The Devil's Due: An Irish Historical Thriller (29 page)

Ancient Order of Hibernians
– The Ancient Order of Hibernians (the
Hibernians
) was and still is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Staunchly Catholic, they were strongly opposed to the secular ideologies of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and similar organizations.

Anti-Treaty Forces –
The Anti-Treaty Forces
were an offshoot of the IRA
that refused to accept the Treaty with Great Britain that ended the War for Independence. They vowed to continue fighting until all of Ireland—both the north and the south—was free from British rule.

Black and Tans
–
The Black and Tans, also known simply as the Tans, were a group of former World War II soldiers sent by Great Britain to supplement the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and counter the guerilla war waged by the IRA. There was a belief in Ireland at the time that many Tans had served time in British prisons before being conscripted into the RIC. While this was never proven to be true, the Tans were brutal and harsh in their methods and targeted citizens and suspected IRA soldiers indiscriminately, often killing with impunity.

Civil War –
The Civil War was fought
between former IRA divisions and allies from June 1922 to May 1923. This followed the Irish War of Independence and the establishment of an Irish Free State under the Treaty with Britain. The IRA was divided on the Treaty, which resulted in the partition of Ireland. Many IRA soldiers, particularly in the south and west, vowed to continue fighting until all of Ireland, including the six counties in the north, were free from British rule. These units were referred to as Anti-Treaty forces. In contrast, units that supported the Treaty effectively became the newly formed nation’s—or Free State’s—army.

Cumann na mBan
–
The Cumann na mBan (the
Cumann
or
Irish Women’s League
) was an Irish republican women’s paramilitary organization formed in 1914. They operated as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers and, later, the IRA.

Easter Rising –
An armed rebellion in Dublin led by Irish Volunteers to declare independence from Britain. The Rising began on Monday, the day after Easter, April 24, 1916. Although Britain was caught off guard, after five days of heavy fighting, they succeeded in squashing the insurrection. Over 450 people were killed and 2,500 wounded. Irish opinion and support for the independence movement surged after Britain’s swift arrest and execution of the Rising’s leaders.

Fenians –
Fenian was a universal term for the Fenian Brotherhood—a U.S.-based organization sympathetic to the Irish cause that provided financial and moral support—and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), which operated in Ireland.

Free State Forces –
Following the signing of the Treaty with Great Britain in December 1921, ending the War for Independence, the IRA split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. The Treaty resulted in the partition of Ireland with the twenty-six counties in the south and west forming the new Free State, while the six counties in the north—most of Ulster—remained part of Great Britain. The Anti-Treaty faction of the IRA did not support the Treaty and, within months of its signing, went to war against their former comrades, who had sided with the Free State.

Gaelic League –
A social and cultural organization that promoted Irish culture, heritage, and the revival of the Irish language, in defiance of British attempts to eradicate a separate Irish identity.

Irish Citizen’s Army –
The Irish Citizen’s Army (the
ICA
or the
Citizen’s Army
)
were volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union established in Dublin to defend protesting workers
from the heavy-handed tactics of the RIC. They assisted in the planning of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.

Irish Republican Army –
The Irish Republican Army (the
IRA
) evolved from the Irish Volunteers, a group of nationalist-leaning rebels that had fought in the Easter Rising. The Rising’s leaders were quickly arrested and executed by Great Britain. Consequently, it took several years for the group to reform. When it did, it changed its name to the IRA.

Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) –
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (the
IRB
or the
Brotherhood
) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organization founded in 1858 and was dedicated to achieving independence from Great Britain. They helped establish the Irish Volunteers as a military organization. The IRB were the key architects of the Easter Rising.

Irish Women’s League
–
See Cumann na mBan.

Irish Volunteers –
The Irish Volunteers (the
Volunteers
) was a military organization established in 1913 by Irish nationalists seeking independence from Great Britain. Membership swelled to 160,000 by 1914. They were the primary fighting force that took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.

Peelers –
A nickname for the Royal Irish Constabulary (the
RIC
). The term
Peeler
was in reference to Sir Robert Peel, British statesman and former prime minister, who is considered the “father” of policing in Great Britain. Interestingly enough, the term
Bobby,
used to refer to constables in Great Britain, is also a reference to Peel.

Royal Irish Constabulary
–
The Royal Irish Constabulary (the
RIC
) was the Irish police force. They were loyal to British rule, and their job was to maintain law and order in Ireland. They were referred to as
Peelers
by the IRA.

Sínn Féin
–
Sínn Féin was a political party that sought to achieve independence through political means. In the 1918 United Kingdom general election, Sinn Fein won the majority of the seats, effectively representing Ireland in British parliament. Although operating independently, Sínn Féin did support the IRA during the War of Independence.

Tans
–
See Black and Tans

War for Independence
–
The Irish War of Independence, fought from January 1919 to July 1921, was a guerrilla conflict between Irish nationalists and British forces in Ireland. The war ended in a Treaty that effectively partitioned Ireland into north and south. The twenty-six counties in the south and west formed what today is known as Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, achieving independence from Britain. The six counties of the north remained below British rule. This partition, above all else, is what led to the civil war that followed.

For a preview of
The Deadliest of Sins
, the next installment in the Matthew Richter Series, read on…

New Delhi, India

May 1992

Thomas Braxton, III jumped at the noise, the sound sharp in the confined space, the loud crack seeming to bounce off the tiles, sucking the air out of his chest. The heavy wooden rolling pin spun once on the tile floor then rolled below the cabinet. He raised his now empty hand, his eyes wide as he stared at it, his fingers curled around the rolling pin they no longer held.

What have I done?

The young woman lay crumpled at his feet. She coughed several times—more of a gurgling, choking sound—then her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She shuddered for a moment then suddenly went still. His breath came in ragged gasps, and Thomas fought the sudden wave of panic. Head swimming, he reached behind him, searching for something to hold onto, to steady himself, before his hand finally found the countertop. 

What have I done?

He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to will away the nightmare. But when he opened them again, the grisly scene was still there, splayed out on the gray tile floor of the butler’s pantry. The floor appeared to have been dusted with flour, the ceramic storage canister lying in shards. The pool of blood grew before his eyes, spreading across the tiles, dark red-black tentacles stretching out in a geometric grid along the grout lines, leading the way for the advancing puddle that followed. It seeped around the broken pieces of ceramic until they looked like they were floating. It formed small piles of dark red sludge when it reached the flour. 

Thomas turned away, gagging, and barely reached the sink before he was sick. Hands on the countertop, head low as if he were prostrated in prayer, he sucked in mouthfuls of air. He squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten again, trying to slow his breathing, trying to will away the growing hollowness in his belly—that terrible feeling that threatened to consume him. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted his head. He reached for the faucet and splashed water on his face. Unable to find a cloth, he raised the sleeve of his monogramed shirt to wipe his mouth. His arm jerked short at the sight of the dark red splatters that ran up his arm.

What have I done?

He took several deep breaths again.
Think!
he told himself. He could make this right. He had to make this right.
He was a Braxton, damn it!
Isn’t that what his father had told him time and time again? He could make things happen. He was better than the rest!

He forced himself to turn and face what he had done. The girl’s arms and legs were splayed at odd angles, her brightly colored sari—ripped by his own hands—was now, like his own shirt, splattered with blood. He stared at her face, at the bindi, the bright red dot between her dark eyebrows. Once the only adornment on the girl’s face, now there was a series of red spots and smears that extended from her nose across one cheek and jaw then down her neck.

Why did she have to fight?

Her mouth was open slightly, as if she were moaning, and several strands of bloody hair were stuck to her face.

Why didn’t she understand her place?

He shook his head, chasing the thoughts away before the panic overtook him again. His mind raced as he debated what to do. After a moment, he awkwardly stepped across the girl’s body, careful not to touch her, careful to avoid the blood. He stared down at her face again, just for a moment, before he looked away. 

Christ!
He couldn’t even remember her name! 

He shook his head and reached for the phone on the wall. Mechanically he punched in the extension.

“Maloney,” he heard after a click.

He turned his back to the girl, took another breath, and lifted the receiver to his mouth. 

“It’s Thomas,” he said. “I, uhhh…there’s…” he stammered, then paused. “Something’s happened.” He paused again, not sure how to explain. Finally, he blurted, “I need help.”

“Stay where you are,” he heard before the phone disconnected. He let out a breath, relieved at the sound of the crisp, efficient voice that would take care of everything. Just as it always had.

He hung up the phone, leaned back against the wall, and shut his eyes. The overpowering stench of the girl’s released bowels suddenly filled the air. As if that weren’t bad enough, he smelled the acidic stink of his own vomit. He clasped his hand over his nose as the bile rose in his throat again. He took a few more breaths then tried breathing through his mouth, hoping that would help. Strangely, on top of the stink, he noticed a metallic coppery smell. Before he had time to figure out what that was, there was clatter of shoes on tile, and the door burst open. Gun held in two hands, Gene Maloney stopped on the threshold. His eyes darted around the room, taking only a moment to figure out the sequence of events that had led to the grisly scene before him. 

“Christ,” he muttered under his breath. He looked up at Thomas. “Are you hurt?”

Thomas shook his head. Then it came to him. “It’s Anupa,” he blurted, suddenly remembering the girl’s name. 

“I know who she is,” Maloney snapped as he holstered his gun. “It was just you two?” Maloney asked as he carefully stepped into the pantry. “No one else?”

Thomas shook his head. “No one else.” He opened and closed his mouth several times looking for words to explain what had happened. “I told her…” He paused. “I just wanted…”

“I know what you wanted!” Maloney hissed, his eyes dark.

Thomas shrank below Maloney’s glare. He leaned back against the wall and, with his face in his hands, stifled a sob. Maloney barked a series of orders into his radio. Thomas only half listened. There was little he could do. This was now in Maloney’s hands. 

“I need a cleanup team,” he heard Maloney say. 

Thomas dropped his hands.
A cleanup team?

“And you’d better wake
Castle
,” he added before he disconnected.

Thomas felt the sudden hollowness in his belly again. “Hey, wait. You don’t need to wake him,” he said, suddenly standing straighter, trying to be the man his father kept telling him to be. “We can handle this.”

“Not another word,” Maloney snapped, his finger pointing like a gun. His eyes scanned the room again, looking for anything he might have missed. They settled on the rolling pin sticking out from below the cabinet. “Is that it?” he asked.

Thomas followed Maloney’s eyes. He looked up and offered a weak nod, knowing what Maloney was asking.

Maloney pulled open several drawers, searching, before he found a dishtowel and a plastic garbage bag. He carefully stepped over the dead girl and picked up the pin with the dishtowel, dropping both into the bag. 

There was noise from the kitchen, and the door behind Maloney opened. Two more security officers stepped into the room. Like Maloney, their eyes quickly took in the scene. They exchanged a glance, then one opened the bag he was carrying and pulled out the things they would need. As they slipped on the white biohazard coveralls, gloves, and booties, Maloney explained what needed to be done. They nodded silently. 

Once they were suited up, they unfolded the body bag and laid it on the floor next to Anupa, careful to keep it out of the growing pool of blood. One at each end, the two men lifted the girl and gently—surprisingly so—placed her in the bag. Then they carefully folded her arms across her chest.  

Two more men entered the room. They too stopped to survey the scene before they looked at Maloney for instructions.

“Get him cleaned up,” Maloney barked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Thomas. “I want him on the next plane back to the States.” Maloney’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men. “One of you will need to go with him.” 

One of the men—Romano? Thomas could never remember his name—slipped on a pair of latex gloves then stepped around the two men in white suits. They were now on their knees, trying in vain to clean the floor, picking up shards of ceramic and spreading towels.
God, there’s so much blood!
The cleanup crew stuffed the blood-soaked towels into the body bag with Anupa. Anupa’s sightless eyes stared up at nothing.

God forgive me!

Thomas flinched when Romano grabbed his arm, harder it seemed to Thomas than he needed to.

“Take off your clothes,” Romano snapped. “Now,” he added before Thomas could object. His eyes, like Maloney’s, were dark. Meekly, Thomas complied, handing his shoes, pants, and shirt to one of the white-suited men on the floor. These were stuffed into the body bag alongside Anupa.

He was handed a pair of white booties and, after he slipped them on, Romano grabbed his arm again and led him around the body bag. The pool of blood was now gone, and the men were spraying something on the floor then wiping again to remove the last traces. 

What had repulsed him only moments before now mesmerized him. Anupa’s head had tilted to the side, the hair above her ear matted and sunken, where her skull had caved in. Unsure why, he reached down but was suddenly yanked back. He continued to stare as Romano, a vise-like grip on his arm, dragged him toward the door. As they stepped around Mahoney, Thomas saw the security chief hand the white-suited cleanup crew the plastic bag he had been holding.
That’s the rolling pin
, Thomas said to himself, unsure why that was important. The men stuffed this too in the body bag with Anupa. One of the men grabbed the zipper.

Thomas shivered at the sound but watched nonetheless, fascinated as the bag was closed.
Just like that
, he thought. Anupa and the mess he had made were gone.

As the door swung shut behind him one of the men said something—he couldn’t quite make out the words—but there was no mistaking Maloney’s response.

“Burn it. Burn it all”