At one point I sit forward, my eyes blinking fast, trying to understand the information I’m reading.
Gun, or Jeffrey Morgan, had a half-brother. Unlike him, Ike hadn’t followed a straight path. I get most of the information from a transcript of his trial when his felonies caught up with him. He’d been lucky to survive so long outside jail, but when he was sent down, he got twenty years having been caught moving product.
Did Gun know? Were they close? I can’t remember him ever talking about a brother. But maybe he’d been in ignorance of how Ike earned his dollars. The court case was after I’d been kicked out.
Now that’s interesting. Ike Morgan had been sent to the same pen as Saul Kincaid and Weston. But as far as I knew, their crimes were violent, but had nothing to do with drugs.
Drugs. Drugs. I tap my fingers against the desk. Afghanistan is a huge producer of heroin.
I start delving deeper, hacking into the database that keeps records of all military operations.
Interesting. At the time of Pooh’s death, I’d already known our troops were being pulled back. After his death, they remained in the region. Another withdrawal had been planned, but again abandoned when Nazir tried to blow US soldiers up. Another coincidence? Rubbing my temples, I think maybe I’m making too much of troop movements in a volatile environment.
“I’m back,” a voice calls out. Moments later I feel arms around me. I lean back into her touch. “Have you made any progress?”
“I’m not sure,” I reply honestly. “I think I’m jumping at shadows right now.” I just need to keep finding the dots, seeing how, or if, there’s anyway to join them up. “How did you get on?”
“Good, actually. Seamus is more than happy to take Star. He said his granddaughter would love him. He showed me a paddock and an old stall he’s going to do up. He’s happy with the chickens too.”
“That’s great.” I turn around, staring into her face. “You really happy with this, Cat?”
She gives a shrug. “I’d have had to do it anyway, Finn. I can’t stay here, you know that. Oh, and I also went to see the real estate agent. He’s coming out later to get the details to list this place.”
“You’ve been busy,” I tell her, surprised at how much she’s achieved, before noting the digital numbers on the screen in front of me. She’s literally had hours while I’d lost all sense of time.
The following days pass me by in the same kind of blur. Cat starts packing up the house, putting stuff aside to go into storage until we get our own place, and taking truckloads of other things to Goodwill. I offer to help, but she prefers to do it herself. In some ways I think it’s cathartic. I lend my support when I catch her with tears in her eyes as she packs up her mom and dad’s personal stuff.
The real estate agent thinks she can get a good price for the house—partly down to the repairs that I’d done.
As the house empties, it begins to echo around us, and I start to think we need to get out of here soon. It’s like living in a coffin of memories. Apart from the bedroom furniture, the desk, sofa and her father’s old chair, most of the items have been removed. I’ve promised her we’ll start afresh with new, most of what was here was old-fashioned and well used.
I still haven’t got answers, but I’ve started drawing a picture. I just need something to fall into place. While Cat’s great to bounce ideas off of, I wonder whether I could do with some more eyes on the problem. Bolt would be good, as would Rascal—if they’d still give me the time of day, of course.
I’ve been gone two months.
I want to go back. I’m ready.
As long as I have Cat by my side.
23
Cat…
Finn’s getting restless. So am I.
If it was just a case of having to close up this house just so I could start a new lonely life, I’d have found it much harder. But along with being sad at the memories that keep coming back, I’m optimistic about the future.
I’m falling in love with Finn. I haven’t told him that yet, but I suspect he knows. Our bodies do the talking each night when we’re in bed, or, during the day when the impulse hits us. He hasn’t told me what he feels for me either, but I hope he feels the same way. I’m more than happy to align my future with his, even though it’s one that’s uncertain.
If his club won’t take him back, we’ll still be together. If they do, for six months we might not have as much time to ourselves. I can survive on my own while it’s necessary, I’ve done it long enough. I’ll be able to keep busy, finding a new job and settling will be where I start, making a home for him to come back to when he regains his position with his club.
Of course, he might already be what he calls out bad. In that case, we’ll make our own path.
“That’s it.” I walk into the lounge where Finn’s staring at the screen of his laptop.
“Shit, babe. You alright?” Immediately he stands and enfolds me in his arms.
I’ve just seen Star loaded onto the horse trailer. I know he’ll be spoiled and cared for by Seamus, who’d brought his granddaughter with him. I wipe away a tear. “It’s the end of an era. He’s been at the farm since I was a kid.” Sniffing, I attempt a smile. “Georgia, the granddaughter, had a shine in her eyes much like I had when he first arrived here. He’ll be fine.”
“If we could have taken him—”
I place my fingers over his mouth. “We couldn’t. I know that. I can’t stay here, so this would have happened whether we were together or not.”
He pulls me in closer, kissing the top of my head. “When we get a place, we’ll get a dog.”
I clutch at him. I know he’s not had experience of animals, yet he knows that’s what I want. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I love him, but I choke the words back. Is it too early? What if he can’t reciprocate?
But I lose my chance when there’s a knock at the door.
Sighing, I say, “I wonder if Seamus has come back?” I try to think if there was something or some instruction I’d forgotten to give him.
He pats my ass. “It probably is. You got this?”
I got this. I nod.
I walk to the front door without bothering to look and throw it open. “Whatcha forgot…” My words taper off. There’s a man outside who I’ve never seen before.
Not only is he a stranger, but he’s not particularly polite. He pushes me backward.
“Finn!” I scream out, and then again as the man spins me around, forcing my arms behind me, binding my wrists tight.
My eyes focus in front of me. Two other men are fighting with Finn, they must have come in via the back door and have taken him by surprise.
“Finn!” I screech when he takes a hard blow to the chin.
“What the fuck?” The man pushing me into the room sounds angry. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
There’s another man, which makes four in total. The one holding me pushes me into his arms. I fight, kicking back with my legs, but apart from a grunt, I do no damage.
“Stop fighting, bitch, or your man is dead.” He nods toward the gun that’s now trained on Finn.