Malone was shaking his head. The end, right up to the end. Was Leonardo dead?
“I tell you, if he hadn’t tried to run for it-if I didn’t have to throw a frigging van at him to stop him, he might have been singing a different story-Holy Jesus! Did you see that one?”
The colour of the flashes seemed to have turned to green now. His mind was ready to burst. What the hell had happened between Leonardo and Malone? He looked back at the van.
“Let’s go, man! It’s been doing this for the last half-hour. It’s bound to start lashing sometime. Come on!”
He caught up with Malone who tripped again, spilling a little from he bottle. He had to ask him.
“…lift on the bike,” he heard coming over Malone’s shoulder. “Yeah! should have come straight out and admitted it. Show a bit of self-respect, you know? Hey, where is this fucking bike of yours anyway?”
“Over that way. Terry-”
“He would have sold you down the fucking river for a tenner, man. Oh, stupid he wasn’t-I mean, he knew that he better not have a heap of money on him, so he’s smart enough to stash it. But, Jesus, Jammy, you were the right iijit to let him do that to you. Man! If Eddsy ever found out… Hey, what story did he tell you about where he got the money anyway? I never got that far with him. How did he get by you?”
“Well, it was like…well…”
Malone stopped. The grove was fifty yards behind them. The smell n the air had a sting to it now.
“Oh, I get it! You’re too fucking embarrassed, aren’t you?”
He watched Malone drain the bottle and reach back to fling it away. He stopped and turned around.
“Jases, that wouldn’t be very smart, would it? Come on.”
“Terry, what about him. You know. What’s going to happen?”
“I’m going to get a lift down the quays off you. You’re going to get five hundred quid-if there’s really four and a half grand here. We’re going to go on our merry fucking way.”
“No. I mean the van and-”
“Shut up, would you? He’s a goner, man: brown bread! Don’t keep asking about him! Hey, I’ve got feelings too, you know. But fellas like him, they’d rob you blind. It’ll square off okay with Eddsy. It’s a message, right? I’m going to give Eddsy a thou and tell him that Hickey must’ve put the rest in his fucking arm. Hickey was a junkie, right? So a junkie’ll go through big money in a few days. They get into a party, they lose the head-everyone bangs up-fuck, Eddsy’ll be surprised there’s anything left. Is that the road there? Come on!”
“But, Terry, what about the law? What did he tell you about the law? You said they were asking him stuff about me and everything-”
“Ah, give over, for Jases’s sake! What have they on you, man? Have you got a record? Have you gotten picked up and given the treatment all day and all night? Don’t be so fucking stupid! I can’t believe it! You’re a little bleeding angel, Jammy!”
“What?”
“Christ! Don’t you get it yet? They never asked him anything about you! He was trying to buy time! He was lying through his teeth!”
Malone grabbed his forearm.
“Shit! Fuck it! Oh, man, here it comes. Did you feel that?”
He had felt it, he knew, but he had somehow ignored it. Another big drop landed on his head. Malone had let go his arm. He was swearing still, calling out to him as he hurried out toward the road. This time the thunder began with a snap. The noise seemed to roll across the sky.
TWENTY-SEVEN
The safest place to be, that’s right,”said Kilmartin. He leaned forward and pushed in the lighter. “Do you mind?”
“Long as you don’t fart, I don’t.”
“Huh. Like I was saying. Safest of all. It’s the rubber, you know.”
Minogue turned the ignition key and pushed the window button.
Lightning flared again.
“Listen, you’ve had your jaunt now. That’s twice today I gave in to your, what’ll I call it, your obsession, with this new motor of yours. Any excuse to go out for a drive, huh?”
“Maybe.”
“Come on so. We’ve seen enough of nature at her finest. Let’s get out of here. Never liked this kind of fireworks. Sort of puts me in mind of a redemptorist sermon during Lent.”
Minogue listened for the roll of thunder. It came from far off again, like cardboard box falling down the stairs. Eleven seconds: eleven miles.
“Did you hear the screeching earlier on?” he asked Kilmartin.
“What? Where? Back up the other end of the Park?”
“Yes. Just before the first bits of thunder.”
“The Zoo, man. Sure the poor beasts must be terrified. I mean to say. Even if they were born and reared in Ireland here-and there are many of ’em what are, I believe-they’d have their instincts. Yes. Fear. Arra Christ, I’ve had a headache hanging around all day. Like it was waiting a pounce on me. I held off with the bloody aspirin and now I don’t have them with me. Typical, isn’t it? If I wanted this class of tropical-type shagging weather, I would have taken a few bob out of the Get-Away account and toddled off to somewhere you’d expect this class of typhoon. Know what I’m saying?”
“Of course I do, Jim.”
He sensed Kilmartin’s glare on him but he didn’t turn. The lighter popped out.
“Just don’t be using the ashtray, if you please.”
Kilmartin stabbed a cigarette into his mouth and grunted. The car was full of smoke with his first pull. Minogue turned on the ignition and opened the window lower.
“I was checking the dollar the other day,” said Kilmartin. “Always had it in mind for the young lad, you know? He sends money home every now and then. To Maura. For her to buy the odd thing for herself.”
He laughed lightly.
“As if she actually needed it. But he’s a decent boy.”
Minogue wondered if Kilmartin was going to remain maudlin much longer. The Kilmartin’s only child had emigrated to the States three years ago. He turned to his colleague.
“Well I know it, Jim. Always was, as I recall.”
“Damn right, man. Didn’t pick that up off the street either, so he didn’t. Don’t get me wrong now! Maura, I mean. I wasn’t blowing me own trumpet now. Maura was reared to be helping everyone.”
Minogue stared into the darkness where the trees were and listened to Kilmartin drawing on the cigarette again. Another flash of lightning lit up the Park.
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” said Kilmartin. He sat back slowly in the seat. “This was sport and games to us, of course. When we were kids, I mean. We’d be terrified, but we’d still want to see it all. The danger thing.”
On to kids now, thought Minogue. Childhood. What next? Maybe the air pressure before a storm had altered the supply of blood to his friend’s head and awakened dormant memories. Maybe Kilmartin was trying to draw him out, to see what Daithi did as regards remittances home from the States.
“They’re never reared, are they?”
“Who?”
“Your kids.”
“Mine are, Jim. They’d better be, is my attitude.”
“Ah, don’t be like that. You know what I mean.”
Minogue turned and looked at his friend.
“Is there something you want to tell me? Is it that you’re feeling sorry about Iseult or something?”
“Not at all, man.”
“You are.”
