mouth from his brother Dan, and he was right. Problem was, right now we needed some of Dad's calm diplomacy, and this branch of the Boyle clan was short on both.
'Allow me to suggest that Mr. Boyle need not worry about the security services carting him off if there is no proof of actual espionage,' Carrick said. 'I would remind you that we would all be in very small pieces right now if not for his arrival, which was at great risk to himself.'
'Yes,' Cosgrove said. 'I suppose we do owe him that. Very well.'
'Mr. Boyle, your nephew has been working with Major Cosgrove and his section. As a ranking detective yourself, I am sure you understand they must be involved.'
'I can't fault you there. I can see why you're a district inspector, you've got a fair hand,' Uncle Dan said. 'OK, I'll lay it out for you, as best I can.'
'The bomb?' Carrick said, his pen poised.
'Well, now, I have to start back a ways first. Without revealing unnecessary details of names and identities, I'll just say that I was asked by an organization in the States to pay a visit to Ireland-the Republic of Ireland-and investigate charges of embezzlement against one Jack Taggart.'
'Was it Clan na Gael?' Slaine said. 'Such an assignment must've come from Joe McGarrity himself.'
'There's no need for names, young lady. And it was a request, not an assignment, from an organization that sends funds to Dublin to benefit hospitals and to care for the sick. I work for the Boston Police Department. I had plenty of vacation due me, so I decided it was time to see the world. I booked passage on a neutral steamer to Cork, all nice and legal.'
'Proceeds from illegal Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake tickets sold in the United States,' Slaine offered. 'Funds for IRA activities are often conveyed along with their proceeds.'
'That's a fine story, but certain details are not necessary,' Uncle Dan said. 'What's important is that this fine fraternal organization was concerned that Taggart was siphoning off funds.'
'We understand, Mr. Boyle. I am not concerned with the legality of sweepstakes tickets at the moment. Please continue,' Carrick said, with a quick glance at Slaine. I could tell Carrick wanted her to shut up and let the story come out.
'All right then. I get to Dublin and find that Taggart is no longer at the Sweepstake-I mean his place of employment-although they still carry him on their books. I ask questions in certain quarters that the young lady does not need to mention, and I find out that he's gone north, over the border. That presents me with a problem. The border's closed up tighter than a spinster's knees, and I have no idea where to look. So, I do two things. I search for his relatives, and I buy a motorcycle.'
'For slipping across the border,' Cosgrove said.
'And then saving your hide, yes. Taggart's parents are both dead but I find an aunt, his father's sister. I tell her I was with Jack in Spain, that we served together in the International Brigade, and I wanted to get in touch. It took a bit of charm and a damn lot of tea, but finally she said it couldn't do any harm to tell an old comrade that Jack was somewhere in County Down, about to do something grand for the cause.'
I leaned forward, about to ask a question, but stopped when I realized I didn't know what it was. Something in what he'd said triggered a question in my mind but it was so far down I couldn't even put it into words. Like Dad said, sometimes your subconscious does its job but it takes its own sweet time about it.
'So I make my way north, crossing over fields and through farm lanes, until I'm in occupied Ireland. No offense intended,' Uncle Dan said, grinning. 'Then I proceed with good old-fashioned detective work, real gumshoe stuff. I ask certain unnamed contacts about Taggart but they all deny any knowledge of the man. It's as if he went underground from the underground, if you know what I mean. Finally, I get a message to meet a man.'
'In Annalong,' I said.
'Well, well, Billy! You may become a real detective yet! How did you find that out?'
'These were in Mahoney's room, along with all his personal effects. He left everything behind the night he went off with Taggart to steal the BARs.' I handed him the Boston Braves matchbook.
'Whose room?'
'You may have known him as John Davies. That was the name on the driver's license he carried.'
'Jesus, that'll teach me to empty my pockets next time I do this cloak-and-dagger stuff. I never even thought about it. We had a few pints and smoked. He must've picked them up.'
'So the man you met-Eddie Mahoney-called himself Davies?'
'Yes. He told me Dublin had sent him north as well, on a similar mission, to keep tabs on Taggart.'
'By Dublin you mean the IRA?' Carrick asked.
'It wasn't the organization that sent me. Remember, my group raised and sent the money. We had our own suspicions, and wanted to find out if Taggart was implicated before contacting Dublin.'
That sounded like Joe McGarrity. He'd tell his left hand a lie to keep it from meeting his right.
'Why did Mahoney want to meet you?'
'Word had gotten back that I was asking questions. His bosses in Dublin had checked me out and learned I was here at the request of my American group. Davies-or Mahoney, rather-wanted to exchange information but also to tell me to keep my hands off for a while. Something big was in the works.'
'What happened next?'
'He was supposed to meet me again in four days but he never showed. I heard about the arms theft and guessed that was the big deal he'd talked about. I kept asking questions, until one day, who do I see driving by in a jeep but my own nephew. Knowing he works for Ike, I start following him. Wasn't much left for me to do at that point anyway. Taggart had gone to ground, and no one had heard a thing from him.'
'I heard from him. He killed a U.S. Army MP and almost got me too. With a BAR.'
'Yes, I know. Word travels. That's when I decided you needed a bodyguard as well as a tail. I kept as close as I could without tipping my hand.'
'Are we getting close to how you learned of the bomb?'
'In a way, yes. I've said several times I won't mention names. One of those I won't mention said there was some sort of operation going on, and that Taggart had asked for plastic explosive. The IRA Northern Command provided it, as well as a bomb maker to wire it up. I didn't know where the explosion was going to happen. I feared for you, Billy, since he'd tried to kill you once already. But when I saw you heading into Stormont, not looking like a prisoner, I thought you'd be safe for a while. Then the grapevine started chattering.'
'About Jenkins?' I asked.
'Yes. Taggart had taken him, I learned, in Lisburn, part of the same operation. Guaranteed to take out RUC and MI-5 personnel, my contact said. It was the combination that had me worried. I knew you'd be working the case with them, so I used my charms on the fellow who'd told me, and got the whole story.'
'Brass-knuckle charm?' Carrick asked.
'It gave him the gift of the gab,' Uncle Dan said. 'I wasn't far away, so I hightailed it straight to Jenkins's warehouse, dodged a few poorly aimed shots, and saved the RUC from a manpower shortage.'
'I have to ask,' said Carrick, laying down his pen, 'for the names of all concerned.'
'Yes, you do,' said Uncle Dan. They stared at each other for five seconds that felt like five hours, and then Carrick nodded slightly.
'Very well. I owe you my personal thanks as well as those of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.'
'Glad to assist another police force, even in Ulster,' Uncle Dan said. 'One other thing. I found out that Taggart didn't exactly give the weapons to the IRA. He sold them.'
'How much?' I said.
'One thousand dollars each, and another ten grand for the ammo. They paid too. Sixty thousand smackers.'
'Good lord,' said Carrick. 'A fortune.'
'Yeah, it is,' Uncle Dan agreed. 'It shows how important this operation is. No wonder he set up the bomb in the truck.'
'Why now?' Slaine asked.
'What?' We all spoke at the same time.
'Why now?' she repeated. 'Why go through all this trouble today, now? Why not four days ago or three days from now?'
'Obviously, because Taggart felt us closing in,' Cosgrove said.
