Murphy's Law (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #1)

"I've heard worse," I said.

He took a deep breath. "Okay. I want all the off-duty guards brought here as soon as possible. Everybody on the roster. I want them back here this afternoon. Got it?"

"They won't take kindly to being woken in the middle of. ..." McSweeney began.

"I don't care a do---, a fig about their feelings. A man has been murdered. One of them might well have vital information. Get the list to my men and we'll bring them in right away."

"You've no authority to do this!" McSweeney called after him. "This is federal property. We've called in the U.s. Marshals and they're on their way."

"This island falls within the boundaries of New York City, Mr. McSweeney," Daniel Sullivan said. "And any crime committed in New York City is handled by the NYPD. Besides, we're not dealing with cattle rustling here. This is murder, McSweeney. I doubt your federal marshals have handled a murder inquiry in their lives."

He strode away from the line of guards with me following him. Then seemed to remember me and

turned back. "Sorry to detain you even longer, Mrs. O'Connor. Are your children all right? Go and get them something to eat. Say that Captain Sullivan says you should be fed."

We went through to the dining room. Other detainees were sitting around with cups of coffee. Still no sign of Michael Larkin. I asked several people. Some thought he had been released and gone. Nobody had seen him recently. Only

I knew that he wouldn't have gotten past the authorities without that five pounds.

The day seemed to go on forever. It was dark and gloomy, with fog swirling past the windows and mournful tooting from ships going up the river. The two children were unusually quiet and good.

"Will they keep us in prison here forever?" Seamus whispered to me.

I ruffled his hair. "It's not prison and we'll be out by the end of the day. Not long now, I promise."

"You said that when the ship was going up and down, but it was two more days," he said accusingly.

I smiled. "This time I really promise." The afternoon went on. I kept glancing at the clock on the wall. If they didn't get here soon, I'd be detained for another night. I wondered about Seamus O'Connor. Had he come to the island hoping to meet us yesterday? Was he pacing the shore today, waiting for word that he could come and take us home? And after all that waiting and hoping, to find that his wife hadn't joined him, after all. It hadn't really struck me until now that I was the bringer of the very worst news possible. It was possible that Seamus would be so distressed or angry that he'd give me away. When I was a child we used to lay old planks across the fast-flowing brook and dare each other to walk across. We would do it, never knowing when the rotten old wood would give way and tumble us into the icy water and rocks. That was how my life felt at this moment--never knowing at which moment the rickety boards would give way.

Nine

The radiators made the small waiting room uncomfortably warm and stuffy. I was dozing when Bridie climbed onto my lap. "The men have come back for you," she said. I had been dreaming of home.

It took me a couple of seconds to regain my senses and to see that two policemen were waiting for me.

"Captain Sullivan is ready for you now, Mrs. O'Connor. They've brought all the guards in. If you'd come this way."

"I'll be back in a minute. Watch your sister," I said to Seamus as I followed the men from the room.

This time there was a long line of uniformed men. Some of the uniforms had obviously been put on hastily and some of the men clearly hadn't shaved. They all looked disgruntled at being dragged here during their time off.

"You know what to do, don't you?" Daniel Sullivan asked me. "Let me know if you recognize the man you saw last night."

I fell into step beside him and we walked slowly down the line. So many faces, but none of them I recognized until ... there he was! It had been dark last night and he was standing in the shadows, but surely that had to be him. Big, brawny, lots of whiskers ... I leaned close to Daniel Sullivan. "That's the one," I said. "That man there with all the whiskers."

We continued to the end of the line. Daniel went to speak to the administrator. "Boyle!" he called. "Would you step this way please?"

The big man followed him and was escorted by Captain Sullivan into a side room. I found that I was shaking. If that man had been a murderer and I'd just identified him, wasn't it possible that I was now in danger? What if he escaped or was released and came looking for me? Why had I opened my big mouth again and gotten myself involved when I could so easily have said nothing?

Nobody told me what to do, so I went back to the children in the dining hall. There was coffee and bread available, but I wasn't hungry. It wasn't long before Daniel Sullivan himself came looking for me.

"Can I have a word with you, Mrs. O'Connor?" He led me outside of the room into the deserted hallway.