Devlin's Defiance: Book Two of the Devlin Quatrology (41 page)

Then she went
to the bathroom sink and thoroughly scrubbed her hands with soap from
her bag and then with the hotel's soap. She carefully wrapped her
soap in its plastic bag and put it back in her overnight bag.

Next, she
called down to the front desk and asked the young man to connect her
with a phone number in a small village outside Dublin, and once
connected, she had an appropriately hysterical, distressed
conversation with her daughter, letting her know her itinerary for
the
trip home and arranging to be picked up at the
ferry dock in Dublin
and rushed to the hospital.

The desk clerk
arrived at about 10:15, took her overnight bag downstairs, then
returned to help her down the stairs, as she sniffled and wheezed,
limping more than usual. She settled her bill and accepted a
complimentary mimosa, then sat in one of the luxurious Queen Anne
chairs in the lobby.

At ten minutes
to eleven, the desk clerk helped her out to the bus stop and waited
with her until the nearly empty bus arrived, even helping her up the
steps and to her seat, where she pressed a twenty-euro note into his
only seemingly reluctant hand.

He smiled
gently at her, wished her a good trip and a quick and easy recovery
for her grandson and left the bus. He waved to her as the bus pulled
out; she waved back.

- 107 -

February
6, 2013
6:04
p
.m.
local time

Bonita Springs,
Florida

“
I don't
know, Gordy; I think it's only a matter of time. She's really pissed
at him.”

“
Yeah.
If she's got any sense at all, she'll kick him right out, the sooner
the better. And she oughta get a restraining order.”

“
Yeah.
I'm scared for her. Somebody like that, you can't predict what
they'll do after a public putdown that big.”

“
I agree,
Ro, totally. I mean, I've been able to contend with him and keep him
under control, but I'm not Jenny, and I'm not married to him.”

“
I swear,
if he hurts her, I'll kill him.”

“
From
what I've seen, it might be the other way around. Did you
see
how hard she slapped him?”

“
Yeah,
and that kick was no love tap.”

“
But what
really caught my eye was his reaction. He just wilted, but he was
holding a lot of rage inside.”

“
Yeah, I
think I saw that, too.”

“
She's
the alpha dog, but that's what he wants to be, so he's pissed, but
he's too weak to do anything about it.”

“
So
that's why he acts like a bully on the beach?”

“
In part,
I think. He needs the attention of people who are weaker than he is.
And he gets it because no one has the balls to confront him.”

“
Except
Jenny … and you, today.”

“
Yeah.
He's got to have people who are lower on the totem pole to push
around.”

“
Like a
pecking order?”

“
Yeah,
like those seagulls when they screech and fight.”

“
But he's
really a coward, like most bullies?”

“
Yeah,
but that rage is real.”

“
I saw
that.”

“
And if
he keeps holding it in like he does with Jenny, he's gonna explode.”

“
And he
might well aim it at you.”

“
Of
course; displaced aggression. But if he does, he's gonna be
surprised.”

“
Again.
You sure stopped him cold.”

“
Yeah. I
wasn't sure that would work; I'd never actually used it before.”

“
Really?”

“
Really.
I just learned that last year.”

“
I
remember when Dorothy was showing you all that stuff.”

“
Yup; she
was really helpful.”

“
And
flexible.”

“
Oh,
yeah; she could be a Rockette. Did you see her kicking that little
ball along the beach the other – was that yesterday morning?”

“
Yeah;
she does that like three or four times a week, when she doesn't have
to teach an early class.”

“
Hm.
Maybe we oughta hook Jenny up with her, get her some of that martial
arts training.”

“
Good
idea. I may be able to talk with her sometime.”

“
Better
you than me, Ro.”

“
I'll see
what I can – oh, dinner's ready.”

“
What can
I do?”

“
Um, if
you could get it out of the nuker, that'd be great. I'd like to wash
up and change into something more comfortable.”

- 108 -

February
6, 2013
6:54
p
.m.
local time

Holyhead,
Wales

The Ocelot
limped off the bus, claimed her luggage, tipped the driver and headed
slowly and clumsily into the rest rooms. In one of the stalls, she
collapsed her cane, removed her wig, false teeth, facial
prosthetics,
her heavily padded dress and stockings, packed all that into the
overnight bag, pulled out a pair of tattered jeans and a sweatshirt,
put them on, and then pushed the overnight bag into a gym bag
emblazoned with the same American college logo as her sweatshirt.
She brushed out her long blonde hair and pulled it back into a
ponytail, then put earbuds in her ears and bebopped out of the stall,
with a stop at the sink to again scrupulously scrub her hands,
then
out to blend seamlessly into the crowd awaiting the ferry's
departure
at 8:30.

When
the ferry arrived in Dublin three and a quarter hours later, the
bebopping blonde pulled out her satphone and dialed.

“
Authentication
9845739, encryption on. It's done; the DP367/18 should kick in about
six in the morning. Nah; just a tiny blood blister on my thumb,
where I must have missed a spot with the protectant or the
neutralizer. No problem; should be cleared up in a day or two. I'm
off to the safe house to dump the stuff, then back to London for a
week, then back home to Miami. Yup, kinda missing South Beach.
Thanks; I will. And backatcha, Amber.”

- 109 -

February
6, 2013
7:12
p
.m.
local time

Bonita
Springs, Florida

“
That was
delicious, Ro.”

“
It's
just the last of the leftovers from Sunday at Slinky Joe's.”

“
Still
delicious.”

“
And so
easy in the nuker.”

“
Yeah.
Microwaves are probably the greatest invention of the 20th century.”

“
Oh, I
don't know. How about PCs, cell phones?”

“
Eh,
they're good, too. But you can't heat up anything with 'em.”

“
True.
But suppose you could only have one of the three. Which would you
keep?”

“
Microwave,
hands down. How about you?”

“
Hmm.
Maybe the P- – no, the – you know, you're right. It'd be
the microwave for me, too.”

“
Ta-da!
Defense rests.”

“
But it
is a tough choice.”

“
Life is
full of tough choices.”

“
Well,
aren't we getting philosophical, Mister Doctor? And with that little
dab of ketchup on your T-shirt.”

“
Where?
Oh, geez. Well, at least we're symmetrical.”

“
What?”

“
You got
a little dab on your sweatshirt there, too.”

“
Oh,
geez.”

“
That's
one of Kevin's, isn't it?

“
Yeah.
Why?”

“
That was
his college, wasn't it?”

“
Yup.”

“
Too
bad.”

“
Why do
you say that?”

“
They
misspelled 'college.'”

“
No.”

“
Yup.”

Rosemary looked
down, trying to read the writing, but finally just pulled it off and
held it out, examining it closely.

“
No,
that's right.”

“
Gotcha,”
Gordy said, chuckling.

“
Oh, you
sneak,” she said, laughing. “Well, now it's your turn.”

“
No
problem,” Gordy said, pulling his T-shirt up over his head.
“Ah, symmetry again.”

“
I do
like symmetry.”

“
How
about counterpoint?”

“
That,
too.”

“
And
hyperbole?”

Rosemary
giggled.

“
Oh,
don't like my pronounciation?”

“
It
doesn't rhyme with 'bowl.'”

“
I'll bet
you don't think 'epitome' rhymes with 'dome,' either, do you?”

Rosemary's
giggle turned into a chuckle.

“
So if I
were to say 'the epitome of hyperbole,' you'd think that'd be wrong,
too, right?”

Rosemary's
chuckling turned into a full-blown laugh.

“
Oh,
Gordy, you have got one weird sense of humor.”

“
Glad you
like it, ma'am.”

“
Surprisingly,
I do.”

“
So what
are you gonna do about that?”

“
Guess.”

“
Um –
okay; you're gonna ask me to put the plates in the sink and
then
get into bed with you.”