Chapter 27
A hand gently shook Issa awake. She bolted upright, clutching the blankets to her chest. She stared, blinking sleepily at Eagle leaning over her. His voice was low, urging, “Get up and get dressed. Now.”
She didn’t ask any questions. Her brain was slow to react, but her body was moving. She didn’t know if Hawk had been here, if that was him shutting the door on his way out. But she threw on clothes, packed as fast as she could. She ran to the bathroom, used the facilities, brushed her teeth, and took a drink. She returned to find the hotel room empty, wondering if she’d dreamed it all and should have stayed in bed.
Just then the door opened. Eagle saw her, gave her an approving nod, and said, “Come on. Let’s go.” He grabbed the bags and ushered her ahead of him. Just as she was about to go out the door, he whispered, “Be silent.”
Hawk was on the far side of the hall, waiting. She ran lightly toward him as Eagle brought up the rear. The stairs that led down to the pub also led back the other way to the outside. They quickly slipped out into the night. And she realized that, although the sky was light, the sun had yet to rise.
The men loaded the bags into the car. She slipped into the back seat. Hawk didn’t turn the engine on, just pushed in the clutch, and the vehicle rolled down the slight hill on the road. When they were about to hit the main road, he turned the engine over, put the car in gear, released the clutch as he gave it gas, and the car surged forward. And yet they drove without lights. She sat still, figuring out what had happened.
Eagle turned to look at her and asked, “You okay?”
She nodded. “What happened?”
Hawk answered. “I woke up to voices outside my room, talking about bringing in reinforcements. They wanted to get answers from you, once and for all.”
She gasped, sinking back in her seat. “Answers for what?”
Hawk shook his head. “I don’t know. We’re heading into the city to see the detective who is the brother of another friend of ours. And, if we get a chance, I thought you may want to see Angus.”
“Is that a possibility?”
“Yes. He might be willing to talk to us.”
She stared out the window, thinking how quickly her life had shifted. “It would be good, I guess. I had hoped to meet more of my family. The trouble is knowing who my family really is.”
“Exactly,” Eagle said. “And word travels fast, especially now they know about you. I don’t trust them.”
She cracked a smile in his direction. “That’s because you like being in control, and this situation makes you uncomfortable,” she said smoothly. “You were probably a bad-tempered child growing up too.”
“Hey, that’s not fair,” he said mockingly. “I might’ve been a challenging child. But I wasn’t bad.”
She rolled her eyes at him and looked out the window. “At least I had few hours’ sleep.”
“You actually had five. That’s all we could give you. After Hawk heard the men, he came and got me. We did a quick look around the place to see what we were up against. That’s when he brought the car around back, and I raced up to get you. Two, three, four, five, or even six guys—no problem. Twelve guys, maybe no problem. But six guys with guns, twelve guys with guns …” Eagle shook his head. “No way.”
“At least we could have gone down and picked up coffee on the way out.”
Hawk gave a snort. “Maybe if the pub had been open, we could have ordered some to go, but that would have given us away. Nothing is open yet. We’ll get to the city and have breakfast then.”
“We have a drive to go yet,” Eagle said to Issa. “So, if you can, close your eyes, and get some more sleep.”
That she would like to do, but she didn’t think it would be possible. Not to mention so much was going on in her head that didn’t make any sense. She turned and looked at Eagle. “Did you bring all the stuff?”
He nodded. “It’s possible it all came from a robbery in Paris twenty years ago. They’re quite well-known pieces.”
Her shoulders sagged. “I was hoping they weren’t.”
“What I don’t know is why they were stuck in the back of that closet.”
“Yeah, it was strange.” She nodded. “I told my mom and dad about that spot. Not very many other people knew. I was friends for a while with one kid there when I was growing up. Arian. But I’m not sure his family thought I was a good influence on him. It was odd. He’s the one that I exchanged notes with in the closet all the time.”
The men didn’t say anything.
She smiled at the memory. “Nothing major. Just a picture one day, a feather another, that kind of thing.” She shrugged. “It was sweet. And made me smile.”
“Who was that?”
“The pub owner’s son, Arian,” she said. “I never saw him again after we left—I never saw anyone from here after that.” She frowned and shrugged. “So much of my history is from that part of my life, and most of it is almost impossible to remember. Just images, feelings, impressions, more than actual events.”
“I’d say that’s pretty normal, given the age you were.”
She got caught up in the memories as they drove steadily toward the city. “I want to go back there later.”
“Only if we have to,” Hawk said.
When she didn’t respond, Eagle turned to look at her. “Why do you want to go back?”
She sighed. “I feel like they need closure. As much as I do.”
“Maybe they do. But that doesn’t mean they will get it.”
Close to forty minutes later they pulled into the city limits. Up ahead was a fast-food chain. Hawk pulled in and said, “I need a pit stop. I think we all could use some coffee.”
When they’d all had a chance to use the single bathroom, they went to the counter and ordered coffee. A clock hung on the wall behind the counter. “What time does the station open?” Eagle asked Hawk.
“We’ve still got another hour. Probably half an hour on the road to find the address. Do you want to grab some breakfast here?”
“I was actually eyeing the muffins. Maybe that would do.”
Hawk ordered six to go. Once they were back on the road, he divvied them up.
“You sure we weren’t followed?” she asked.
“We weren’t followed when we left, but it’s pretty obvious we would’ve been heading toward the city. Maybe they put a tracker on the rental car. I don’t know. Why? Have you seen anyone?”
“Honestly, these days all I do is look around and think I see someone.”
“We are being followed in a sense. But it’s our guys, not them.”
She stared at Hawk, her jaw dropping. “You mean, you have somebody keeping an eye on us?”
“Of course. We never walk into a situation like this without backup.”
She shook her head. “This is just too nuts.”
“Says the daughter of a smuggler, the daughter of a woman who kept a lover on the side, whose entire male family died while on a job? Who knows what the hell is going on in the world? I still can’t believe we found the jewelry and the money. You have to decide what you want to do about this.”
“Do about it? What can I do?”
“The jewelry should be handed over. Hopefully it goes back to the proper owner, if these can be confirmed as the missing pieces. No way to know if the money was taken at the same time.”
“Any idea how much there is?”
“Close to fifty grand USD.”
She sank back. “My mother must have really hated that money to have left it here all these years. She worked at minimum wage jobs for most of her life and lived from paycheck to paycheck.”
Finally they came to a large building built of stone. She stared at the forbidding-looking front and said, “This looks a little unnerving.”
She hopped out of the car with her purse, noted that Eagle picked up his duffel, slung it over his shoulder, and reached out a hand. She slipped her hand into his, and together, with Hawk bringing up the rear, they walked in the front door.
Hawk said, “He should be waiting for us. Charlie set it up.”
Several men stood off to one side of the counter.
Eagle identified himself and said he was meeting Detective Dennis Laslo.
The taller of the men smiled, walked over, and held out a hand. “That’s me. Let’s go to a private room.” He led them to a small room where they all sat down. “This is quite a story you’ve got.” He turned to look at Issa. “Are you Issa McGuire?”
She nodded. “As far as I know, I am. Although my father might not be who I thought he was.”
“According to Eagle, that could be Angus.” He studied her. “Do you want to see him?”
“Is he allowed visitors?”
“Oh, yes, he’s been a model prisoner. He’s still spouting his innocence. He doesn’t know about you yet. But, if you’d like to see him, I’m sure you would brighten an old man’s day.”
She thought about that. Her mom had been in her fifties. Angus was likely in his sixties. And maybe that would be something she should do. If for nothing else, just to get closure.
“Yes, I would like that. If possible, I’d like to see him today.”
*
It was difficult to watch the play of emotions move across Issa’s face. Eagle still held her hand gently in his. He loved that she’d moved her chair closer to his, that, at every opportunity, she was there right beside him. It had been a long time since he had had that sense of partnership. That sense of togetherness with someone. This felt right. He never thought he’d find a woman as addicted and hung up on birds as he was.
She could teach him so much, but that was for another time. He was still struggling with her abilities. He wasn’t sure what to think of the Roash and Humbug issues. It didn’t seem real. She could communicate in ways he’d only dreamed about.
Now watching her face at the thought of meeting Angus was almost painful. She’d buried her mother. The father she knew was in a grave, buried more than twenty years ago. Never thought to have a biological father alive. And to be the man she’d seen in bed with her mother.
The night that everything blew up. The night the four of them, three humans and one falcon, were all supposed to be watching, all of them derelict in their duties. But only one of them had an allowable excuse because she was a child.
He turned his gaze to the detective and said, “It would need to be today or at the very latest in the morning.”
The detective nodded, opened the file in front of him, ran his finger down as if checking for Angus’s location and a number. He picked up the phone and dialed. As they listened, he requested visiting hours. When he put down the phone, he said, “You’re in luck. You can see him today.”
Issa squeezed Eagle’s fingers. He didn’t know if it was in hope or in fear. But he knew Angus could be the one to give them the answers they needed.
They had other things they had to deal with first though.
The detective placed his forearms on the desk, clasped his hands together, and looked at her. “What do you know about the jewels?”
“Nothing,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know anything about them twenty years ago and just found pictures of them recently after my mother passed away. And well …” She turned to look at Eagle.
He explained from there.
The detective raised an eyebrow, glancing from Eagle to Issa and back. “What do you want to do?”
“What’s right. That means, handing them over,” she said without hesitation.
Eagle smiled at her, loving her even more. And then froze at the thought. Love? Was that what this was? He shoved the thought down, reached into his bag, and pulled out one of the soft velvet bags.
The detective carefully poured out the necklace so everyone could take a closer look. Then he whistled. “Wow.”
He picked it up, and they all stared at the emeralds shimmering in the light. He opened an envelope and showed Eagle and Issa the owner’s photos of the four missing pieces of jewelry. The emerald necklace matched the one in the photo. Beautifully.
Issa said, “They’ll need to be authenticated. And I’d like a receipt. If they aren’t the ones stolen, I’d like them back.”
The detective nodded. “Yes, that’s fair. But, from the looks of it, I don’t think there’s any doubt these are the real gems.”
Eagle spread out four large glossy photos, matching the ones in the detective’s folder. Eagle reached down for the other velvet bags. Carefully he pulled out the necklaces and put them on the desk. All four necklaces matched the four glossy photos.
The detective said, “This cold case has been unsolved for over twenty years.”
“It’s still unsolved,” Issa said. “All I can tell you is where these were found and what led us to them. And I know it probably had something to do with my family being wiped out twenty years ago.”
The detective sobered. “You’re right. This is not just about finding the stolen goods or capturing the men who did this. A great deal of human life was lost that night.”
He picked up his phone and called somebody. Ten minutes later a rap came at the door, and it opened. The detective stood and said, “This is my supervisor. I’ll write you that receipt. We’ll go from there.”
She nodded. “Is anything else missing?”
Both of the policemen turned to look at her. “Like what?”
Eagle smiled to himself as she gazed steadily at the men. “You showed us four photos, one of each of the four necklaces. Wasn’t there other jewelry that went missing at the same time?”
The detective said, “Oh, that’s a good question.” He walked back to his folder and said, “Though we don’t have any more photographs, besides the four necklaces, some old gold coins went missing. Just a few of them, along with a few smaller pieces of jewelry. Everything was stolen from the same private collection. The jewels were on display under what was supposed to be top security at the time. The thing is, the method of getting in and out was simple. Bribery and murder.”
Issa turned pale at the word murder.
“The theft occurred during a big formal event. Politicians, movie stars, many private collectors were there. So the theft was well publicized.” He raised his gaze and looked at her. “Did you find anything else?”
“Only Irish money,” she said quietly. “And paperwork from my parents.”
He nodded. “That’s fine. We need the details on those, plus a statement from you, if you could, please.”
Hawk asked, his voice harsh and amiable at the same time, “When will you get the jewels authenticated?”
“This morning hopefully but maybe not until tomorrow,” the supervisor said. “We have a specialist who assists us on some investigations.” He turned to look at Issa. “Are you going to see Angus?”
She stood. “Yes. Maybe he’ll have some answers.”
The two officers studied her, then glanced at the jewels. The detective asked, “Do you think he was involved?”
“I have no idea. My father—well, who I thought was my father—and my three brothers along with him were smugglers,” she said quietly. “Maybe these were smuggled out of France weeks earlier.” She shrugged. “I really have no way of knowing as I was six back then.”
The detective said, “I have a time line here. The jewels were stolen in March, and your father died less than ten days later.”
“In that case, it’s likely all related. I don’t know that my father ever left Ireland. Somebody else would’ve been responsible for bringing the jewels across the water.”
The detective nodded. “That would make sense.” He wrote a note down on the file. “Do you know how often he received shipments?”
“I have no way to know. Like I said, I was only six, and my mother and I left for America soon afterward,” she said. “If we’re done here, I’d really like to talk to Angus now.”
The detective said, “And I’d like to hear what he has to say too. Let’s get your statement. Then you can go to the prison.”
“You could come with us,” Issa offered.
The detective smiled. “If I thought it would do any good, I would. But I think your father will speak more freely if I’m not there.”
Eagle agreed. “Then let’s take care of the paperwork so we can be on our way.”