'But we weren't,' she said. 'We had no idea where he was. So why lure us in at this moment?'
Uncle Dan whistled. 'I wish a woman of your brains and beauty was serving a better cause than English dominion over Ireland,' he said. 'You have a sharp mind. While I sit here playing the hero and accepting thanks for my great deeds, it escaped me completely. He wanted to eliminate everyone connected to the investigation of the BARs. In case you were getting close. Which means that something is about to happen, something he didn't want to take any chances with.'
Slaine, Cosgrove, and I exchanged glances. Carrick furrowed his brow and watched us. 'Something is happening, isn't it?'
'Ah, I think it's time for Mr. Boyle to be removed from the conversation,' Cosgrove said.
'It appears Mr. Boyle has been more straightforward than you have, Major Cosgrove. As a guest of the RUC, he will remain with me for the time being, so there is no need to worry about security. A guest, not a prisoner,' Carrick added, for Uncle Dan's enlightenment.
Cosgrove said, 'We have information concerning two teams of German agents, possibly commandos, landing separately in the north within the past few days. One more two-man team is due to parachute in tonight, somewhere along the border. It seems the timing is right for a joint IRA/Abwehr operation. Eliminating us would have helped them by creating chaos.' Cosgrove sank back into his chair, all the bluff and bluster blown out of him as he considered the possibilities.
'What's the target?' Uncle Dan asked.
'We don't know,' I said. 'What matters is that if the IRA and the Germans launch a major joint attack in Northern Ireland, it could affect the course of the war.'
'Would it pull the Republic in?' Uncle Dan said.
'Either willingly or not. You know there'd be pressure to come to the aid of the IRA in the north. The British might retaliate. Our troops would certainly be involved; they're everywhere. Chaos pretty well describes it.'
'Mr. Boyle, your political sympathies are quite clear,' Carrick said. 'Even so, you seem to be an honorable man. I ask you now, if you have any inclination to support those extremists who are laboring to bring this about, to tell us.'
'And if I did?'
'I already have arranged with the U.S. Army Air Force to have you brought to the Greencastle Aerodrome and flown back to America on the first available flight. As a courtesy, of course,' he added with a smile.
'Since you've spoke true with me, I'll do the same. Yes, I wish Ireland united as one free nation. If I saw this plan as a way to accomplish that, I'd be off in the mountains with a weapon in my hand right now. But this is madness. I saw enough carnage to last me a lifetime in the First World War, and we're due for much more in this one. No need to add to it. The people of Ireland don't deserve to be used as pawns. And I mean all of them, north and south.'
The room was silent. Cosgrove grunted as he nodded, giving his grudging consent. I waited. Carrick signaled to a constable sitting outside near the window, who opened the door.
'Yes, sir?'
'Hayes, please return Mr. Boyle's weapon to him. He is on loan to us from the Boston police.'
'The lot, sir?'
'Yes. We may have need of all his charms.'
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Cosgrove had left for Stormont to coordinate the tracking of the Luftwaffe flight. Radar stations in Cornwall, Wales, and the Isle of Man as well as on ships in the Irish Sea were being alerted to report on the course of the Focke-Wulf Condor. Carrick was at his desk making phone calls, organizing roadblocks at all major intersections. A pot of tea and a tray of sandwiches had been brought in, which Slaine, Uncle Dan, and I dug into. I waited to be sure Carrick was deeply involved in his phone call before I edged closer to Uncle Dan and spoke in a low voice.
'Was it you who warned me about Constable Simms?'
'The note in the jeep? Yes. Did you know he'd been following you? And the day you stopped at his house in Clough, he was at home. I'd followed him there myself. Now why would he have his wife say he wasn't at home?'
'How do you know he followed me? Were you behind me every second?'
'Don't get hot under the collar, Billy. I figured I'd keep an eye on you and let you lead me to Taggart. Meanwhile, I noticed Simms shadowing you.'
'He must have seen me in Armagh then.'
'What's this about?' Slaine asked, glancing at Carrick.
'Not sure yet,' I said. 'I think Simms was involved with the killing of Pete Brennan, the GI whose body turned up in the trunk of that Austin the day I met you on the road. But I need to be certain before I say anything to the district inspector. Hey, you never told me how you came to be there so early in the morning, did you?'
'No, I didn't,' she said.
'Was it Jenkins or Taggart who informed you?'
'Jenkins didn't. How could Taggart have?'
'Right,' I said, watching her eyes. They blinked twice.
'Roadblocks will be in place within thirty minutes,' Carrick said as he poured himself some tea. 'Any suggestions for our next move?'
'Nothing,' I said. 'Is there, Subaltern O'Brien?'
'No, sorry. I was famished, I'm afraid I lost focus for a moment. Mr. Boyle, is there anything else you saw or heard that might be of use?'
'Did you know Taggart moved his family up here under an assumed name?'
'No, we didn't,' Slaine said. 'Do you know where they are?'
'Dead,' Uncle Dan said. 'Killed in the German bombings in 1941, right after he brought them up here. His wife, Breeda, and their twins, Polly and Adrian. Sweet-looking children too. Named after his mother and half brother.'
'How do you know their given names?' Carrick asked. I could barely pay attention. A little voice in my head was trying to tell me something.
'Taggart's aunt told me. Showed me pictures of the three of them. The poor thing obviously hadn't heard yet. It'll break her heart.'
'Were there pictures of any other relatives? The half brother?'
'Yeah. As a young fellow.'
'Is this him?' I asked, pulling a picture from my pocket, the one from the newspaper, showing Sam Burnham and Constable Simms directing traffic in Clough during maneuvers. Uncle Dan squinted, holding the paper at arm's length. Then he closed his eyes to draw out the memory, like I'd seen him do in years past. Cleared out the cobwebs, he said.
'Yes, that's him,' he said, his finger tapping on the picture of Adrian Simms.
'What do you mean?' Carrick asked.
'What I mean is that this Simms fellow is the half brother of Red Jack Taggart, at least according to Taggart's aunt.'
'Impossible!' Carrick said.
'Why?'
'It just isn't… possible.'
'This morning I reviewed Taggart's and Simms's files at Stormont,' I said. 'I think it is.'
'Why does MI-5 have a file on Simms? Did you suspect him of anything? Why wasn't I told?' Carrick was fuming, directing his anger at Slaine. Uncle Dan looked amused.
'We have files on many people, just for reference. He wasn't suspected of anything, and his file was little more than biographical,' she said.
'That's right,' I said. 'I didn't think the family details were important but Taggart's mother, Polly, was
