“What’s going on?”
“All Decker said was that he received word from Casper that something had gone down.”
Within a few minutes, he called back. “I don’t have all the details, but it’s bad. I’m leaving for Ireland now. I’ll be in touch after I’ve assessed the situation.”
“Do you need backup?” Buck asked.
“I’ll engage Rile and see who we’ve got over there.”
Two days later, we still hadn’t heard from Decker with an update about what was happening in Ireland, but a nasty storm had moved into the Crested Butte area, causing flooding throughout the valley where the ranch was located. Fortunately, there had been no damage reported to any of the Roaring Fork structures, at least as of yet.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was the Fourth of July, just like I knew when other holidays came and went. It had been so long since I’d celebrated any of them, I anticipated today would go like every other.
“Hey, Buck,” I said when I answered his call in the late afternoon.
“My brothers and sister are serving dinner in the dining hall tonight. I also heard my brother Holt might be playing a set later.”
“If you’re calling to invite me, I’m going to take a pass on this one.”
“You okay, Irish?”
“No different than usual.”
“Sure I can’t change your mind?”
“No. I’m good. I have a couple of leads I’m following.”
“Need any help?”
“I’ll let you know if I do.”
I’d lost track of time when my cell rang again, this time with a call from Decker.
“Are you all together? I’d rather only do this once.”
“Negative, but we can be.”
“Call me when you are.”
I immediately called Cope, who reported he saw Buck and Stella return to the cabin a couple of hours ago. When I came out the door, he and Ali were waiting for me.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“Hanging in there.” She rubbed her belly like maybe it had been a stomach bug.
“I got a call from Ashford. Something went down in Ireland. He asked if we were all together, and I told him I’d let him know when we were,” I explained once we were inside Stella’s cabin.
I opened my laptop and sent a message to Decker. Seconds later, he appeared on the screen.
“First of all, Byrne is dead, along with three of his henchmen,” he began. “There was a hostage situation that culminated in us eventually finding a box that held the evidence he was after.”
“Which was?” asked Cope.
“Nothing that referenced Operation Argead or linked him to anyone from Interpol, past or present.”
Cope looked as though he was about to speak again, but shut his mouth when the rest of us in the room glared at him.
“What we did learn is somewhat shocking. Do you all remember the reporter Veronica Guerin? Turns out she wasn’t investigating drug gangs as was reported at the time. She was part of a task force working on exposing corruption within the Irish Military Intelligence. The rest of the members of the unit, save three, were killed within a week of her death.”
“What happened to the other three?” Ali asked.
“Irish?” said Decker.
I immediately knew the answer. “Special Agents Pierre Martin, Leon Schmidt, and Alan Perry. They were all murdered in La Chapelle-Saint-Maurice.”
“The father of the agent I mentioned the other day, Siren Gallagher, was one of the men from the task force who was murdered,” said Decker. “Byrne kept track of her all these years, thinking she might have evidence related to the crimes. Turns out, her mother, who passed away a few years ago, had it in a box that was supposed to be given to Siren but wasn’t located until after Byrne’s death.”
Decker continued. “Stella, my contact in the Hays County Coroner’s Office said the DC medical examiner is getting ready to release your aunt’s death certificate. As soon as that happens, I think you should press to get a meeting scheduled with the attorney.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Decker, Stella received something in the mail that was forwarded to her. It was a note from her aunt, sent the day Stella found her.”
“What’s in it?”
“We haven’t been able to decipher its meaning.”
“Send it to me. It’ll give me something to do on the flight home.”
“Roger that.”
“Anything else I need to know before I get in the air?” Deck asked.
When no one spoke up, he ended the call.
“Can I see the note?” I asked.
Buck picked it up from the table and handed it to me.
Its message seemed obvious, given Barb’s use of numbers. “What’s at 610 Fifth Avenue?”
Buck pulled out his phone. “Tiffany’s flagship store.”
I took a photo of the note and told them I’d send it to Decker.
When I walked out, I saw Flynn’s truck pulling up. I’d tried to reach her several times, and she hadn’t responded. Since it was pouring rain, I didn’t bother stopping to ask why not.
30
Flynn
I felt horrible when I saw Paxon leave the cabin we were about to go into and head next door. By the time I got out of the SUV, he was already inside.
Earlier, we thought everyone was coming to the dining hall, where we’d made a feast for the Fourth of July, but Stella had some mail delivered to the house, which I forgot to tell her about. Evidently, there was something important in it because both Buck and Stella left right after they got it.
I had no idea if Paxon had intended to come or not.
“Hurry up,” yelled Cord, when I hesitated following them. It had been raining hard all day and hadn’t let up. I grabbed two of the containers and raced inside.
“We brought food,” I said when Buck opened the door.
“Best brisket ever,” said Cord as he uncovered the large pan he brought inside.
“We were so busy in the kitchen that we didn’t get a chance to eat,” said Porter, coming in behind Holt, who brought his guitar along. “Mind if we eat with you?”
While I was a little sad at the thought that Paxon was all alone next door, I couldn’t remember a time I’d had so much fun with my brothers.
We talked about our futures and plans for the ranch now that our dad was gone. Cord and I both wanted to see if we could make a go of the dude ranch, Porter wanted to get into the roughstocking business, and Holt obviously wanted to tour with CB Rice.
Buck didn’t say much, but when Stella told us they’d talked about living in our great-grandparents’ old farmhouse, a sense of peace came over me. It just felt right, and I said so. When Buck’s eyes met mine, I knew in my heart that while it was hard for him to admit it, given his history with our dad, he felt the rightness of it too.
When it came time for us to go, I packed up a small amount of the food to take over to Paxon. I’d planned to leave it for him, but when I walked up to the cabin, I saw him sitting on the swing.