closer to it, seeing its contents placed there, as well. Surrounding the box, were gloved holes and Ringo had his hands in one set of the gloves, working with the evidence. He picked up a necklace to show her. It was tiny, silver, and its charm was of a woman astride a unicorn aiming a bow at an unseen foe.

  Gasping, Rocky touched her neck. “It’s mine.”

  She moved closer to the plexi-glass. “My parents gave it to me on my fourth birthday. My mother told me it was a magical necklace that belonged to a warrior princess who saved her kingdom. It was one of my favorite bedtime stories until I outgrew such things. I thought I’d lost it. We moved to a new house when I was twelve and some boxes that I had taped poorly, broke open. It was a mess.” She frowned. “I never mentioned it was missing, because I felt bad about it all. My mother must have found it. Hell, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

  “Information like that is just what we need.” Jesse said. “When we’re done here, you have to write the story down for us.”

  Rocky shifted her gaze. Both Jared and Jesse were looking at her as if she had the key to the crown jewels. “Why?”

  Jared answered. “It’s possible that story can help solve the mystery surrounding your mother. Maybe everything in the box is meant to trigger memories and when examined all together, will give us answers.”

  Rocky turned back to the evidence. “What’s the paperback book about?” The edges of the book were charred, as was the cover.

  Ringo picked up the book. The cover was too damaged to read. He held the book upright so everyone could see and opened the pages. Bits and pieces of ashes fell and a flash of anger cut through Rocky. Someone had deliberately tried to destroy what her mother left for her. She felt violated. Ringo stopped on the title page and Rocky thought she’d faint.

  She wavered on her feet as her vision dimmed.

  Jared wrapped his arm around her. “Breathe. Whatever it is, it’s okay. What do you remember?”

  Mouth dry. Rocky swallowed hard. “Nothing to remember. I’ve never seen or heard about this book before. But for my mother to leave a book called, Unforgivable Acts of Crime, can’t be good. I was reading one of her poems yesterday entitled, “Unforgiven.” The words of the poem were so raw and real that it left no question my mother had felt as if she’d done something Unforgivable. Who wrote that book?”

  Ringo turned the page. Each crime was written by a different author. There were about a dozen.

  Rocky searched for her mother’s name and didn’t find it. “I don’t recognize any of the authors. Did she commit one of the crimes?” She shuddered. “I think I need to sit down.”

  Jared stepped behind her and held her tight. “Hell, get a chair, Jesse. And send someone for some cold water. “Rocky, don’t jump to conclusions so damn fast. We’ll come back to the book. What else is in there, Ringo?”

  “We already have a team member researching the book.” Ringo set the book down.

  Rocky sucked in air and focused on the next item.

  “A stack of post cards tied together by a ribbon with tiny rubber ducks attached. The post cards are all written to Mam. The first one reads:

  Dear Mam,

  I know you would have laughed until you cried tonight. Just three years old and our warrior princess is already slaying dragons. She was in her yellow tutu, the tallest of all the dancers putting on Duck Lake, a toddler’s version of Swan Lake. Rory was at the point of nodding off when a rather large spider crawled across the stage. All of the dancers screamed and ran, but not our little one. She grabbed the wand from the evil frog attempting to put a spell on the ducks and proceeded to attack the spider. She slayed her dragon after much ado, using few choice words that Rory will long regret—I will see to that.

  Every day I pray.

  The blessing of God and Mary on you and all those I love.

  Anchora salutis

  Rocky turned in Jared’s arms and pressed her face hard against his chest. Tears, pain, and confusion, filled her. “As far as I understood, my parents were both only children and all of my grandparents had passed away before I was born. That sounds as if she was writing her mother, or my father’s mother and there is other family alive. They’ve lied to me and not just about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.”

  Jared pulled her tighter. “Sometimes lies are told for reasons that seem very important at the time. Before you judge, wait until we find the whole truth. Since they were never sent, it could be that your grandmother is in heaven and that was just your mother’s way of sharing.”

  Rocky leaned back and wiped her eyes, smiling a little. “You lie well.”

  Jesse coughed and Jared frowned.

  She continued. “Nice try to make me feel better, though. Truth is I need to suck it up like I did when I was three and slay the spider-dragons invading my life right now. Getting all emotional is only going to hinder everything. What else is in the box?”

  Ringo held up one thing at a time for her to see. The rest of the items were a collection of keepsakes that all related to different events in Rocky’s life, but none of them seemed as significant as the first few.

  They went back to Jesse’s office and he gave her a pad and pen and set a paper in front of her. “The contents are listed here. Write down the bedtime story then anything that comes to mind about the other items. Meanwhile, I’m going to show Jared a few things on the computer in the office next door. Just call, if you need us, okay?”

  “I will.” Rocky picked up the paper, finding it hard that everything in her mind and heart—the hurt and the fear she felt—was reduced to a list.

  Jared set his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. He seemed as upset as she did. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m doing as you advised, waiting until we have all the facts before jumping to conclusions again, but I also have to accept the fact that my folks, for wh
atever reason, deceived me in some very big things.”

  Jesse took hold of Jared’s elbow. “Come on, bro. Let her work and let’s go talk.”

  Jared looked strangely pale as he released her shoulder and went with Jesse. Shrugging it off, Rocky set to work, and the bedtime story took shape.

  In a faraway land lived a princess, big and strong. She had a wonderful life being beloved by her father the king and her mother the queen. But all had not always been well in the Kingdom of Ire.

  The Kingdom was poor and there’d been trouble and unrest among its people. They wanted to have all of the riches that the Dragon-lords from the neighboring kingdom had. Then one day, a great knight had come to them and promised to do wonderful things for the people of the land. He promised that the Kingdom of Ire would be richer and greater than the Dragon-lord’s if the people would follow his lead.

  The riches came in and the kingdom thrived, but the knight was not who he pretended to be. In truth, this great knight was really an evil lord, and without the people or the king and queen knowing it, he did bad things to the Dragon-lord people. He stole and killed to gain the riches from them. That brought the darkness of the Dragon-lord’s army over the land.

  When the King and Queen discovered what the false knight had done, they banished him from the kingdom. The riches that had been ill gotten were sealed away and the King and Queen tried to build anew. They had a precious child, a warrior princess, and thought that all would be well, but the shadow of the Dragon-lords still lingered.

  As the princess grew big and strong, the King and Queen knew that she would one day be the salvation of them all and remove the darkness blighting the kingdom. The day came that the Dragon-lords wanted justice for all that the evil knight had taken. They stole the heart and soul of the Queen and left her burning in a fire. The King, destroyed by grief, was frozen in place as he watched his worst nightmare come to life. He was unable to save his beloved Queen.

  The warrior princess was at first lost and afraid. How could she save her mother? How could she save her father? How could she pay the Dragon-lords their due? She took up her sword and began searching high and low throughout the land for an answer.

  She encountered many on her journey. One little man, a leprechaun, told her that a pot of gold could be found at the end of the rainbow, but the journey would not be easy. She had to travel through the valley of darkness and fight monsters that would try and steal all the love she held in her heart. But the warrior princess remained brave. She made it to the end of the rainbow, found the gold, and saved the kingdom by returning to the Dragon-lords what was theirs. Only then was her mother’s heart and soul restored. Her father took his beloved Queen home and they lived happily ever after.

  Rocky set the tale aside in a miff, annoyed to realize the story was obviously more than just a story. It was a message her mother had embedded in her mind as a child. Rocky wasn’t sure what sort of parent would do that and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a warrior princess. She was thinking that the princess needed to move to a new kingdom and not worry about being the salvation of everyone or paying any Dragon-lord their due.

  Jared followed Jesse into another office. It had the same layout, but was smaller and had minimal furnishings. Pure business straight up and down. Mulligan was engraved in brass on the desktop. Jared wasn’t surprised. He’d met the enigmatic employee once or twice. Both he and the investigator Paul Hanson had been with the company for years.

  “Two things. You have to go back into my office and tell Rocky who you are and where are your crutches? Jackson left a message on my cell that said you should to stay on crutches for the next few weeks to be on the safe side. You’ve a hairline fracture and should give it time to heal.” Jesse’s gaze as hard-assed as hell.

  “Forget the crutches. We both know I’ll heal just fine and there is no way I’m telling Rocky anything right now. She’s dealing with enough shit as it is.”

  “Do you think it’s going to be any better when we get to the bottom of this and she learns you aren’t a bodyguard, but a construction competitor?”

  “No. But at least when and if she kicks my ass to the curb, I’ll know a freaking truck isn’t waiting around the corner, ready to run her over. Don’t push this, Jesse. I may not know her well, but given what her parents have dumped on her, the last thing she needs at this point is to find out I led her to believe a few things that aren’t true.”

  “You’re making a big mistake, bro.”

  “It’s my deal. And as far as I see it, the only mistake is doing something that will alienate her right now.”

  Jesse shook his head.

  Jared prayed that he was making the right choice, right now. Unfortunately, doubt left an uneasy feeling in his gut. Getting to the bottom of this mystery then telling Rocky what he never should have tried to hide in the first place, was going to be hell.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Rocky left the R&D facility with her head spinning and her emotions careening. She wasn’t sure what was real about her life and what wasn’t. Who’d been honest with her and who hadn’t. Jared had been a rock of support, but it didn’t stop her from feeling that everything around her was falling apart. She had missed calls on her cell from Maggie and Alice. Both left a message about Pat’s death. Maggie was saddened by the older man’s passing. Alice was shocked and wanting to know what had happened. Rocky couldn’t call them back. She couldn’t talk about it yet, couldn’t fathom that he’d take his life. She just saw Pat two days ago in her father’s room at the nursing home. Talked to him. He’d been his usual self. She felt as if she were drowning. She couldn’t breathe.

  “I need to go see my father,” she said, grasping for something, anything to set her world back right. Then she remembered the jobsite. How could she have almost forgotten it completely? “I need to check the Drake jobsite, too. Mack said he and Maggie would take care of it, but it’s my responsibility.” Everything was crashing down on her.

  Jared stopped before pulling onto the highway and heading back into town. He put the truck in park and set his hand over her fist. “Look at me, Rocky.”

  She lifted her gaze from her lap. The care in his eyes wrapped around her, solid and steadying.

  “You sound panicked. You need to take a moment to eat and to regroup.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t—”

  “You must. All you managed was fruit this morning. I don’t care if we do drive-thru again or go to a restaurant, but you have to eat. You’re under a lot of stress. Not eating will only make thinking clearly that much harder. You have to remember that you are not alone. I am with you and we’ll figure this out together. We’ll go anywhere you need to go and see anyone you need to see, but first we are going to take care of you.” He brushed a kiss to her temple and squeezed her hand.

  She unfisted her hand and clasped his. She was panicking. Sucking in a deep breath, she let it go slowly, much as she did in yoga. “You’re right. I would have fainted in the lab if you hadn’t made me eat earlier. We both need to eat and take a moment to breathe. With you and your company’s resources, I need to realize that everything possible is being done.”

  Jared exhaled as if she’d punched him or as if he’d just cleared an Olympic high jump.

  “Are you all right?” She studied his expression, seeing that he was as worn and worried by the events of the morning as she was.

  He gave a half smile and looked out window as if searching for something. “Yeah, Sheridan-Weldon Solutions is a Godsend right now no matter what the circumstances.”

  She frowned, but before she could ask him what he meant, he changed the subject. “What do you want to eat?” He put the truck in gear and pulled onto the highway.

  “Drive-thru sounds like cardboard at the moment, but the thought of people and crowds is worse. I’m too raw inside.”

  “I’m with you. I know just where to go. It’s close, quiet, and not far from the Drake Hotel.” “That was easy. I’d thought I’
d have to argue more.”

  “I can be reasonable,” she said, already feeling herself relax inside. Just talking to him for a few minutes and reaffirming his solid presence helped.

  He arched a skeptical brow at her response.

  “On occasion,” she added, almost smiling.

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Some more than others,” she quipped and surprisingly laughed when he frowned. Teasing him eased some of the heaviness inside her and gave her that close to “normal” feeling she desperately needed at the moment.

  Well, what she could call normal. Nothing had been normal since Jared kissed her in the bar. How would their relationship have progressed under “normal” circumstances? Would they have dated a while before making love?

  The speed in which their relationship had progressed was as unsettling as it was comforting. In some ways she knew him and was closer to him than anyone else in her life. In other ways, they were still strangers.

  When it came to sex there hadn’t been a hesitant bone in Jared’s body. He’d thrust her into a full sexual arena and made every moment sizzle. Collin had been her first and only. Their first forays into sex had been tentative and after marriage it had become a weekly routine. Somehow she couldn’t imagine sex with Jared ever being routine.

  Given the force of their attraction, she wouldn’t have been able to keep him at arm’s length for long even under “normal” circumstances. They would have kissed the first date, gone farther on the second date, and would have likely hit a home run on the third. Still, there were some normal things that it would be nice to have. “Guess this lunch will be our first date.”

  He sat up straight, blinking with surprise. His foot even fell off the gas pedal, causing the truck to list and jerk as he recovered. “Hell...I...but, just damn, Rocky. It never even occurred to me that we hadn’t dated. We just sort of hit it off in the bedroom and I just assumed—but damn. You’re right. No, this will not be our first date. Our first date will commence when this situation you are in is resolved. There’s more to me than a good f—uh, than being good in the bedroom. I’m a great guy. I can be romantic and fun and adventurous.”