The House by the Liffey (5 page)

‘Fob him off, Mageen, he can't come here now.' Milo had put his hand over the mouthpiece. ‘I don't care what you tell him, just stop him coming out here.' She nodded.

‘Hello, Freddie, I wasn't expecting you back for at least another week.' A pause while she listened.

‘I'd love to see you too but I'm not feeling well – some sort of stomach bug. I won't go into the gory details.' Another pause.

‘No, no, Freddie, thank you but don't come, I wouldn't want you to pick anything up from me. No, honestly, Freddie, better not . . . , Freddie?' She put down the phone. ‘He's gone! He said he was going to pop out anyhow. What are we going to do? I can't call him back, he was ringing from a phone box. We can't have him stopped at the entrance and how are we going to explain what's going on here?'

She was close to tears. This, on top of all the stress, was almost too much for her to cope with.

‘Don't worry, sweetheart. I can send a message up to the gate to tell my lads to stay under cover. In fact you and the twins could wander up there to meet him. Would it matter so much if Freddie is told what has happened? Can he be trusted to keep his mouth shut? If not then Milo and Noola, you'll have to entertain him for a while and make out that Mageen's too poorly to see him, then send him on his way.

‘Actually, Sean, I would trust Freddie. He strikes me as utterly reliable and it might be quite comforting for Mageen to have him here for an hour or so.' Noola sounded confident. ‘He might even have some good ideas to add.'

‘Thanks, Mum. Actually I'd love to see him.'

Knowing it wouldn't take that long for Freddie to get to the top of the drive, Mageen, Bill and Harry made their way up there and Harry went off into the bushes to find one of Sean's men and explain what was happening. They didn't have long to wait for Freddie to hop off a bus and head for the house. He was quite surprised to find three Butlers waiting for him.

‘Well, what a great welcome. Hello beautiful!' He hugged and kissed Mageen. ‘I must say you do look a bit peaky, even in this dim light.' He peered through the dusk at her then at the others. ‘In fact you all look rather tired. Is something wrong?'

‘Hello, Freddie. It's a long story. Let's get up to the house and we can have a talk.'

They arrived and took him into the sitting room. Milo and Noola joined them and all was explained. He was appalled.

‘What frightful people. Who would be low enough to do such a thing?'

‘We're not sure, Freddie. We're waiting to hear from them again. We've got our suspicions but no clues yet. Come on into the “ops room” and meet the detectives who are helping us.'

Freddie was introduced, as a friend of Mageen's, to Sean, Jack and Bertie.

Ah, so there
is
some competition, Jack mused. Well, looking at her I should have guessed there would be. However, all's not lost, they're obviously not engaged. He wasn't introduced as her fiancé, so there's still hope and, oh boy, would she be worth fighting for. But tread carefully boyo!

‘The really important thing is, Freddie, that you don't mention this outside Riverside. You heard what they threatened would happen if the story got to the press.' Sean was anxious to reinforce this point.

‘I understand, Inspector. I give you my word.'

‘Okay, now that everyone's here again, let's continue with our brainstorming session.'

Sean seated them around the large desk and asked them to give all and any information, however trivial it might seem.

‘Anyone see the vehicle which they used?'

‘I saw a grubby old van moving up the drive very quickly. I was surprised it could shift along so fast.'

‘That's the stuff, Mickeen, colour and make?'

‘Dirty grey and, I think, a Ford.'

‘The most common these days, so a good safe choice for them.'

They went on for a long time pooling every detail that they could think of, however trivial.

‘Well that'll do for now. Thanks everyone. We'll put this all together and see if we can come up with any conclusions. Try to get some rest. You're all exhausted both emotionally and physically. I think it would be wise to skip church or Mass tomorrow but, actually, I don't see why the young folk shouldn't go for a row. That at least would maintain an element of “normal” outward appearance.

This cheered the twins. At long last something active to do without going too far from the source of incoming news. They dispersed in different directions around the house. An hour or so later Mageen and the twins walked Freddie back up the drive to get a late bus back into the city. Milo, Noola, Tommy and Maggie stayed in the library with Sean and his two helpers.

‘We'll sift through this material and see if there's anything that might help us. We'll share findings with you but keep it just amongst ourselves. I trust them all but it's so easy to let something drop in an unguarded moment.'

Just then Paddy arrived, after a late surgery. He had been to see Aunt May and given her messages from the family, explaining why it was difficult for Milo to get to see her. She fully understood, appreciating that the twins and Mageen had dropped by the previous day during their lunch break. She felt so much better she insisted that she was now quite ready to come home and give all the details she could remember to Sean. Paddy, bearing in mind the trauma she had suffered, wasn't at all happy about the idea.

‘It's remarkable what she does remember in the circumstances. She told me that one of the men was a big strapping fellow and the one who grabbed Izzy seemed to jab her in the arm with a needle.'

‘Ah, so he may have had some sort of medical experience, and that fits in with something else I should have thought of earlier. It could only have been someone with medical knowledge that would have been able to give Bob the medication to keep him lucid for long enough to be of any help. I'll have the files combed for anyone with a criminal record who has any qualifications of that sort. Anything else?'

‘No, that's about it. I'll get off now, unless there's anything else I can do to help?'

‘Not for the moment. Thanks for everything, Paddy!'

‘See you all tomorrow,' and he was gone.

‘Something maybe vaguely related to that has occurred to me, Sean. Amongst my many worries about Izzy, I'm wondering about her dermatitis. It subsided and hasn't bothered her now for a couple of years but it's so stress related it's bound to have broken out badly and must be making her even more miserable. What's she going to do without her ointment? If one of them has some sort of medical knowledge do you think he might care even a little – just enough to help her?' Noola's voice was husky with anxiety and weariness. She was clearly dangerously close to breaking point.

‘Well done, Noola. I'll have an alert sent out to all chemists to report anything untoward related to requests for the kind of medication we have in mind. We can emphasise that we're searching for someone who's practising illegally and to keep it under wraps. They'll be discreet. We've worked with them before, looking for people like that.'

‘Do you think we should also try to whittle down the likely places where they might be hiding out, Sean? For instance, if they found someone to drive along and throw in that note, they can't have gone too far away.'

‘Good point, Jack. What are your thoughts?'

‘Bertie and I were looking at the possibilities earlier. Our own experiences of similar situations tell us that they're unlikely to have stayed in the city or in any built-up area. It would be too easy for them to be spotted and it takes only the smallest element of odd behaviour and people do notice. It's impressive how observant Joe Public can be. Our guess is that they'll have moved into an area, not too far away, where very few or maybe no others are living and chances of their being detected are virtually non-existent.'

‘Ah, of course. The mountains. But that's going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.'

‘Have you any means of finding out if anyone has been seen recently wandering the hills or has shown an interest in an unusually remote property? Somewhere that would make a really good hideaway.'

‘It's a long shot, Jack, and we're talking about a very wide area but always worth discreet enquiries. We mustn't arouse suspicions. But tomorrow being Sunday, and forecast to be sunny again, it would be perfectly reasonable to have hikers out for the day. I'll get a team onto it.' He paused for a few seconds.

‘Actually there's another thing which would add weight to the idea of somewhere a bit remote; their stipulation that we install radio equipment here. So far we've assumed that this was to make it difficult to track their calls – even public phones would tell us at least the area they're calling from. Maybe we've been wrong. It could be because they're out of reach of any telephones. As we said: up the mountains!'

‘How about we join the hikers, Sean? We're trained to look for the smallest signs of activity in remote places,' Bertie grinned. ‘At the risk of outraging Mageen, we can change into our scruffy gear again.'

‘Yes, and I've got a couple of very neat little gizmos in my kitbag, one that will help us to communicate with you, transmit and receive, and one that can track local radio signals.' He smiled. ‘I won't tell you what we normally use them for!'

‘Good thinking, Jack, thanks.'

‘Just one thing, Sean, our deductions may be way off the mark.'

‘I know that, but it's all we've got at the moment and well worth following up.'

Late as it was, Sean got to work, phoning into his headquarters to get the various lines of enquiry going. He wanted to move in equipment, unobtrusively and as soon as possible, to help locate, even vaguely, any radio calls coming into the house. Just an idea as to whether or not the calls were nearby or far off would help to build up a picture. They set up their night-watch roster and settled in for another nerve-shredding wait.

All through the two days following her kidnap, Izzy lay on her truckle bed and whenever she heard anyone coming down the stairs she pulled the blankets over her, curled up, and turned her face to the wall. She ate none of the food that was brought to her, drank only tiny sips of water and refused to speak. She seemed to be crying continuously. Eddie was the only one who had come down to see her and tend to her wants. He had told her about the small pit they had dug in a corner of the tiny cell which she could use as a lavatory, with some earth to throw into it using a small plastic spade. Conscious of the dangers of infection from such a source he had thrown plentiful disinfectant into the pit. He had also insisted that an air vent must be installed and this had been done by means of a simple tube pushed up through the ground above. Much to the entertainment of the others, and with some difficulty in obtaining them without raising questions, he had even managed to provide her with a basic change of underclothes.

‘You must eat something, little Izzy, even if only a bit of bread.'

No answer. This continued into Sunday and he became seriously worried.

‘It's been over two days now and she's eaten nothing and not said a word. Only taken some water. It's not good. In fact if it goes on it could be very dangerous.'

‘Well you'll just have to work out a way of force-feeding her if necessary. Damn it, Eddie, you're a doctor, of sorts, you must be able to think of some way of making her eat. Just deal with it or one of us will have to. Quite a change to find a female who won't talk. It's usually the opposite problem.'

They had no idea that Izzy, from her perch on top of the ladder, could hear quite plainly what they were saying. It was unbelievably comforting to know that it was important to them to keep her alive. On the other hand she certainly didn't want to be force-fed. She didn't know how this would be done but it didn't sound at all comfortable. She worked out a new strategy.

Not long after that conversation Eddie came down into the cellar again.

‘Is there anything at all that you'd eat, girleen?'

In between the sobs, not entirely contrived, at long last she opened her eyes, uncurled and answered him. She saw, rather to her surprise, a kind face. Intensely blue eyes looked at her anxiously below a mop of very dark hair.

‘I can't eat anything. I feel too sick.'

He was hugely relieved that she had, at long last, spoken to him.

‘There must be something that you could take even on an upset stomach. What do you have at home if you're feeling sick?'

‘Ice cream – often nothing else for days until I'm better. But more than food I need something for my rash.'

‘Let me have a look at it.'

‘
No
! Unless you're a doctor you're not to touch me!'

‘I
am
a doctor. Now let me have a look.'

‘Well you can see it on my neck and arms and it's all over the rest of me. And it itches like mad. And it's all your fault – you and your friends. I only get it when I'm upset and it makes me very sick.'

This last statement wasn't true but Izzy, noting the kind face, was trying to think of everything possible that might add to this man's feeling of guilt and sympathy for her.

‘All right! Now tell me, girl, if I get some ice cream for you will you promise to eat it?'

‘Yes, but I'll need lots before my stomach settles. My mum says it's the milk in it that helps.'

That actually made some sense to Eddie. He went back up the ladder.

‘I'll have to go and find a chemist. The child has a dreadful dermatitis rash and she's scratched so much it's bleeding in places. If I don't get something to treat it it'll become infected.'

‘Did nobody know anything about possible medical conditions? I thought the contact was supposed to give us all that sort of detail, Willie.' Mac sounded annoyed.

‘Ah let the spoilt brat suffer. It'll do her good to have to put up with a bit of discomfort.'

‘Shut it, Bob. When we want your opinion we'll ask for it. Just remember, keep well away from that cellar. And no, Mac, we weren't told about anything we needed to be prepared for.'

‘I'll go to a chemist, but not too close, and get some ice cream too. Apparently that's what she lives on for days when she's ill. I'm not going to even think of force-feeding a little one like that.'

‘You're all soft, the whole lot of you. Just let her rot there. I don't give a damn.'

‘You'll give a damn if you find yourself back in that place for the duration. And if you touch her that's what we'll do – drop you back there. We need her in good health and able to talk to her parents when we make the call. If she can't talk to them we've a big problem: how do we prove she's still alive?'

* * * * *

On Sunday morning Bertie and Jack left Riverside with others of the night-team going off duty, so that nothing untoward was obvious. At headquarters the two men were given an inoffensive-looking, elderly car, in which they could drive off for the day, completely undetected for what they were. They were joined by a pretty comprehensive team of other well-briefed, plain-clothes police who set off at more or less the same time. They had divided into sections the mountain area which they thought most likely to be the location of the hideout and each team covered one of these sections. The idea was to have a wander around and, towards lunchtime, find a pub on the periphery of the built-up area in their section, drop in for a pint and ask would-be innocent questions.

Nothing useful was forthcoming at lunchtime but on one of the visits to the pubs towards the end of the afternoon a couple of the men struck lucky. Aiden and Brendan had wandered into a down-at-heel pub, most inappropriately called “The Irish Harp”, which was more like an old-time shebeen than anything else. It wouldn't have surprised them to have been offered a shot of poteen from under the counter. However, there was a cheerful turf fire burning and a warm welcome from the man behind the bar.

‘Good evening, gentlemen. Me name's Mick. What can I get ye?'

‘Hello, Mick. Two pints of Guinness would be grand and one for yourself.'

The drinks were poured and there was casual chit-chat, covering the usual social themes for such a venue and occasion: the weather, the scenery and so forth. The two brought the topic around very carefully to where they wanted it to be.

‘Well, it's such a grand area I wouldn't mind having a bolt-hole up here, well away from the crowds of the city.'

‘But, Brendan, you'd never find a place around here. Shure you'd have to buy a bit of a plot and build on it. I'll bet there aren't any for sale anyway.'

‘Yeh, I suppose you're right but I could just afford a small place and the wife and kids would love it. I wish I could find something.' Then turning to the barman he continued:

‘I don't suppose there's any hope of finding a little place around about, is there?'

‘Well I don't know of anything off hand, but it's always worth asking around. I mean there were two fellas here about six or eight months ago and they were looking for something like that. Liam Nolan sold them a real wreck of a place – couldn't believe his luck. Didn't think he'd ever get rid of it.'

‘Oh, looks as if I missed the boat then. I wonder if the people who bought it would sell it on to me. What do you think?'

‘It mightn't be what you'd want though, Brendan. Where was this place, Mick? Would it be difficult for us to find?'

‘Ah shure if t'was meself I wouldn't try this evening. It's a bit up the mountain from here but, if ye had a car, then I'd say less than an hour's drive should do it. I've never been there so I can't give ye exact directions to the door as it were, but I know roughly the area. 'Tis well off the beaten track, but shouldn't be too hard to find in the daylight. There aren't
that
many places up there.'

‘Maybe Liam Nolan would give us the exact location.'

‘No chance of that, lads. As soon as he got the money he was off to Australia to join his brother.'

‘Oh! Well thanks anyway, Mick.'

Aiden and Brendan were bursting to get more details: Who? How many? Had much work been done on the place? But they didn't want to arouse suspicion by asking too many questions. They deliberately changed the subject and, as soon as possible, careful not to seem in too much of a hurry to leave, they finished their drinks and left with promises to come back and let Mick know how they got along with their quest. They ran back to where they had concealed their car, got back to the local police station as fast as they could and called Sean on the secure line. His warm response was all the reward they needed.

‘Well done, lads! You may have got us a vital lead and we'll follow up at once.'

Jack and Bertie were still out in the hills. They had left their car and walked a substantial distance around their designated surveillance area, and their highly trained powers of observation had detected nothing even remotely likely as a hideaway, however well disguised. Sean now contacted them.

‘We may have a lead. We could be way off the mark in every respect but it's worth a try.' And he gave them all the information that the others had gleaned.

‘Thanks, Sean. Sounds promising. Give us a map reference, close as you can, and we'll get to the area. We'll drop the car and go in on foot and find out what we can. We'll report back before we do anything. The light's going so we won't be easily spotted.'

‘Okay, but…'

‘We know, Sean. It's a child's life!'

Dear God, thought Sean, I hope we're not barking completely up the wrong tree. We're gambling an awful lot on pure speculation. But we've just got to try anything at all likely.

* * * * *

It had been another interminable day at Riverside. When the word came through about a possible location, hopes were raised amongst Sean's inner circle, but they resisted the strong temptation to tell the rest of the family. Then a short time after Sean's communication with Bertie and Jack, the long awaited, dreaded call came at last and, because it was a radio contact, the others were able to listen in.

‘We want one million pounds in
used English notes
, non-sequential numbers, mixed denominations. You've got until midday Tuesday.'

This was all recorded but the muffled voice would be impossible to identify, not helped by the poor quality of the call.

‘That's too short a time to get so much used sterling together in cash. It's
Sunday evening
.'

‘You're lucky it's not twenty-four hours. If Milo Butler wants her alive then make sure he does it in the time!'

Desperate to keep him on the line Sean continued.

‘How do we know the child's still alive?'

‘We know what you're trying to do, Sean Flynn: keep us on the line so that you can trace our location. Well you're wasting your time. Next time we call it'll be with the instructions for delivery. We'll have the girl ready to speak to you, but make sure you've got the money. Tell Butler that his child is just about all right but not feeling too comfortable.'

‘We'll do our best to get the cash but…' The connection was broken.

‘They've gone. Milo, Noola, we'll talk about getting the money together.'

Up to then he hadn't thought either of them could have looked any worse, but he was wrong. They both now looked ready to collapse.

‘Well at least we know now that Izzy is still alive and exactly how much they want. And I don't care what I have to do to get the cash, I'll get it somehow. I'm going to call our bank manager now on your secure line, Sean, and put him in the picture. He's a good friend and he'll not spread the story around.'

‘Okay, Milo. While you're doing that I'll make radio contact with Jack and Bertie. They might as well come back in now.'

He contacted the two undercover agents again and put them in the picture, finishing up:

‘Have you had any luck yourselves?'

‘No, Sean. We've been using our own detection equipment but nothing. We can't do any more for the moment. They'll have closed down and anyhow it's almost dark. So we'll come in now and listen again to what they said. You've recorded it?'

‘Yes.'

‘Well maybe we'll be more help back down there.'