She sighed, and set her plate down on a delicate side table. “I thought you’d want to hear the story. The FBI asked me if I knew where Nolan might be staying. At the time I told them the truth, which was that I hadn’t seen him, or at least I wasn’t sure-and then yesterday he called me out of the blue.” She sent an angry look Nolan’s way. “I didn’t want to meet him alone, and that’s why I asked you to join us. But I don’t know what to do about the FBI. Should I call them? I don’t want to get myself in any trouble about this by not telling them. I thought perhaps you had more experience dealing with the FBI?”
I wondered why she hadn’t just asked me for a contact name at the FBI, but I could see that she might hesitate at just turning her ex-husband over to them, whatever her past or current feelings were. I tried to work out the best way to explain my odd connection to the FBI, and settled for the simplest. “When we had our problems at the Society, I got to know the local agent in charge, James Morrison. Normally he wouldn’t be involved in the investigation of the incident at Let’s Play, but when they found the connection between you and Nolan, he was called in.” Both looked blank, so I added, “The IRA terrorist angle.”
It took Nolan a moment to figure out what I’d said, and then he burst out laughing. “That old business! So that’s what this is about? That was mostly blather back in the day-it was a different time, and tempers ran a bit high. But beyond sending a few punts back to the boys at home, I was never
Arabella was watching him coldly. “You certainly talked a good line, Nolan. That was one of the things that split us up-you were always going off to some bar to recruit people or collect more money.”
Nolan looked at her. “That’s what I told you, love, but mostly I wanted to get out of the house. I’ll admit it now-I wasn’t ready for marriage then, especially after Caitlin came along. I was too young and too full of myself. It wasn’t fair to you, and I figured the best thing I could do for you was to walk away.”
Arabella’s color darkened. “Well, thank you so much for running back to Ireland and leaving me with a baby and a mortgage and no way to support myself! You never sent a penny. You never even asked how we were.”
Nolan held up his hands in surrender. “I was wrong, Bella. I signed the divorce papers, didn’t I? I figured you were better off without me. I did think you’d remarry, though.”
Arabella was not placated. “And when did I have time to find a new husband? I was holding down a job and taking classes at night and trying to be a mother to Caitlin. And after the way you’d treated me, I wasn’t exactly eager to find a replacement.”
“I’m sorry-I know it can’t have been easy. You’ve done well for yourself, though.”
If I’d been uncomfortable before, it was ten times worse being in the middle of a couple rehashing old grievances. “Listen, you two-you can argue all you want about what’s past, but what’s it got to do with the mess at Let’s Play?”
Arabella took a moment to steady herself before she answered. “I apologize, Nell. You’re right-you don’t need to hear about our dirty laundry. But this FBI inquiry really threw me, because I didn’t expect it, and until this morning I hadn’t seen Nolan for years.”
“You saw him two days ago at the Market, right?”
Arabella nodded. “I thought I was seeing a ghost. I couldn’t be sure, and he looks so much older.”
“Ah, you cut me to the quick, darlin’,” Nolan said lightly.
Arabella turned back to face him. “Don’t you make a joke of it, Nolan. You left me in the lurch. Now you’re back, and so far all you’ve done is make more trouble for me. Don’t you realize this is serious? You’ve got the FBI looking for you now, and the police.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right, of course. But it’s just a case of bad timing. You can’t think I had anything to do with that problem at your museum, can you?”
“I don’t know what to think, and it really doesn’t matter. What counts is what the FBI and the police think. You’re an electrician, or at least you used to be, and you’ve had ties with organizations on their watch list. That makes you suspicious to them. You certainly could have set up that death trap at Let’s Play, and if you’re wondering about motive, they might guess that for some insane reason you had decided to get back at me by attacking what I’ve made of myself, what I love. Can you even see that? Or are you still completely clueless?”
I’d had enough. “All right, that’s it. The quickest way to move forward is to talk to the FBI. I’m going to call my friend. Nolan, if you really want to clear up old issues- and if you have nothing to hide-you should talk to him.” Before he could respond, I turned on my heel, stalked to the hallway, and called James on my cell phone. Without thinking, I hit the speed dial for his office first and was startled when he answered. “What are you doing in your office? It’s Saturday.”
“So I’ve been told. Hunting for terrorists, among other things. Why did you call my office if you didn’t think I’d be here?”
“Force of habit. In any case, if you’re looking for Nolan Treacy, I’ve got him.”
“What? Where are you?” James sputtered.
“I’m at Arabella Heffernan’s house. Want to come over?”
“Nolan’s there?”
“Yes, unless he’s sneaked out the back door in the last three minutes. You coming?”
“Yes.” He hung up without formality.
I went back to the living room, relieved to see that Nolan hadn’t vanished, though Arabella still looked none too happy to have him there. “Arabella, you might want to get out another coffee cup. Agent James Morrison is on his way over. Nolan, James is one of the good guys. If you play it straight with him, he’ll do right by you.”
Arabella finally smiled. “See? That’s why I called you, Nell. You know how to make things happen.”
I tried not to choke on my coffee.
James arrived precisely seven minutes later. Arabella answered the door and escorted him in, making twittering noises about coffee and pastries. He bore it with patience, but when he walked into the living room, his eyes fixed on Nolan Treacy and didn’t move. Nolan stood, and the two men sized each other up. Arabella hovered between them, eager to keep the peace-it was, after all, her home. Me, I stayed out of the way.
“Mr. Treacy,” James began, “were you aware that the FBI and the police wanted to speak with you?”
“Not until I spoke with my former wife yesterday. And it’s Nolan, if you will.”
“Won’t you all please sit down?” Arabella pleaded. “Would you like coffee?”
Everyone turned down coffee, but at least James and Nolan took seats, which reduced the tension in the room. “What brings you to Philadelphia at this particular time?” James asked.
“Making amends for my sinful ways. Sorry, that sounded a bit flip. Let’s put it this way: I’ve finally grown up, or so I hope, and I thought I owed it to Arabella to apologize to her face for the trouble I caused her, back when I left.”
“How long have you been in the country?”
“A couple of weeks. All nice and legal-want to see my passport?”
“Yet you waited this long to contact your former wife. Why was that?”
“Cold feet? I was trying to get my bearings again, after so long. The city has changed a lot in twenty-odd years. People have changed. And then I heard about the trouble at the museum, and I thought maybe I shouldn’t make her life any more complicated than it already was.”
“Have you seen your daughter, Caitlin, yet?”
Nolan’s eyes darted to Arabella. “I wasn’t sure how she’d take me showing up out of the blue. She was no more than six when I walked out of her life. I thought I should test the waters with Arabella first.”
I noticed that Nolan hadn’t quite answered the question. James launched his next question. “Were you planning to stay around long?”
“What’re you asking? Do I have a home, a family, a job to go back to? The answer would be yes to all three. My wife understands why I need to do this. My children back home are in their teens, and I hope they have happier memories of me than those I gave Caitlin. I’ve been running my own business for years. But this… It’s
“Why now?”
Nolan looked away. “My health-I’ve got prostate cancer. I’ve probably got a good few years left to me, but it’s an uncertain world. I thought I should get my traveling out of the way while I could still manage it.”
James studied him silently. I held my breath. Everything that Nolan had said seemed reasonable, and I had little reason to doubt him, but the timing was troublesome. Nolan had come back to this country for the first time
