Hard Irish (16 page)

“I had no idea how big the company was,” she said then glanced at him.  “You’re part of all of this and you’re bothering to handle my minor problem?”

Sweat broke over his brow as he balanced precariously on the point of his deceit.  He was a part of it all only in the constructing of it, not the doing, and running of it.  “When it comes to a person’s safety, no problem is minor,” he choked out, emotion clogging his throat.  Even were it not for his lie to Rocky, Jared would have found himself upset by coming to the facility.

Jesse had paid Shamrock Construction extremely well for the work, and if he and James had been wise with the money, they wouldn’t have had to worry about finances for a while.  But they hadn’t been, and seeing the success of what he’d produced in comparison to the failure of what he had to show for it now, wrung Jared inside out.  It shamed him, and he prayed to God he and James could turn their lives around.

Once entering the facility, they went through a security scanner and a guard escorted them to Jesse’s office on the fourth floor.  The first three floors were labs for research and development.  Offices were on the fourth and the fifth floor, that only a handful of people knew about, which housed top-level clients at high-risk.

Jesse greeted them at the door of his office.  “How did it go with the police?”

Jared scoffed.  “They didn’t even ask if we’d touched anything and immediately seemed to buy into the suicide.  I told them several times that Rocky adamantly believed Patrick Brady wouldn’t take his life and that they should do a full investigation.  They said no one ever does believe, but did call for a team to process the scene. I think it will be up to us to figure out if there is foul play involved.”

Jesse motioned them into his office. “You two have a seat, and we’ll talk before going down to the lab.  I have some information that puts a twist on things.” 

Unlike the formal desk and straight-backed chairs of his office downtown, this office was more like a slice from a comfortably appointed home—leather sofas, book cases, classic art on the walls, big screen TV, marble chess set with its own table and chairs, a wet bar and of course, the customary large mahogany desk in the corner.

Jared sat on the sofa and Rocky joined him.

Jesse took in a chair across from them.   He opened a file and spread some papers over the table then looked at Rocky.  “I’ve put a guard on your father and we are still trying to contact the attorney. It is better to be safe rather than sorry.  As I go through this, keep in mind that we’re in this to protect you, not to pry unnecessarily into everyone’s lives. That being said, this is what we know so far.”  He pushed one paper forward.  “Your ex, Collin Brady, is in a very poor financial shape.  He’s been in rehab twice since leaving McKenna Construction and hasn’t held one job for more than eight to nine months at a time.  I’m not sure how you, your father’s, and Patrick Brady’s wills are set up, but Collin could stand to inherit a third of McKenna Construction now that his father is dead.  With your father in a coma and were something happen to you, I don’t know where that leaves the other two-thirds of the company.”

“Christ,” Jared said.

“Collin didn’t hurt his father.  I know it, no matter what else he’s done in life when drunk.  He didn’t do this.”  Rocky grabbed Jared’s hand and squeezed, hoping he would realize she didn’t want what had almost happened to be part of this conversation.

  Seeing from his glance her way that Jared understood, she inhaled and released him.  Though after the coffee and fruit, she felt better, her hands still shook as she picked up the report.  “To answer your question, Da’s share of the company goes to me and mine to him unless I have a child.  Then my shares and assets are put in a trust for my child.  Should I die childless, the business partner has one year to buy my share before it is sold to an outside investor.  The money from the sale along with the liquidation of my other assets goes to my Build-A-Future program for kids.”

Jared clarified.  “So with his father gone, even though Brady doesn’t inherit your shares, if something happened to you, he’d get control of the company and a year to buy out your shares.  A good deal from where he stands right now.”

“Yes, but Collin would never hurt his father.”

Jared cursed.  “Would you have ever thought when you married him that your relationship would be where it was during the divorce and afterword?”

 She shivered.  “No.”

“Then keep an open mind.  When it comes to your safety everyone is guilty until proven innocent.”

“Sometimes, that suspicion is the only thing that saves a client,” Jesse said then pointed to the next paper.  “Patrick Brady checked out.  Born in Ireland.  Immigrated to the US.  Achieved citizenship and married a US citizen.  He’s lived simply and saved his money.  No surprises until this morning.  I have a man over at the bank now to ask what state of mind Patrick was in when he picked up the hatbox.  That is assuming the hatbox is what was in the safety deposit box.  Hopefully we can get the answer to that today.”

Jesse continued.  “Your father’s report pretty much follows along the lines of Patrick’s.  Born in Ireland.  Immigrated to the US.  Became a citizen.  He then went to Ireland, met and married your mother, and brought her here.  It is with your mother that the story takes a twist.  Keira Shona Murphy came into existence on the day she married your father.  Before that, there is no record.”

“What do you mean?” Rocky set down the paper on Collin and took the sheet Jesse handed her.

“We are still checking, but so far can find no information about her.  No record of citizenship in the US.  No work or birth records in Ireland.  Not even school records are turning up.”

“But how?  She worked here...she—”

“McKenna construction never claimed your mother as an employee.  The only tax records at for a McKenna from the company are for you and your father.  She has no social security number.”

“I don’t understand.”  Rocky shook her head and brought her fingers to press to her temple.  She’d paled, looking really lost and confused.

Jared didn’t know what to do.  He regretted ever thinking she’d hired illegal labor.  In fact, in all of his prior-to-meeting-her-assessments of her company, he’d been a pompous ass, and he didn’t like the feeling.

Jesse continued to search for answers.  “When she was alive, who handled the payroll and tax information for the company?”

“My mother until she became sick, then my father took over.  We didn’t hire someone else until...after my mother died.  I can’t believe this.  You’re saying my mother wasn’t a citizen. That she lived here illegally?”

Jared clasped Rocky’s hand, wishing he could do more.

Jesse shook his head.  “No.  The bottom line is we don’t know.  Do you have family records stored someplace?”

“There is a box in the attic at my house.  After my father’s stroke, I put his furniture in storage and all of his personal things at my house.”

“If it is all right, I’d like my data expert to look through everything of your father’s.  Maybe we’ll find some answers.  Meanwhile, let’s go down to the lab.  Most of the contents of the hatbox are salvageable to some degree.  Hopefully you will be able to make sense of them and solve this growing mystery.  We’ve lifted several sets of fingerprints from the hatbox and the contents.  We’re hoping to find a match in the system.”

Rocky’s trepidation grew as she followed Jesse.  Were it not for Jared’s supportive arm at the small of her back, she might have been tempted to run the other way.  She didn’t believe Collin had a hand in his father’s death, but it seemed that the contents of the hatbox had.  Either something her mother left caused Uncle Pat to commit suicide, or made someone else kill him.  Why else had someone attempted to burn it all, unless they wanted to destroy its existence? 

She wished she could turn back the clock.  To go back in time where innocence reigned and this web of intrigue and deception encircling her didn’t exist.  If what Jesse was suggesting was true, then her parents had lied to her all of her life.

Hadn’t they?
  Or had she just assumed her family was just like everyone else’s?

Assumptions had a way of turning out completely wrong.  She’d assumed that Jesse and Jared’s security company was a small local company.  The facility she was walking through right now was a multi-million dollar project.  It completely daunted her.  The builder in her couldn’t help but admire the architectural design and little construction details that spoke well of the builder.  The lab turned out to be huge and fully staffed.

“Anything new, Ringo?” Jesse asked as he led them to a large plexi-glass box.  “We’re taking every precaution to protect the evidence.”

It looked like something from a sci-fi film.  Inside the box, raised on a clear platform was the hatbox.  She drew closer to it, seeing its contents placed there, as well.  Surrounding the box, were gloved holes and Ringo had his hands in one set of the gloves, working with the evidence.  He picked up a necklace to show her.  It was tiny, silver, and its charm was of a woman astride a unicorn aiming a bow at an unseen foe.

Gasping, Rocky touched her neck.  “It’s mine.” 

She moved closer to the plexi-glass.  “My parents gave it to me on my fourth birthday.  My mother told me it was a magical necklace that belonged to a warrior princess who saved her kingdom.  It was one of my favorite bedtime stories until I outgrew such things.  I thought I’d lost it.  We moved to a new house when I was twelve and some boxes that I had taped poorly, broke open.  It was a mess.”  She frowned.  “I never mentioned it was missing, because I felt bad about it all.  My mother must have found it.  Hell, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“Information like that is just what we need.” Jesse said.  “When we’re done here, you have to write the story down for us.”  

Rocky shifted her gaze.  Both Jared and Jesse were looking at her as if she had the key to the crown jewels.  “Why?”

Jared answered.   “It’s possible that story can help solve the mystery surrounding your mother.  Maybe everything in the box is meant to trigger memories and when examined all together, will give us answers.”

Rocky turned back to the evidence.  “What’s the paperback book about?”  The edges of the book were charred, as was the cover.

Ringo picked up the book.  The cover was too damaged to read.  He held the book upright so everyone could see and opened the pages.  Bits and pieces of ashes fell and a flash of anger cut through Rocky.  Someone had deliberately tried to destroy what her mother left for her.  She felt violated.  Ringo stopped on the title page and Rocky thought she’d faint.

She wavered on her feet as her vision dimmed.

Jared wrapped his arm around her.  “Breathe.  Whatever it is, it’s okay.  What do you remember?”

Mouth dry.   Rocky swallowed hard.  “Nothing to remember.  I’ve never seen or heard about this book before.  But for my mother to leave a book called,
Unforgivable Acts of Crime
, can’t be good.  I was reading one of her poems yesterday entitled, “
Unforgiven
.”  The words of the poem were so raw and real that it left no question my mother had felt as if she’d done something Unforgivable.  Who wrote that book?”

Ringo turned the page.  Each crime was written by a different author.  There were about a dozen.

Rocky searched for her mother’s name and didn’t find it.  “I don’t recognize any of the authors.  Did she commit one of the crimes?”  She shuddered.  “I think I need to sit down.”

Jared stepped behind her and held her tight.  “Hell, get a chair, Jesse.  And send someone for some cold water.  “Rocky, don’t jump to conclusions so damn fast.  We’ll come back to the book.  What else is in there, Ringo?”

“We already have a team member researching the book.”  Ringo set the book down.

Rocky sucked in air and focused on the next item.

“A stack of post cards tied together by a ribbon with tiny rubber ducks attached.  The post cards are all written to Mam.  The first one reads:

Dear Mam,

I know you would have laughed until you cried tonight.  Just three years old and our warrior princess is already slaying dragons.  She was in her yellow tutu, the tallest of all the dancers putting on Duck Lake, a toddler’s version of Swan Lake.  Rory was at the point of nodding off when a rather large spider crawled across the stage.  All of the dancers screamed and ran, but not our little one.  She grabbed the wand from the evil frog attempting to put a spell on the ducks and proceeded to attack the spider.  She slayed her dragon after much ado, using few choice words that Rory will long regret—I will see to that.

Every day I pray.  

The blessing of God and Mary on you and all those I love.

Anchora salutis

 Rocky turned in Jared’s arms and pressed her face hard against his chest.  Tears, pain, and confusion, filled her.  “As far as I understood, my parents were both only children and all of my grandparents had passed away before I was born.  That sounds as if she was writing her mother, or my father’s mother and there is other family alive.  They’ve lied to me and not just about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.” 

Jared pulled her tighter.  “Sometimes lies are told for reasons that seem very important at the time.  Before you judge, wait until we find the whole truth.  Since they were never sent, it could be that your grandmother is in heaven and that was just your mother’s way of sharing.”

Rocky leaned back and wiped her eyes, smiling a little.  “You lie well.”

Jesse coughed and Jared frowned.

She continued.  “Nice try to make me feel better, though.  Truth is I need to suck it up like I did when I was three and slay the spider-dragons invading my life right now.  Getting all emotional is only going to hinder everything.  What else is in the box?”

Ringo held up one thing at a time for her to see.  The rest of the items were a collection of keepsakes that all related to different events in Rocky’s life, but none of them seemed as significant as the first few.