Conna in Crisis & The Marriage of Ulick (22 page)

‘Oh my poor little boy; he’ll be terrified. What are we going to do?’

‘I think you should ring Ulick; he’ll know what to do.’

Ulick came immediately; took Nodie in his arms and comforted her. He rang Frankie who left immediately for Conna with Chief Superintendent, Tom Lally. In the meantime, Ester picked up an envelope left inside the front door. Nodie opened it. It read “If you hope to see your son alive again, find in favour of the oil company.”

‘Oh my god.’

Frankie and the Super arrived shortly afterwards. While he comforted Nodie, the super questioned Ester. How long since the abduction? An hour. He rang his HQ and ordered that road blocks be set up on all roads, sixty miles from Conna. The armed response unit was alerted, with instructions to act only as back up to the guards. Little John’s safety was paramount.

If the road blocks produced no results, it would be reasonable to assume the thugs were within the cordon; they would start closing it slowly, carrying out house to house searches, questioning strangers. Helicopters were ordered to fly over remote areas and direct ground forces to inspect isolated properties. Sergeant Muldoon started talking to the locals. Had anyone seen the car or the men? What kind of car was it? Could anyone describe the thugs?

Ulick walked out into the garden and when he was alone called Dandaboy. He was there instantly; Ulick brought him up to date. He was dismayed.

‘Poor little John, my friend.’ a tear rolled down his face.

‘What can we do?’ Ulick asked him.

‘We have to find him. I’ll ask Kingpa to alert all the Raths in the west.’

‘Does he know your name?’

‘Nodie tell him.’

While two guards stood outside, Ester made tea. Nan joined them and took Nodie in her arms.

‘There now love, we’ll find him.’

Nodie was a bit more composed now.

‘My poor little boy, he won’t know what’s happening.’

‘They won’t harm him,’ Nan reassured her.

Frankie left for the local barracks, where the search headquarters was being set up. Ulick joined Nodie and the others in the living room.

‘Nodie, does little John know Dandaboy’s name?’

She was surprised by the question.

‘I think he does; we made up a little song about it.’

‘Will you write it out for me?’

It was good to have something to do; she took a jotter from her briefcase and scribbled out the song. Ulick put it in his pocket.

The super drafted in his two assistants. Frankie chaired a council of war in the operations room in the barracks while extra phone lines were being installed. He was furious but this was a time for calmness.

‘I’ve made a statement to the press and TV people, saying the child has been abducted; photos are on their way to all TV stations and the local papers. I’m offering a reward of fifty thousand euro for his safe return.’ He paused. ‘I have not mentioned the blackmail letter. Best keep it to ourselves.’

He looked at the chief super.

‘Any progress?’

Tom Lally spread out his hastily written notes on the table.

‘Nothing to report yet from the road blocks. It’s a bit too early. The car was seen locally; it’s a black Nissan or Toyota; could be a Mayo registration. It’s a bit sketchy; no one passed any heed of the two men. Every CCTV tape in the vicinity is being checked; it will take days. Every car will be stopped and searched.’

The super paused. ‘Is there any question of giving these bastards what they want?’

‘If they get what they want they may kill the child.’

‘I agree, but don’t say that to Nodie; she’s upset enough as it is.’

The super continued. ‘What we need right now is time.’

Frankie nodded. ‘I’ll ask Nodie to adjourn the court for two weeks; the child should be safe until she hands down a decision.’

Frankie looked around the table.

‘Are we agreed that Oko oil is at the back of this?’

They nodded; he continued. ‘What do we know about Oko?’

‘Ulick would be the best one to answer that.’

‘Will you ask him to join us?’

One of the juniors left.

Dandaboy, sitting on the window, listened carefully to the discussion. Phones were ringing all the time. Tea and biscuits were served. Initial reports from the ring of steel suggested the thugs were still inside the cordon.

‘Move it in ten miles,’ Frankie ordered.

Ulick joined them.

‘What do you think?’ Frankie asked him.

‘I’ve done a lot of research on Oko; the top man is a guy called Havlec—unscrupulous, used to getting his own way. This couldn’t happen without his knowledge.’

*

T
he black Toyota car travelled south and pulled up outside an isolated holiday home overlooking the bay. John, still screaming for his mum, was carried roughly into the house and put in a small room with a bed and little else. The window was barred; they locked the door behind them. John lay on the bed and cried himself to sleep.

*

A
t the commencement of proceedings the following morning, Nodie invited Ulick and Moxy to come to her chambers. Moxy was shocked to learn what was going on; Ulick was satisfied he had nothing to do with it. Returning to court, Ulick asked for a two week adjournment which was granted.

In the Oko head office in the Strand in London, Michael Havlec put down the phone; he was furious. The court adjournment was no use to him; did these stupid people think he was playing games? Sitting at one end of the long mahogany board table, he tried to concentrate on the report from the Ukraine.

Then, he noticed a little man standing on the other end of the table; he began to walk towards him; he looked angry.

‘You bad man,’ Dandaboy was cross. ‘Where you put little John?’

Havlec reached for the security button; assassination was his greatest fear; he had made many enemies; one day his past might catch up with him, hence his armed security. Alarm bells sounded throughout the building. Dandaboy pointed his index figure at the big man; if he knew where John was, Dandaboy would know too. He didn’t.

The door burst open and three armed security men entered. Havlec pointed at Dandaboy and screamed. ‘Shoot him.’

The leader, a former policeman, looked around him; he couldn’t see Dandaboy.

‘I don’t see anyone, sir.’

‘Are you blind man?’

He never liked his boss anyway.

‘No sir, I’m not.’ he replied sharply.

‘Give me your damned gun.’

Havlec took the gun, pointed it at Dandaboy and fired several times, while his security people looked on with amused expressions. Dandaboy stood there, the bullets whizzing through him, lodging in the wall behind him.

‘You bad man,’ Dandaboy shook his index finger at him. ‘Release him or next time I bring gun.’ He disappeared.

A much shaken Havlec handed back the gun. ‘Not a word about this,’ he ordered.

They departed, smiling to themselves; everyone in the building knew five minutes later; the boss was losing it.

But Dandaboy hadn’t learned anything.

*

I
t was nearly midday when the sonar operator called Jake. ‘Come and have a look at this; I think we’ve got something.’

He entered the operations cabin and sat beside the operator. It was a fuzzy picture but the outline of a long metallic object was unmistakable.

‘What do we do now, sir?’

‘Not much point sending down a diver; he wouldn’t be able to identify it anyway,’ he mused aloud.

‘What then, sir?’

‘We’ll have to get in a crane ship and lift it up.’

He had already made inquiries—Amsterdam was the nearest source.

‘How will we get it into the lake, sir?’

‘We’ll bring it in by road and launch it at Maam Bridge.’

*

F
rankie was puzzled. While guards and army personnel scoured the countryside for the missing boy, the cordon kept closing with so sign of the thugs. This was a professional job. The fact that it was the holiday season wasn’t helping. He ordered a check on hire car companies and short term lettings of apartments and holiday homes. Reports of sightings were checked out; they came to nothing.

Ulick made a TV appeal to the people. A new signature tune was played before every news broadcast. “Oh Dan-da-boy, Oh Dan-da-boy—why are you so small. Oh Dan-da-boy, Oh Dan-da-boy—why are you so tall?”

Nodie kept a brave front in public; in private, she cried bitterly. Poor little John, where was he? He would be so frightened. Every time the door opened her heart leapt—had they found him? Ulick called to see her every day and assured her they would bring John home safely.

Dandaboy and Setanta met every day.

‘I’ve told every dog in the country to look out for little John and pass the word on to their friends. Nothing, not a word. Where is he?’

Dandaboy shook his head in dismay.

*

A
nnie Clarke was annoyed at all the commotion about little John; it deflected attention from her own immediate plans. The longer the damned case went on, the more preoccupied Ulick became. He was going to lose it anyway, so why put his reputation at risk. He would need firm handling as soon as they married and, first thing, that damned dog would have to go. And it was time he replaced his old rust bucket with a new Mercedes.

Her immediate priority was to move into his house; he would be presented with a fait Accompli. Knowing him, as she did, he would not react adversely to such a move. But she would have to be devious; move in when he was away from home.

*

L
ittle John was kept in the same room, fed three times a day with porridge, eggs and chips with a glass of milk. He pined for his mother and slept much of the time. He could hear the conversations going on in the other room but didn’t know what was being said. Occasionally, he heard the radio and once it included the “Oh Dan-da-boy” tune. It rang a bell with him. Where had he heard it before? He couldn’t remember.

*

A
nnie Clarke borrowed the spare set of keys to Ulick’s house—kept in the office—and had copies made in Galway. While in the city she purchased a new exotic set of undies and replaced her perfume. She had lunch before returning to Conna; not in Ella’s restaurant. All this activity was observed by Dandaboy who wondered what she was up to now?

A few evenings later, when she was sure Ulick and Setanta were at the barracks, she made her move. Driving out to Ulick’s house, she parked her car where it could not be seen. Entering, she inspected the house; she had not been there before. She put her case in the master bedroom and made herself a cup of coffee. She would be in bed by the time her husband to be returned.

Setanta lay down quietly in the big operations room while Frankie listened to the latest batch of reports; the cordon was now slowly closing in on Conna—it was only twenty miles away—but still no sign of the thugs. Then, he noticed Dandaboy sitting on the window; he had just arrived. The little man looked down at him.

‘Why you not watching the woman?’

‘I stay with Ulick; he safe here.’ He grunted.

‘Woman in his house; let’s go.’

Setanta jumped up barking and was let out the door by one of the guards.

They met outside Ulick’s house; Setanta was all excited.

‘I charge the door and sink my teeth in her arse.’

‘No, wait,’ Dandaboy restrained him; ‘I go in and open door.’

He walked through the door as if it didn’t exist; then he held it open for Setanta.’

She’s here,’ he announced, ‘I can smell her.’

He raced through the house barking as only he knew how; coming to Ulick’s room he pushed in the door with his paw. Annie was lying in the bed, her undies sitting on the bedroom chair. Setanta made a wild leap on to the bed; she screamed and throwing back the duvet, jumped out and raced from the room; starkers. Setanta picked up her clothes in his mouth and followed; Dandaboy watched with great glee.

The terrified Annie grabbed her purse in the kitchen and raced for her car. Getting in she tried to find her keys while Setanta stood outside with her undies in his mouth. She unwound the window and grabbed them. Setanta could now bark again; the car departed quickly.

Dandaboy smiled. ‘Now that was a good one, Santa.’

‘We’d better clean up the house; we don’t want Ulick to know she was here.’

*

L
ittle John slept much of the time, unaware he was receiving mild sedation. Fed regularly, his captors tried to be friendly and provided him with a colouring book and crayons. He could only hear the radio when it was turned up for the news and heard his name mentioned once or twice. The Dandaboy tune attracted him; it rang a bell somewhere but he couldn’t remember where.

*

J
ohn’s abductors were getting fed up; time passed and nothing appeared to be happening. Strangers in the area, they daren’t show their faces; the hired car was locked in the garage. Their food supplies would run out in another four days. They listened to every news bulletin; the cordon was closing in.

One of them, a big rugged looking man, called Jock, got up from the table and stretched himself.

‘What happens when the job is finished? How do we return the boy?’

His companion, an older, ugly looking little man grunted.

‘Return the boy? Are you mad; he’s seen us? Put on the radio, it’s nearly news time.’

*

T
he divers were hauled up to the surface and taken aboard the cruiser. Jake questioned them; they were as helpful as they could be seeing they didn’t know what they were looking for. They described it as a long pipe like metal object, half buried in the mud and rushes at the bottom of the lake.

‘Right,’Jake decided. ‘We’ll take it up.’ He looked at his watch. ‘First thing in the morning.’

*

I
n the Oval Office, President Mulviney was silent for what seemed a long time; Joss Ryan waited patiently. The tall youngish leader, now in his second term, felt he now knew what President Truman meant when he said “The buck stops here.” Eventually, he sat forward.

‘Joss, we have to pay; we can’t take the chance.’