Chapter 56

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Chaz stands in the greenest grass he’s ever seen. Shane O’Leary’s lawn is expansive—with complex irrigation systems and a gardening team that must spend hours a day making sure every blade is in place, every line from the mower perfectly symmetrical. The golden sunlight makes it look like one of those infomercials for retirement communities.

O’Leary makes the long walk from the house to the middle of the lawn. “How’d you find them?” O’Leary asks.

“I don’t think you want to know,” Chaz says. O’Leary, like his father before him, preferred to be insulated from the dirty work whenever possible.

O’Leary looks around as if assessing whether anyone could pick up the conversation. Chaz knows that O’Leary has the property swept twice a day, so there’s no way anyone’s getting within the three-hundred-yard range of those handheld listening contraptions. Still, freedom favors the cautious.

“I wanna know everything about this one, my friend.”

Chaz tells them about O abducting the sheriff from Kansas. Dragging him all the way to Philly in the trunk of his car. Then the interrogation.

“Why bring him to our backyard?”

Chaz shrugs. “Easier to get rid of him. A missing lawman is better than a dead body. The cops protect their own.”

“Don’t we all,” O’Leary says, with a weariness in his voice. “You broke him?”

Chaz shakes his head. “Tough old bastard.”

“I can understand O not breaking him, he’s still learning the ropes. But you couldn’t get him to talk?” O’Leary chuckles. “‘Tough old bastard’ is right. A damn shame. They don’t make ’em like that anymore.”

“That’s the truth.” Sheriff Walton was a tough nut. Most people break easily. It took O less than twenty minutes to get that eight-fingered mutt in England to break. Granted, he was quick to talk because he was trying to save his wife. But Peter Jones, or Glen Sweeny as he was known in Philly, should’ve known that he and his wife weren’t getting out alive.

Chaz shakes his head. He always said getting a gambler involved was a bad idea, but no one asked him at the time. It had been his son Patrick’s operation. After the accountant’s daughter was seen on some viral video, Patrick offered Sweeny a way to pay off his huge gambling debt to the O’Learys: Go to Kansas, confirm it was really the accountant’s daughter, then await instructions. It was better than losing more fingers, so Sweeny took the deal. After Sweeny confirmed it was really her, Patrick and Sean Duffy went to Kansas. The plan was to have Sweeny grab the girl and deliver her to Patrick and Duff. That way, if there were any witnesses to the abduction, only Sweeny would be on the hook. O’Leary’s crew would then use her as leverage to draw out the accountant, secure the return of O’Leary’s stolen money. But when Patrick and Duff never returned to Philly, everyone assumed Sweeny had cut a deal with the accountant and double-crossed the O’Learys. You can never trust a gambler.

But during O’s interrogation of Sweeny, he denied a double cross, said that the job had gone sideways. That the accountant killed Patrick and Duff. And that the sheriff helped the accountant and his daughter escape. Sweeny wisely realized that Shane O’Leary wasn’t the forgiving type, so he had to disappear too.

“If the sheriff didn’t break, how’d you find the accountant?” O’Leary asks.

“The sheriff had a burner phone. Don’t ask me how, but O tracked it to a town in France. It’s gotta be the accountant.”

“So what’s the play?” O’Leary says, putting his hand over his eyes like a visor from the sun, staring out at his horse stables.

“O is headed to France.”

“You’re not going?”

“He can handle it. And I’m getting long in the tooth for international flights and jet lag and all that.”

“Won’t he need backup?”

“Brian went with him.” O’Leary’s older brother, the one their father passed over when he made Shane heir to the throne. A wise decision by the dad since Brian liked the perks of being an O’Leary but was lazy, didn’t have Shane’s gift for management.

O’Leary says, “Should’ve figured he’d volunteer if there’s a free trip to France. I’ll bet you anything he flew first class on my dime.”

Chaz doesn’t say anything. A good rule to live by: Never criticize someone’s family.

O’Leary says, “I’m surprised you’re not going.”

Chaz gives him a quizzical look.

“I just thought since the accountant…” O’Leary pauses. “You know, Patrick…”

Chaz doesn’t say so, but he doesn’t have vengeance in him anymore. He loved Patrick, but his son was a ruthless killer. A cruel husband. And a callous father. Chaz blames himself. His son was trying to live up to his dad’s reputation. Patrick’s murder is the only thing that saved Davie. Chaz’s grandson isn’t equipped for the family business and would’ve probably ended up like Anthony O’Leary, under the pressure of being raised by Patrick. Davie is the only thing Chaz is leaving good and pure in this world.

Chaz says, “O will make the father pay. And he has the tech skills to make sure he transfers the funds back to our accounts.”

“No,” O’Leary says.

Chaz furrows his brow, confused. He can’t possibly be granting the accountant mercy?

“They need to bring the accountant to Philly so I can take care of him myself.”

“I don’t think you want to be near this and—”

“Nonnegotiable. Gina needs to see justice. With her own eyes.”

Chaz understands now. Gina never recovered from what happened to their son. The last time Chaz saw her, it was obvious that she’d gotten lost in the bottle and probably pills. O’Leary thinks that if Gina sees O’Leary take care of the father who helped cover up why their son killed himself, it will help her heal. We all delude ourselves for the ones we love the most.

O’Leary continues: “Have O grab the accountant’s daughter. Tell the accountant that she’ll be free if he comes home to Philly to face me. If not, O will take his time with her.”

Chaz gives him a skeptical look. He wants to say, Isn’t this the same screwed-up plan that failed last time? But he doesn’t.

Reading Chaz’s thought, O’Leary says, “It’ll work this time. He’ll come. He’ll do anything for his daughter.”

“You’ll let the girl go after we take care of him?” Chaz strangely hopes he will. She was just a teenager when Anthony was bullied. And that viral video that led them to her proved she turned herself around.

“Tell O not to kill her,” O’Leary says.

Chaz nods.

“Reach out to our Russian friends. Have them get O and Brian guns. Tell them we’ll trade the pieces for the girl.”

Chaz feels a chill sliver up his spine.

“By the time the Russians get through with her, she’ll wish she were dead.”