In Dublin's Fair City (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #6)

I could hear men's voices but the cloth over my head was too thick to make out exactly what they were saying, until I heard one voice say clearly, “Right. Let's have a look at her then.”


I was set on my own two feet, and the blanket was taken from my head. I stood for a moment, blinking in the strong electric light and taking big gasping breaths before I had a chance to notice my surroundings. When I was finally able to breathe properly. I stared around me in amazement: I wasn’t in the sort of seedy den, damp basement, or even ship's cabin that I had expected. I was in an elegant sitting room with Chippendale gilt furniture, a grand piano in one corner, Persian rugs on the polished wood floor, good art on the walls, and heavy red velvet curtains drawn over the windows.

A man was sitting on one of the Chippendale chairs. I had met plenty of men in my life I would call attractive, but this one was different from all the others. Daniel was definitely handsome,- Ryan could almost be described as beautiful. This man was undoubtedly their equal in beauty—with a strong jaw, straight nose, dark hair worn rather long, and alarmingly blue eyes, but it wasn’t his rugged good looks that instantly held my attention, it was something in the power of his personality. You could tell instantly that this was the sort of man whom others followed willingly, who was quite confident in himself and his leadership, who knew what he wanted and got it. Don’t ask me how I could tell all this so quickly. I just knew as he fixed me with that steady gaze.

“All right, young woman,” he said, in a voice that bore the trace of an Irish accent but was deep and cultured, “out with it.”

My shock and fear had now subsided, and my relief at finding myself in a civilized-looking room allowed my normally feisty nature to resurface. I wasn’t going to let this man see how afraid I was. I took a step toward him. “Look here. I have absolutely no idea who you are, or why you had the nerve to send your men to kidnap me. They’ve obviously made a mistake and brought in the wrong person. I demand that you release me instantly, or it will be the worse for you.”

At this I saw those eyes light up and he actually laughed. “The worse for me? Did you hear that, boys? I like your spirit, whoever youare. Now supposing you start off by telling us who you really are, and who you are working for.”

“Supposing you tell me why you had me brought here in such an undignified fashion,” I said. “If you had merely wanted to talk to me, a civilized invitation would have worked just as well.”

“Ah, but I couldn’t risk that, my dear,” he said. “When the enemy doesn’t play by the rules, we can’t either. And I may look like a civilized man, indeed I am, but lives are at stake here and I can’t afford to take risks. You’re going to tell us everything you know tonight, one way or the other.”

I continued to stare at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. “I’m afraid I still have no idea what you are talking about. I can’t think that I know anything that might be of interest to you or anyone else. You’ve obviously mixed me up with someone else.”

“You’re calling yourself Mary Delaney, are you not? And supposedly you’ve come over from America. But there's no Mary Delaney registered at any hotel in Dublin. So why are you using an assumed name if you’re all above board?”

“Did it never occur to you that I might be staying with my family?”

“Possible,” he said, “but you’ve been observed going in and out of the Shelbourne Hotel, where you must be staying under another name.”

He leaned back, tipping the gilt-edged chair and stretching out his long legs. “So, to start with, you could tell me your real name and why you’ve been asking so many questions about Terrence Moynihan and Mary Ann Burke. And what you’re doing here and who is paying you.”

“As for what I am doing here and why I’ve been asking questions, that's easily answered and I’ve nothing to hide,” I said. “If this is a civilized conversation, as you say it is, may I not sit down? I am at a disadvantage standing up while you seem quite at ease, and I’m actually still quite dizzy after being deprived of air under that rug or whatever it was. Horse blanket probably. It certainly smelled of animals.”

He smiled again. On any other occasion I would have thought he had a bewitching smile, but at this moment his complete ease was unnerving me. I was all too aware that this man knew he had the power of life and death over me and wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

“My apologies for the condition of the horse blanket,” he said.“Pray do take a seat. Brendan, could you find the young lady something to drink? Will water do, or do you need something stronger to steady your nerves?”

“Water would do just fine, thank you,” I said. “I have no need of spirits.”

He nodded as if he approved of this. I sat on the nearest chair.