12 The Family Way (33 page)

Before I could take this thought any further Sid and Gus had come across to join me.

“Well, that didn’t take long at all,” Sid said. Then she frowned. “Are you all right, Molly. Is something wrong?”

“I’ve just realized something shocking,” I said. “I know who stole that baby and why a different one was returned. I have to go home and wait to tell Daniel.”

“Thank God for that,” Gus said. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost. You’re as white as a sheet.”

A ghost. Images flashed through my mind—the disembodied face of Sister Mary Vincent floating toward me down the hallway and her expression when she saw me. Almost as if she was seeing a ghost. Why was she so shocked to see me? Who did she think?…

“Oh, no,” I said, looking back up those steps. “I have to go back into the convent. I’ve just realized something.”

“What?”

“I think that my brother might be hiding in there.”

“In that convent?” Gus sounded shocked. “Don’t you think the nuns might have found him by now?”

“Oh, I think at least one of the nuns knows quite well that he’s there,” I said. “Sister Mary Vincent mistook me for someone else when she came upon me in the darkness. She thought she was looking at my brother. We look very alike. And she said, ‘What are you doing up here in the daylight?’
Up here,
she said. That must mean that he’s supposed to stay down in a basement during the day. I’ve got to go down and find out.”

“Molly, is that wise?” Gus said.

“He’s my brother, Gus. I don’t want him captured and arrested and killed. I’ve got to try to persuade him to leave the country, or at least leave New York, before the police find him. And I should also make him see that he’s placing a group of nuns in danger.”

“But what if he’s with a group of ruffians down there,” Gus said. “Didn’t you say that he was working with anarchists? Those men wouldn’t think twice about killing you.”

“I can’t believe that nuns would let a group of anarchists hide out in their convent. This particular sister is passionate about the Irish cause and that’s why she must be hiding Liam. I’ll go cautiously.”

“We’re coming with you,” Sid said.

I shook my head. “Liam would surely hear more than one person coming. He’d hide or escape.”

“If you think we’re letting you go down into the bowels of a building alone, you can think again,” Sid said.

“I must speak with him alone. Don’t you see that?” I pleaded. “I tell you what. You can stand at the top of the stairs and watch out for me. You can delay any nun who might want to go down to the basement. And you can hear me if I call for help.”

“I suppose so,” Sid admitted grudgingly. She looked across for affirmation to Gus.

“I think Molly has to go the last bit alone,” she agreed. “And we don’t even know that he really is down there. It’s just Molly’s hunch.”

We went back up the steps. I had seen Sister closing the front door behind us and was pretty sure it wasn’t locked. We turned the handle and stepped back inside to the cool gloom.

“What do we say if one of the nuns catches us?” Gus whispered.

“We’ll tell them we’ve come to inspect the place as our ladies club is considering a charitable donation,” Sid said breezily. “People are always pleasant if they think you’re going to give them money.”

There was a flight of stairs going down where I had previously gone up. I glanced back at my friends then began to descend. At the bottom were several doors, and I heard women’s voices coming from what had to be a laundry judging by the sounds and smells. This was only the floor halfway below street level, I concluded. It probably housed the kitchen and scullery as well as the laundry. I moved along as silently as I could, looking for the way down to a floor below this. I didn’t think it was likely that anybody would choose to hide here, when this level was so obviously in use. I prowled most of the hallway, but discovered no stairs. I opened one door quietly and found myself staring at a broom closet. Another room had chairs stacked up in it. I had almost given up when I peered into a scullery and saw what looked like more steps in a far corner. I crept across, realizing that it would be increasingly difficult to explain my presence if I was spotted now. The stone steps did indeed go down into darkness, turning a corner so that I couldn’t see what lay beyond. The wall felt cold and damp to the touch as I inched my way down. The small square hallway at the bottom was in almost complete darkness, the only light coming from a tiny grating up at the top of the wall. I stood still, wondering what to do next. I felt my way along the right-hand wall until I made out the shape of a doorway. I tried the handle. It was locked. I tried a second doorway. Also locked.

Of course, I thought. If I were hiding out from the authorities, I’d keep the door locked too. I was just about to give up in frustration when I heard soft footsteps approaching. I stepped back hastily up into the stairwell and pressed myself against the wall as I heard one of the doors open with a click.

“Don’t stay outside too long this time,” a voice whispered. “Sister said you were almost spotted.”

“A man’s got to take a pee, doesn’t he?” the closer voice answered. “Besides, I’m going mad, cooped up in here like a caged beast. How much longer, do you think? Why won’t they tell us anything?”

“We’d have been out of here by now if those explosives had made it through safely, wouldn’t we?” The voice sounded remarkably like Liam’s. “Go on. Hurry up, for God’s sake.”

I was conscious of a figure moving past me. Then one of the locked doors clicked open and daylight came in. He had gone into a narrow area between buildings, where I supposed the WC was to be found. I didn’t wait a second. I darted through the half-open door into the room where I had heard the voices. It smelled of stale food and stale sweat and my senses recoiled. It was lit by one small oil lamp on a packing case on which the remains of two meals also reposed. Apart from that there were only two cots in the room and on one of these my brother was sitting. He leaped to his feet as I came in, fists up, ready to defend himself and a look of utter horror crossed his face as he saw me.

“For the love of God, Molly, what are you doing here?”

“I worked out who was hiding you. I have to speak to you, Liam, before the police find you. You’re a wanted man. They know you’re here, Liam. You have to get away while you can.”

“Do you think I don’t know all that?” He gave a bitter laugh. “And I would have been long gone if our original plans hadn’t been stymied. But I’m not leaving, Molly. I’m seeing it through.”

“What exactly is it you’re seeing through?”

“Something big, Molly. Something that is going to make the world sit up and notice that we Irish can’t be trodden on any longer.”

“Something that needed a lot of explosives,” I said.

“How the devil do you know that?”

“I heard your friend talking,” I said. “You’re going to blow something up, Liam.”

“No sense in denying it. We are.”

“You’re planning to destroy innocent lives to make your statement? How will that make the Irish look to the rest of the world?”

“Sometimes innocent lives have to be lost in a war. You know that. And this is war, Molly. War against the English until they give us home rule.”

“You put me in a difficult position, Liam. I’m married to a policeman. I can’t let you do this. But you’re my brother. I have to try and save you if I can. I don’t suppose I can make you come forward and tell the police what is being planned.”

“Damned right you can’t. Do you think I’d betray the cause? It would be more than my life is worth.”

“Then I’ll give you twenty-four hours to escape before I tell my husband. That’s my best offer, Liam.”

He looked at me and I saw he was crying. “You give me no alternative,” he said. “You know I can’t let you go, don’t you? I should kill you now, but you’re my sister and you’ve the little one coming too and I can’t bring myself to do it. But I can’t let you get in the way of our plans either.” He glanced at the doorway then back at me in an agony of indecision. “My pal will be back any second. Go while you still have a chance to leave. You have to do what you think is right, just as I do.”

“You’re a brave man, Liam. Our mother would have been proud.” I stared at him for a long moment, taking in the features of his face. I longed to hug him, but I knew he wouldn’t want me to. Then I turned to go. But the doorway was blocked by a big man standing there.

“What’s this then?” he asked, coming inside and shutting the door behind him. “Having visitors now, are we?”

“She’s my sister, Barney. She came to warn me the police are onto me.”

“Did she now?” The big man was looking at me with cold, animal eyes. “And how did she find you? Did you contact her? Have you let your mouth run away with you again?” He lunged at me and his hand came over my mouth. “So will you do it or shall I?”

“Do what?”

“Kill her, of course. We can’t let her go. She’ll bring the police straight here.”

“I’m not killing my sister, Barney. And neither are you,” Liam said. “She’s on our side. She’s fought for the cause before now.”

“And you don’t think she’ll give us away? We can’t risk that, Liam. Nobody is supposed to know we are here. Nobody.”

“She said she’d give us twenty-four hours. They can find us another safe house in that time.”

I was finding it hard to breathe with that big hand crushing me. I wriggled and tried to break free.

“Let go of her,” Liam said. “I don’t want to hurt you, Barney, but I will if I have to.”

“A little squirt like you? And what could you do about it, that’s what I’d like to know. You’re worth nothing to us, Liam Murphy. That’s why they picked you to push the plunger on the explosives. You’re expendable.”

With a roar of rage Liam flung himself at the bigger man. There was a sickening thud as fist connected with jaw. Barney staggered and released his grip on me. I fought myself free as he swung at Liam. Liam ducked nimbly and another punch found its mark on the side of Barney’s head.

“Go on. Run,” Liam shouted to me. “Get out of here now!”

I didn’t want to leave him, but I could see the sense in getting away when I could. I darted out of the room. As I came up the steps I heard Sid shouting. “Molly, watch out! The police are here…”

And before she could finish the sentence, men in blue uniforms swarmed down the stairs around me.

“Where are they then?” one of the police shouted to me.

“Liam, run!” I screamed.

Liam came bursting out of the room and made for the back door. As he ran out into the yard a single pistol shot sounded. Liam pitched forward and went sprawling onto the cobbles.

Thirty-three

“No!” I heard myself yell as I forced my way back down to him. Several policemen were standing around him as he lay there. There was a bright red stain spreading across the back of his white shirt. I ignored the police as I dropped to my knees beside him.

“Liam,” I said gently and stroked his hair. “I’m so sorry.”

His eyes opened and he looked at me, puzzled. Then the ghost of a smile crossed his face. “Molly,” he said and he fell back, dead.

“Molly, dearest, come away.” Sid’s voice brought me back to the present. She lifted me to my feet. “There’s nothing more you can do. Let us take you home.”

From inside the building came sounds of curses and a scuffle Then Barney was dragged out past us.

“Yer traitorous devil woman,” he shouted as they went past. “Curses on you. Curses on you and your family. May you rot in hell.” And he spat at me.

“Come on, Molly. Let’s go home,” Gus said, coming to take my other arm. Together they led me out of an alleyway and back into the busy street. As we emerged I saw John Wilkie standing outside the house. He came over to me.

“Mrs. Sullivan, please allow my men to take you home,” he said.

I glared at him. “How did you know I’d be here?”

“We were awaiting your return to New York and naturally we took the liberty of having you followed.”

“You made me betray my own brother,” I said angrily.

“Believe me, it’s better this way. I wouldn’t recommend either the noose or the electric chair as a pleasant way to die.”

“He didn’t have to die at all,” I said. “He’d done nothing wrong.”

“Nothing wrong? Is that what you think?”

“He might have been plotting and planning a crime, but it might have been all talk. He hadn’t actually committed any crime in America that I know of. You’d no right to shoot him in the back like that.”

“As to that, we always try to cooperate with our English allies and they were the ones who alerted us to his presence. He is a wanted man in his own country, you know.”

“In the eyes of his own people he’s a hero.”

He looked at me quizzically. “Do you happen to know exactly what he was planning, Mrs. Sullivan?”

“Some kind of bomb explosion.”

“Precisely. He was part of a cell of anarchists planning to plant a bomb in the English Houses of Parliament. Hundreds of innocent people blown to pieces. A fine historic building reduced to rubble. Do you call that heroic?”

“I didn’t say I agreed with him. But the Americans also behaved in similar fashion during their own war of independence, I expect.”

“They fought army to army like gentlemen,” he said. “We won our independence fair and square, Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Molly, we have a cab waiting.” Sid tugged at my skirt. “You’re only upsetting yourself by lingering here. Let’s go home.”

“I just want to reiterate that I’m sorry you had to witness this, Mrs. Sullivan,” Mr. Wilkie said. “I’m sure you were fond of your brother.”

I gave him a curt nod as I was led over to the waiting cab.

Sid and Gus came with me into my house. I looked around hopelessly. “I meant to make Daniel a nice dinner,” I said. “And now…” and to my shame I burst into tears. My friends were kindness itself. They sat me down and made me a cup of tea with plenty of sugar.

“Don’t worry about cooking anything,” Gus said. “We will provide the dinner tonight.”

“You’re too kind and I’m a horrible friend to you,” I said. “I make trouble for you. I inconvenience you.”