by Clare Revell
He looked at the ring and twisted it slowly until it slid off his finger. He set it in his cufflink box on the chest of drawers in the bedroom right along with Sally’s wedding and engagement rings. It felt incredibly strange not wearing it, almost like he was standing there naked, but he knew he’d never forget her. He didn’t need a ring to remember her. He ran his fingers over the chain around his wrist and took a deep breath. That he’d keep wearing.
He picked Jacqui up and she did a double take at his hand. “Liam?”
“I figured it was time,” he said quietly. “I’ll never forget her, and she’ll always have a place in my heart, but it’s time. If we’re doing this dating thing properly, then I need to start afresh with you, and you don’t need to be made to feel second place.”
“I don’t. I know she’s your wife and…”
“Was my wife. You’re my girl now. Assuming you want to be.”
She hugged him. “Yes, I do want to be your girl.” She grinned. “Does this mean I get to meet your twin now?”
“You really want to?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Now come on or we’ll be late.”
****
Liam looked at Jacqui as the Sunday service finished. “Are you sure about this?”
She laughed. “You’ve been sneaking out of here for the last couple of weeks to avoid her and yes, I want to meet her. Assuming you’re not ashamed of me.”
“Of course I’m not. All right, she’s right down there with Jared.” Liam took her hand and they made their way downstairs, to where Niamh and Jared still sat in the pew talking to the people in front of them. Liam stood where he’d catch her eye, not wanting to interrupt.
Niamh’s whole face lit up and tears sparkled in her eyes. “Liam.” She was on her feet, her arms tightly around him, before he could react. “What are you doing here?”
He hugged her back. “The same thing as you, sis—worshipping God. I’ve been coming for a couple of weeks now.”
“Does this mean…?” she broke off, hope in her voice.
Liam nodded. “Yeah, thanks to someone I want you and Jared to meet.” He pulled Jacqui close. “This is Jacqui Dorne. Jacqui, this is my twin sister Niamh, and her husband Jared.”
Jacqui shook hands with them both. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Liam talks about you a lot.”
“Does he? Well, he’s told me nothing about you,” Niamh’s eyes widened as she took in his left hand. “No ring…does this mean?”
Liam looked at Jacqui and nodded. “Yeah, Jacqui’s my girlfriend.”
Niamh squealed and hugged him again. “What are you guys doing for lunch?”
“Not much as it happens.”
“Then join us. Jarrie’s cooking as he works the next four days.”
“Jared’s roast dinners are famous.” Liam grinned at Jacqui. “You haven’t lived until you try one. And he always cooks enough to feed an army. Or should that be an entire platoon of firefighters?”
“Then lunch would be lovely. Thank you.”
“Follow us back to ours, then.” She looked at Liam. “And you’d better not be hiding anything else from me.”
Liam attempted to look innocent. “Now would I do something like that?”
“Yes,” Niamh and Jacqui chorused together.
Jared laughed. “You’re outgunned and outmaneuvered, mate. I’d quit while you’re ahead.”
Liam nodded. “Looks that way. Come on, I’m starved.”
****
Liam sat with Jared on the patio listening to the girls’ chatter coming through the kitchen window. “They seem to be getting on OK.”
“Think Niamh’s hurt you didn’t say anything sooner. How long have you been seeing her?”
“I’ve known her a couple of months. I met her through work. I didn’t tell anyone—no one at work knows we’re dating, either.” His fingers moved over his left hand. “Seems strange not wearing the ring. Only took it off this morning.”
“Are you serious about her?”
“It’s a little early to talk serious.” Liam crossed his legs, going on the defensive. “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t mention it.”
“Down boy,” Jared told him. “I was just asking. Do you know anything about her? I don’t want to see you get hurt on your first foray back into the dating world.”
“That makes me sound like a wolf on the prowl. I’m not. We’re taking things one day at a time. Her last relationship ended on a bad note—and I need to show her that not all men use their fists to solve a problem.”
“That’s a little hypocritical if you don’t mind me saying.”
Liam raised an eyebrow.
“Mr. Vengeance-is-Mine.” There was a teasing hint to Jared’s voice, but the jibe went deep.
“That’s different. I meant hitting her. Or any woman, come to that.” He noted the change of expression on Jared’s face. “Yeah, her last boyfriend was a jerk of the first degree. So we’re going slowly—as slowly as she needs. And speaking of women’s needs, how are things between you and Ni?”
Jared shrugged. “No better. She’s one stubborn woman.”
“Want me to talk to her?”
“I don’t think it’d make any difference, but thanks for the offer.” Jared smiled and held out a hand to his wife as the women came back.
Niamh sat next to him. “Jacqui’s been telling me you quit drinking, Li. Something else you didn’t tell me.”
Liam gripped Jacqui’s hand as she sat. “I’m trying to quit. Going to the AA meetings again. It’s not easy, but I’m trying. Today marks day eighteen.”
“Just take one day at a time, bro.” She tilted her head. “You’ve kept the scruffy beard.”
Liam ran a hand over his chin. “It’s actually tidy today. It’s taken some getting used to.”
“Are you keeping it?”
“Yes. At least it’s not showing the grey hair yet.” He looked at Jared and winked.
“That’s not the reason I shave and you know it.” Jared grinned.
“Don’t you go quoting rules and regulations at me. You’re not in the military.”
“May as well be some days with parade and full blown dress uniform. Clean shaven is one of the rules. Kind of has to be with those close fitting masks we wear. But I wouldn’t change what I do any more than you would.”
“Li’s a born teacher,” Niamh said. “More likely than not frazzled by three fifteen on a Friday, but still looking good.”
“Looking good for an old man, maybe.”
“Oh, get on with you. We’re not that old.”
“Says she who only has a birthday once every four years.”
“There has to be some advantage to being born on the twenty-ninth of February.”
“Of course if I didn’t give her a present each year there’d be trouble.” Liam told Jacqui.
Niamh playfully thumped his arm. “You bet there would. Seriously, Li, there’s something different about you. I can’t put my finger on it as to whether its God or Jacqui, but there is something in your eyes and in you that hasn’t been there for a long time.”
“Is that a good thing, Ni?”
“It’s a very good thing.”
Jacqui elbowed Liam. “I see a trend here—Li, Ni…it all rhymes. Do you call your brother Pi by any chance?”
Liam and Niamh burst out laughing. When Liam could finally breathe, he looked at Jacqui and nodded. “We do. However, we called him Three Point One Four for years and he never got it.”
Jacqui looked confused. “Three Point One Four?”
“Three Point One Four …” Liam rolled his eyes. “It’s Pi. As in maths.”
****
Niamh caught Liam’s arm as they were preparing to leave. “I like her, bro,” she said quietly. “You’ve got a good one there.”
“Is Jared having a similar conversation with Jacqui?” he asked wryly.
“No, of course not. She’s put a smile back on your face, and that’s a good thing. Just do one t
hing for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Next time you give her flowers, don’t throw them at her and especially not over the laptop.”
“Am I ever going to be allowed to forget that?”
“Nope.” She hugged him. “It’s really good to see you, Li. Don’t be a stranger, you hear?”
“I won’t. I love you, sis, and I’ve missed you.”
“Missed you, too. Now, go on and we’ll see you in church in a few.”
12
Liam jerked awake to the sound of the ringing. He reached out and slapped the alarm clock. The ringing didn’t stop. Slowly through his sleep fuddled brain, the thought arrived that it was the doorbell. He looked at the clock twice and sighed. Maybe whoever it was would go away. The bell kept ringing. Maybe not. He got up and grabbed his robe, wrapping it around him. The bell rang again. “I’m coming.”
He reached the door and flung it open, doing a double take as he saw his brother standing there. “Patrick?”
Patrick pushed past him and into the hall, his black overcoat swinging around him. He pulled off the shades and shut the door. “Did I wake you?”
Liam shook his head at his brother’s abruptness. He never let himself in and never called this early. “Please come in and no you didn’t wake me. I had to get up to answer the door.” He yawned. “That’s a silly question. It’s five in the morning. Of course you did. What’s up?”
Patrick put a finger over his lips and started waving an electronic gadget over the walls as he moved swiftly through the small maisonette. This was abnormal even by his standards, but Liam knew better than to interrupt. Finally Patrick put the gadget away and nodded. “OK.”
“OK what? What were you searching for?”
“Bugs.”
Liam did a double take. It was way too early in the morning for this. “Bugs? I cleaned yesterday.”
“Electronic bugs.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “OK, you know what? Either you stop talking in riddles and tell me what’s going on or—”
“Vince Devlin.”
Liam was wide awake in an instant. He followed his brother as he strode down the hall to the kitchen “What about him?”
“What I want to know is how you came about the information you sent me.” Patrick’s cold voice sent rivers of ice down Liam’s spine.
“Why?” Liam filled the kettle and set it to boil. He needed coffee. His stomach and fingers tingled. Was he finally going to find out the truth? He rubbed his hands over his face and eyed his brother expectantly. “Have you found something?”
“You came to me and sent me that email, remember?”
“That was almost three weeks ago.”
“I’ve been busy. Talk to me, Liam. I need to know everything that you do. Who your contact is out there, what you’ve been doing and so on.”
“I’ve been keeping up the search for Sally’s killers. I figured someone had to—especially as the police aren’t doing a thing. Three weeks ago I had a phone call and an email from my contact in Endarra. That’s what I sent you. Thing is, this Vince Devlin is the ex of this girl I’m seeing, and he got in...”
“You’re seeing a girl?” Patrick grabbed his left hand. “No ring. It must be serious.”
“That’s what Niamh said. Yeah, I have been for almost two months. And yes I will introduce you to her. After church on Sunday if you’re gonna be there.”
“Should be. Back to Vince Devlin.”
“Sure. The same day I get the email, this old flame of hers shows up and offers her a job in Africa, working for him, rebuilding an orphanage. He’s the CEO of the Horatio Corporation, which incidentally has no website or email.”
“Nice of him to look up an old flame and offer her the work.”
“Not when it’s the guy who slapped her around when he felt like it. And not if my suspicions are right and it’s Endarra he’s rebuilding.”
Patrick pulled out his notepad. “What’s her name?”
The kettle boiled. Liam busied himself by making coffee.
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“She could be in on this, too, for all you know. Li, your girlfriend just happens to have been involved with the man who blew up the Endarra mission and killed Sally. That is one too many coincidences even for me.”
Liam scowled, tempted to throw Patrick out there and then, but he didn’t. Lord, help me keep my temper. He settled for putting the mug on the table firmly and sitting down with his. He took a deep uneven breath before answering. “She isn’t involved. I can assure you of that. I mean the guy assaulted her. He blew her parent’s savings before trying to bribe them into forgiving him.” He summarized badly, but got his point across. “The guy’s a creep and she wants nothing to do with him. She even changed her phone number so he can’t contact her again. Does that sound like she’s involved?”
Patrick sipped his coffee. “Your word isn’t enough, Li. I wish it were. And getting angry isn’t going to help. You came to me. I’m working on it. Please help me fill in the blanks.”
Liam sucked in a deep breath. “Her name’s Jacqui Dorne. She works for the Jekyll Foundation. She’s working at the school at the moment, redoing the grounds.”
“I’ll check her out.” Patrick looked worried.
“So now you’re interested, Pi.” Liam regretted the sarcastic comment the moment it was out.
Patrick glared at him. “You’re not the only one who misses her.”
Liam felt a gentle tug within restrain him from the violent outburst that filled him. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken this long. International relations work differently. We have to go through diplomatic channels, and that takes time, especially when no one cooperates. I did what I could. It wasn’t enough, I know that. The evidence just wasn’t there.” Patrick took a deep breath. “At least we couldn’t do anything officially. Not until you sent that email.”
“So why did you come? What did you find out? Or is that classified?”
Patrick looked at him. “Classified, you know that. What I can tell you is that this guy has been on the radar for a while, as has his corporation. However, none of what you sent me had come up. I need the name of your contact, and I need it now.”
“I can’t do that.”
Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “Liam, you have no idea what this guy is capable of. People who cross him either vanish or die in mysterious circumstances.”
“And you wonder why I can’t tell you?”
“You came to me, Liam,” he said. “Look, for some reason, Devlin wants your girlfriend to work for him. You know he has a history of violence as he already assaulted her once. Do I need to spell out what might happen if she turns down the job? We need to stop this guy before anything happens.”
“My contact’s named Manu.” Liam prayed Manu would understand. He couldn’t risk Jacqui’s safety for anything. He picked up his phone and scrolled through it. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, bro. And stay away from Devlin.”
“What if he contacts Jacqui?”
“Then you call me or text me and I’ll instruct you what to do. Something is going down. Can’t say what, but I need you to work with me on this.” Patrick looked at him. “And cancel any plans you may have to go to Endarra this summer.”
Shock filled Liam. “How did you know I was—?”
Patrick raised a hand and cut him off. “I’m a spook. It’s my job to know. Just do it, Liam. This is too important for you to go wandering off this summer and charging in where angels fear to tread.”
“So Devlin is involved with Endarra.”
“I didn’t say that. Let me handle the investigation from now on.”
Liam inclined his head slightly. “You promise you will?”
“This is my case now. If Devlin contacts your girlfriend, ring me immediately.”
Liam pulled out his phone. “Better set up a pre-arranged code. If this guy starts followin
g her or something, I may not be able to call you. I’ll set my phone up to send you a text.”
“Good thinking.” Patrick nodded in approval. “Now how about some more coffee and toast before I head into the office?”
****
The phone woke Jacqui from a deep sleep. She reached out blindly to pick it up, knocking her Bible to the floor. “Hello?” Her voice sounded groggy even to her.
“Hey, babe. I’m sorry to ring so early.”
“Vince?” She looked at the clock. “It’s six thirty in the morning…Wait a minute. How did you get hold of my private ex-directory home phone number?”
“I had no other way of contacting you after you changed your mobile number. So I rang your office and they gave it to me on Friday.”
They did what? Jacqui glared at the phone. That was something else she’d have to do today. Contact the telephone company and get a new number. Then she needed to blast whichever idiot at work gave out her home phone number.
Wait a minute. Why leave it so long to ring and why so jolly early in the morning? Oh…does that mean he’s got my address as well?
Jacqui sat up and dangled her feet off the edge of the bed, sliding them into her slippers while Vince continued without as much as a pause. “I was wondering if you had made a decision about my job offer. Three weeks is ample time.”
She pushed to her feet in agitation. Incorrigible didn’t even begin to describe him. She walked across the room and pulled open the curtains. She leaned against the window, her back against the net curtains. “No. I told you I have this job here, and there are other considerations as well.”
“Jacqui, I need you. This job is perfect for you. You loved Africa and this gives you the chance, not to complete the one you started unfortunately, but to start something from scratch, start over. And speaking of starting over, I thought that perhaps you and I could—”
No way. Even if I weren’t involved with Liam now. The mere suggestion had her swallowing hard against the sudden rush of nausea. “I’m sorry, Vince. You and I ended ages ago. Any feelings I had for you died the day you hit me.”
