'Which pub are we heading for?' asked Avedissian as they reached the outskirts of Belfast.
‘Try the Blind Horse in Lyndock Street,' said Kathleen.
'How do we get there?'
'Stop the car.'
Avedissian stopped and Kathleen took over the driving. They were there in ten minutes after weaving through Belfast's dockland. Avedissian did not like the look of the place. He would not have liked it had it been a bright summer's day but, near to closing time on a wet night, it made the dock taverns of East London look classy.
'What do I do?' asked Avedissian.
'Stay with me and keep your mouth shut, or that accent of yours could have you face down in the water.'
The inside of the pub was as dingy and run-down as the exterior and Avedissian found himself feeling relieved that they had got soaked in Cladeen. Their sagging clothes and matted hair brought them some kind of common denominator with the clientele.
Kathleen ordered and paid for the drinks. It made Avedissian feel uncomfortable but no one seemed to see anything unusual in it. They sat down on a bench seat and sipped Guinness. 'Do you see anyone?' Avedissian whispered.
'No.'
A few minutes later a small man in a dark, ill-fitting suit emerged from the gents' toilets. He had a cigarette in his mouth with nearly an inch of ash clinging to the end but still managed to cough without disturbing it. Avedissian felt Kathleen stiffen beside him. She whispered, ‘That's Connell Murphy. He can get a message to Kell.' She got up and went to the bar, indicating with her hand that Avedissian should stay seated.
Avedissian watched Kathleen engage the man in conversation but was too far away to hear what was being said. He saw Murphy nod two or three times and then say something to the barman in response to something Kathleen had said. A whiskey was put down in front of him and Kathleen paid. The man downed it in one gulp and left the bar. Kathleen came back and sat down. She started to say something but had to pause for a loud bell that heralded closing time. Auxiliary shouts of ‘Time' broke out before she could try again so they got up and left. 'I've asked him to tell Kell that I will be here tomorrow lunchtime,' said Kathleen as they returned to the car.
It was agreed that Kathleen would go alone to the Blind Horse to negotiate the exchange. Avedissian did not like the notion but conceded that it made sense. Kell could not risk harming her while he held the key to the money. But, even with that seemingly undeniable thought to comfort them, neither could sleep that night and morning came as a relief. The sound of milk and papers being delivered provided a welcome distraction from the fear inspired by thoughts of Kell. They spent the morning rehearsing what Kathleen should say in outlining conditions for the hand- over of the tapes. At eleven-thirty she left for the rendezvous.
Avedissian watched the progress of every minute on the clock. He calculated that Kathleen should be back by twelve-forty, having taken an agreed detour to ensure that she was not being followed. They would then move to another boarding-house and make final plans for their escape from Ireland, based on the information that Kathleen returned with.
Twelve-forty came and went as did one o'clock and one-fifteen, then there was a slight knock on the door. Avedissian snatched it open and found their landlady standing there. 'You did say that you were leaving today… Mr Farmer?'
'My apologies, Mrs Pagan. My wife had to go out and find a dentist this morning. She has terrible toothache. She should be back shortly and then we'll be on our way.'
'Just as long as I know, Mr Farmer… I really should be charging you for an extra day you know
Avedissian closed the door on the woman and checked the time again. Where was she? What had happened?
At one-forty-five the little tap came to the door again. Avedissian, his nerves strained to breaking point, cursed under his breath and took some money from his wallet to stuff into the woman's hand.
'Are you still there, Mr Farmer?' asked the voice, making Avedissian mutter again as he went to open the door. 'Here you are Mrs
…' he had started to say when he saw the woman swept aside and the muzzle of a gun was whipped across his face. He staggered backwards and fell to the floor, an easy target for the boots that came thudding into him. He was dimly aware of being dragged out of the house and bundled into a car, but the lapses into unconsciousness were too frequent for him to plot any chain of events after that.
When he did come round he was lying on a stone floor in semi-darkness and had a raging thirst. He lay still for a moment, wondering whether or not he had any broken ribs but they seemed to be intact when he tried breathing a little deeper. He moved his jaw from side to side. It wasn't broken. Gritting his teeth, he tried to get up, letting out an involuntary groan at the stiffness in his neck through lying in the one position for God knew how long.
A metal slit was hammered back in the door and eyes peered in. The slit closed and a few moments later bolts rattled and the door was flung open to allow a man holding a gun to enter. He motioned with the muzzle and said, 'Out, you bastard.' Avedissian was prodded and poked all the way along a corridor and then told to wait while another door was unlocked. He was thrown inside and the door closed behind him.
Avedissian was no longer alone. There were two other people in the room and one of them was Kathleen, her face stained with tears and racked with pain. 'Oh, my love,' he exclaimed in anguish as he crawled towards her, 'What have they done to you?'
Kell burned her till she told him where you were,' said the other person in the room, a thin, haggard-looking man with only one arm. 'I'm Kathleen's brother.'
Despite the poor lighting in the cellar Avedissian could see the marks left by cigarette burns on Kathleen's exposed breasts.
'I told them… I told them…' she murmured. 'I let you down
…'
'Don't, don't say that,' whispered Avedissian. He was thinking of the length of time he had waited at the boarding-house and what Kathleen must have been going through. He closed his eyes and put his cheek against her hair. 'What happened?' he asked.
‘They didn't even talk,’ said Kathleen. 'As soon as I got to the Blind Horse, Kell's men put me in a car and brought me here. All they wanted to know was where you were… and I told them.' More tears began to flow and Avedissian tried to comfort her.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop as a persistent squeaking sound reached them. Avedissian looked at O'Neill and asked, 'Kell?' O'Neill nodded and the sound grew louder. Avedissian could feel Kathleen's body stiffen in fear.
The door opened and Nelligan, Kell's minder, manoeuvred the pram expertly inside. He turned it round on its back wheels alone so that Kell now faced the three of them. Nelligan stood behind like a rock with a gun.
'Well, well, well,' said Kell with syncopated precision. 'Isn't this nice.'
Avedissian felt a new kind of fear grow within him, for the monster in the pram seemed to radiate evil and malice. He found himself mesmerised by the huge eyes behind the glasses and the pale, hairless face.
'Now then,' said Kell with a smile that seared Avedissian like a soldering-iron. 'I want my money.'
'You would have got the tapes. What the hell did you have to do this for?' said Avedissian with much more bravery than he felt.
Kell fixed him with a long stare and said, 'I said money, not tapes.'
Avedissian stayed silent but felt his position crumble as Kell resumed his stare.
'When news of Miss O'Neill's generous offer reached me last night I thought it was about time to re-establish contact with our American friends and commiserate with them over a British trick that had fooled both of us. They told me that things were even worse than I thought. The British bastards had actually managed to get their hands on the money when they had thought it safe for the time being. But, of course, you and I both know that it wasn't the British who got the money; don't we… Doctor?'
Avedissian swallowed hard and said hoarsely, 'All right, Kell. I've got the money. Let us go and you can have it.'
The smile vanished from Kell's face and was replaced with venomous anger. 'I can have it, can I?' he whispered. 'How kind.'
