Mary O'Reilly 10 - Veiled Passages

by Terri Reid

  She stuck out her tongue at him and then headed downstairs. Pausing near the front door, she performed a few stretches to limber up before she started running.

  “Looking good,” Mike said, accompanying his words with a low wolf whistle.

  Turning, she shook her head, and a small smile teased its way onto her face. “Sorry about earlier,” she apologized. “It’s just…”

  Mike hovered next to her. “Hey, really, I get it,” he said. “Wedding coming up, new kid in the house, murderer trying to kill you, your mom coming to visit. All the normal stresses a potential bride faces.”

  Sighing, she leaned against the door. “Wouldn’t it be nice, just for once, to be normal?”

  He grinned. “Darling, you’re asking that question to the wrong person, er, angel,” he replied. “If you were normal, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Nodding, she stood straight. “You’re right,” she said. “And no amount of normal would be worth that.”

  “Have a good run, kid,” Mike said.

  “Yes, I think I will,” she said with a bright smile.

  It was a lovely spring morning. The little daffodils and crocuses were already blooming, their powerful scent filling the morning air with perfume. New grass was pushing through the soil and a perky robin was flitting from one branch to another in the maple tree in front of her house. She inhaled deeply and immediately felt better; this was going to be a great day.

  She wore a sweat shirt over her running gear to try and disguise the hand gun she was also carrying. Since Gary Copper had not been located yet she wasn’t going to take any chances, so the gun had become an everyday accessory.

  Jogging up her street, she made sure she used the cars on the street and the trees as shields. She knew Gary was not a trained marksman, so it would be hard for him to hit a moving target, much less one that was jogging in an erratic pace around buffers. It took her a little longer to get to the park, but it was worth the peace of mind.

  She entered the park, headed towards the playground and grinned. There he was, doing those stretches he did so well. Bradley, dressed in his favorite work out gear of cut-off sweat pants and a t-shirt, had his hands on the top of the bench as he bent and stretched. It was a view that would make any red-blooded woman experience a shot of heat. She paused at the top of the rise for a moment, just to enjoy the view.

  “Um, ma’am.”

  The voice behind her made her jump and reach for her weapon. Turning, she saw a female uniformed police officer standing next to her.

  “Sorry, ma’am, I was just on the other side of the tree line,” she said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Mary stuffed her gun back into its holster and shook her head. “No, sorry, I’m just a little jumpy,” she explained.

  “Yes, I know,” she said. “That’s why the chief has a couple of us stationed around the park, to keep an eye out for anyone matching Copper’s description.”

  “That’s a good idea,” she agreed. “Did you need something from me?”

  The officer looked slightly embarrassed. “Well, begging your pardon, ma’am, but stopping like you did at the top of the rise makes you an easy target.”

  Mary looked around and realized that she had, indeed, stopped to watch Bradley at a really vulnerable spot. Something she would have never done if she’d been thinking straight. She smiled at the officer. “Sorry, you’re right,” she said. “I guess I just got distracted.”

  The officer smiled back at her. “Yes, ma’am,” she agreed, and then pointed to a more sheltered area a little further down the path. “If you want to be distracted a little further down the pathway, that would be a safer place and you’d still…”

  Grinning, she nodded. “Enjoy the view, officer?” she asked.

  Returning her grin, the officer nodded in the direction of Bradley, still in the process of stretching. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, officer, I will try to be more aware of my surroundings,” Mary said.

  “Have a good day,” the officer replied, stepping back into the tree line.

  Mary continued her jog around the path and down into the playground. Bradley looked up at her and smiled. “Hi! You’re late,” he said.

  “Sorry, I stopped to chat with one of your officers,” she replied. “We were both enjoying… the beauty of nature.”

  Bradley looked around and breathed in deeply. “Yeah, it’s a great day.”

  Mary nodded. “It certainly is,” she agreed.

  “So do you want to race?” he asked.

  “Of course…” she began, but he took off running before she had a chance to complete her sentence. “Hey, no fair!”

  She dashed after him. They ran up the path that circled the park: it was as wide as a sidewalk and lined with trees on either side. From their vantage point, they could see down on the band shell, the baseball diamonds and the carousel. But Mary was too busy concentrating on gaining on Bradley to enjoy the view.

  She just started to gain on him when he turned and ran down the hill, using a narrow deer path that wove through the trees down towards the band shell.

  She increased her pace, watching him skip over roots and rocks like it was a well-practiced obstacle course. Well practiced! Crap! This is a set up! He’s cheating! Well, there is no way I’m going to let him win when he’s cheating!

  Quickly assessing the situation, she decided the only way she would be able to catch him was to run directly through the woods and intersect his deer path. Charging into the trees alongside the path, Mary created a small avalanche as she slipped and slid over dirt, rocks and roots, angling her way towards the path and Bradley. The hill was steep and Mary’s downhill momentum was increasing. At first she was exhilarated by her speed, but after a few moments, as small branches whipped against her body and her feet nearly slid out from underneath her, she realized she was not in control and she would have a hard time stopping. She tried to grab onto small saplings to slow her descent, but she only received a palm filled with slivers. The only thing she could do was plunge forward and hope to keep her feet underneath her.

  Angling her body through the remaining trees, she set herself on a direct collision course with Bradley. If she was going down, he was going along with her.

  Chapter Two

  Oblivious to the drama behind him, Bradley was racing down the small deer path, his practiced steps easily avoiding the tricky roots and rocks. He knew he had an unfair advantage and he had set Mary up to fail this time. But, he reasoned, it would be all worth it in the end.

  The sounds of something crashing through the woods to his side caused him to turn just as Mary broke through the brush and careened into him. He wrapped his arms around her to stop her forward motion, but their feet got tangled together and they both dropped to the ground.

  Their forward momentum and the steep incline of the hill caused them to roll down the grassy hill together. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, dammit, ouch,” Mary cried, as her body, often sandwiched between Bradley and the bumpy ground, found every rock, stick and lump in the grass.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, were only a few moments, they stopped at the base of the carousel. Mary landed with her back pressed up against the fence line. Bradley lay next to her, facing the carousel. He raised his head, slipping his arms from around her body and angling himself up. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She pushed her hair from her face and sighed. “I’m fine. I think my ego is bruised more than my body.”

  Smiling down at her, he lowered his face, kissed the tip of her nose and then reached across her and placed his hand on the chain-link fence. “I win,” he announced.

  Mary angled her hands against his chest, pushed him, but he didn’t budge. “What? You win? I could be bleeding internally and all you’re concerned about is winning?”

  He shook his head. “I did ask you if you were okay first,” he reminded her. “Besides, it was really important for me to win.”

  She fol
ded her arms across her chest. “Oh, really?” she snapped. “What’s so important?”

  “Mary O’Reilly, marry me,” he said.

  Rolling her eyes and sighing, she shook her head. “You already asked me that question,” she replied. “Remember?”

  Grinning down at her, he leaned forward and kissed her nose once again. “Yeah, I remember,” he said. “But, I want to make a slight adjustment to our agreement.”

  “An adjustment?” she repeated slowly.

  He leaned down again and placed his forehead against hers. “I want us to get married sooner,” he said softly. “I want us to be a family. I don’t want to wait.”

  “A family?”

  “You and me and Clarissa,” he said. “The sooner we get married, the sooner all of our lives can assume some normalcy.”

  Her lips quirked. “You really think your life is going to assume some normalcy being married to me?”

  He pondered her comment for a moment and then kissed the tip of her nose again. “It will be the best kind of para-normalcy anyone could ask for.”

  Laughing, she nodded. “Okay, how much sooner?”

  He touched her lips with his. “Tomorrow,” he whispered.

  She snorted. “No, that’s not going to work.”

  “When?” he asked.

  Sighing, she did a quick mental list of everything she’d have to complete for the wedding. There was so much more that still needed to be done. She looked up at him and met his eyes. He was right, it would do Clarissa a world of good to be part of a real family, instead of getting to know her father only during the daytime hours. What could she promise that wouldn’t totally drive her insane? Finally, she answered. “Two weeks.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Really? Two weeks? We could get married in two weeks?” his smile widening.

  “You mean I could have asked for more time?” she questioned.

  “Nope, not now,” he said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “In two weeks you’ll be walking down the aisle to make me the happiest man in the world.”

  Nodding, she leaned up and kissed him. “Yes. Well, if I can walk after this experience,” she commented drily.

  He lowered his head once more and teased her lips with his, exploring and tasting, the heat slowly building for both of them. Finally, he lifted his head and met her eyes. “I love you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

  Smiling, she slipped her arms around his neck. “Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “You’re going to have to put up with a frantic fiancée for two weeks.”

  He kissed the underside of her jaw and Mary shivered when the stubble from his jaw slid against her skin. “Yeah, but then I get to enjoy a wedding night with my sexy bride,” he whispered, “A very long wedding night.”

  Chapter Three

  Mary slipped through the front doorway and leaned against it, closing it tightly behind her. She covered her face with her hands and took deep calming breaths. “I will not panic. I will not panic. I will not panic,” she repeated firmly.

  “Go ahead and panic,” Mike suggested from a few feet away.

  “Aye, never waste a good opportunity to go stark-raving mad,” Ian added from the kitchen. “And why are we panicking this fine morning?”

  Mary slipped her hands down and placed them on her knees. She took a deep breath and then looked up at her roommates.

  “What happened to you?” Mike asked, his face suddenly awash with concern.

  “Do you need me to call an ambulance?” Ian added, hurrying from the kitchen with a dish towel.

  “I’m getting married,” she said breathlessly.

  Mike and Ian looked at Mary, and then at each other, confusion evident in their faces.

  “Aye,” Ian said slowly. “I’m thinking we knew that…right?”

  Mike hovered closer to Mary and held up his hand. “Mary, how many fingers am I holding up?” he asked, displaying three fingers.

  She sighed and shook her head. “Yes, we knew that. But Bradley just asked me to move up the wedding,” she replied.

  “And that’s when he pushed you off a cliff?” Mike asked.

  Shaking her head, Mary looked at him. “What?”

  “Mary, you’re a mess,” Ian said. “You look like something the dog didna drag in.”

  She ran her hand through her hair and came out with twigs. “Oh, this,” she said. “We kind of rolled down the hill.”

  “Before or after he asked you to move up the wedding?” Ian asked.

  “After,” Mary replied impatiently. “He won the race, so he got to ask.”

  “So, when are you getting married?” Mike asked.

  Sighing, Mary leaned back against the door. “Two weeks.”

  “Two weeks?” Ian asked. “That’s not much time.”

  Mike shrugged. “If you can plan a Super Bowl Party in two weeks, you can plan a wedding in two weeks. I mean there’s not much difference.”

  Mary glared at him.

  “Wrong answer, right?” Mike said sheepishly.

  Nodding, with her teeth clenched, she replied, “Yeah, wrong answer.”

  Ian walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the staircase. “Okay, now, darling,” he said. “You go on upstairs and take a nice hot shower. Then, when you’re ready, we can start making some lists and divide and conquer this problem.”

  “Really?” Mary asked. “You’ll help me?”

  “Of course I will,” he said. “We’re a team. We’ll get this done.”

  “Yeah, and I’ll help too,” Mike added hesitantly. “I don’t know what the hell to do, but I’ll help.”

  “Oh, aye, that makes us all feel much better,” Ian replied, rolling his eyes. “Don’t worry, darling, we’ll put him in charge of something harmless.”

  “Music!” Mike suggested with enthusiasm. “Angels and, you know, heavenly choirs. I can do music. You need something great when you walk down the aisle. Something unique. Something that screams ‘Mary O’Reilly is getting married.’”

  “How about the Wedding March,” Ian suggested.

  “Oh, no, too boring,” Mike replied. “I was thinking Thriller and maybe she could learn the dance steps. Hey, maybe we could all learn the dance steps. Wouldn’t that be…”

  He stopped when he heard Mary groan aloud and watched her run up the stairs, her hands slapped over her ears. He turned to Ian. “Not Thriller, huh?”

  “Yeah, probably not.”

  Chapter Four

  Mary walked into the small restaurant located in the lobby of the downtown hotel. Having gone through a complete renovation only a few years before, the restaurant was now a trendy Irish Pub with a lunch menu that offered items from a corned beef and slaw sandwich on rye to a Dublin burger with fries. Although the hotel was only a few blocks from her office, Mary had never been inside the restaurant. But with a fast approaching wedding, desperation and the hope of catering had her entering the place well before the noon-hour rush.

  “Good morning. Can I help you?” the friendly bartender asked as Mary walked towards the bar.

  Sliding up on a bar stool Mary nodded. “I’m supposed to meet Angus O’Malley here to talk about catering,” she explained. “But I wouldn’t mind a Diet Pepsi.”

  With a quick smile, the woman loaded a glass with ice and used a tap to fill it with the desired drink. “Angus is in the back, placing orders for next week,” she said. “But I can tell you, his catering scheduled is filled up until June.”

  Mary closed her eyes for a moment. “I still want to speak with him,” she said, “just to plead my case.”

  The woman smiled. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

  Mary nodded and took a quick sip of the soda. She closed her eyes in pleasure as the caffeinated beverage slipped down her throat. She’d been trying to cut back, but today she really felt like she needed one.

  “Excuse me, but that stuff will kill you.”

  The man’s voice came from right beside her. Mar
y jumped, looked over to where the voice was coming from and jumped again.

  “Oh! My! Goodness! You’re naked,” Mary said, sliding a stool over to get away from the ghost sitting next to her.

  The ghost looked casually down at his fleshy and very naked body and nodded, “So it would seem I am,” he said.

  Mary reached across the bar, grabbed a folded linen napkin and slid it towards him. “Well, at least cover yourself,” she said. “This is a public place.”

  The ghost reached over, shook out the napkin and placed it judiciously on his lap. “There! Happy?”

  Turning to him, Mary met his eyes. “No, because I am probably going to be scarred for life,” she replied. “What were you thinking?”

  The ghost sat back against the stool and shrugged. “Well, I really wasn’t thinking about it at all, because no one has ever noticed me before,” he said. “I’ve sat here at this bar in my altogether for about ten years.”

  “Ten years? What happened ten years ago?”

  “I was murdered in my hotel room,” he said with a shrug. “Don’t know how they got to me, but it must have been them.”

  “Who is them?” Mary asked.

  “One of the alphabet agencies,” he replied, lowering his voice and looking over his shoulder. “They are probably still tracking me now. It could be dangerous for you.”

  Mary turned and looked around the deserted restaurant and lobby. “I think we’re safe,” she said. “After all, you’re a ghost and no one else can see you.”

  He turned and stared at her. “I’ve heard they have people like you working for them,” he said, suddenly suspicious. “Are you one of them?”

  “No,” she replied, “And even though I don’t know who them are, I can guarantee you I am not one…of them.”

  “Them, I mean, they, are the elite secret agencies that actually rule not only this country, but the rest of the world,” he whispered confidentially. “They are only known by letters.”

  “Actually,” Mary replied, imitating his confidential tone. “We are all only known by letters. Just depends on what the letters are. I’m Mary O’Reilly, emphasis on the O.”