And so Aidan filled me in on how Jim O’Leary had been Finch Donovan’s bodyguard when he was a kid, and then when Sam Fuscone had ordered Finch killed, O’Leary was the one the Boss and his crew leaned on for intel.
“But the way I heard it, Luca let him go and the Donovans killed him,” Aidan continued. “They foundbitsof him, floating around in the harbor.” He looked across at me, his face scrunched up in distaste.
“Yeah, well, from what I saw, that guywasmissing a few of his bits. If that’s all they found of him in the water, maybe that’s all he wanted them to find.”
Aidan shuddered. “But why would my own uncledosomething like that? Fake his own death—chop offpartsof himself—come afterme?And why me, anyway? I don’t know anything. I’m not important.”
I almost told him exactly how important he was to me, but I checked myself. “I don’t know. We need to figure that out. But we got other problems right now.”
“Are we being followed?
“No. I’m talking problems here in Boston. They start withDand end inonovan.”
“But I’ve asked them for protection. Surely you don’t thinkTara—”
“If Tara Donovan wanted you dead, she coulda just popped you herself that first morning you were out there giggling in the yard together.”
“We weren’t giggling—”
“But maybe she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty,” I continued. “Maybe that’s why she’s got all those men around the house, to do her wet work for her.”
“—and I don’t believe for a moment that she had anything to do with it.”
“Even if it’s not her, maybe someone else wants to run the Donovans, and Tara’s on their hit list, too. But we know for sure thatyouare. So I ain’t taking you back to that house until we know what’s going on. Whether this dead guy is really alive. Why he’s looking to kill you. All that shit.”
“But where else can wegoif we don’t go back to Hillview?”
I took a right and pulled into the parking lot outside a strip mall with a cheap fashion store and a pharmacy. I wasn’t sure where we would head after this, but we’d need supplies wherever we ended up. “Before we figure that out, we’re gonna call the one person Idotrust.”
“Who?”
“The Boss, of course. If there’s weird shit going down he needs to know, and maybe he’ll have some ideas of where we can stay. Plus I figure your BFF’d wanna know where you are if you’re not in yelling distance.”
At that, Aidan gave a watery smile. “Okay. That sounds like a plan.”
I thought about what Aidan’s father had said to me before I left, and put my hand on Aidan’s knee to reassure him. “I’ll take care of you, A. Promise.”
“I know you will.” His smile was tight. He added, with an attempt at humor, “At least we have apple pie as comfort food, right?”
I chuckled more than the joke really needed. But I wanted Aidan to feel okay. Feel better.
Feelsafe.
* * *
When I called the Boss,he told me he was downtown having lunch with one of our Boston associates in a Family-friendly restaurant. Unfortunately, Finch D’Amato was right there with the Boss when I called, and he was not exactly receptive to the news that Aidan and I were taking off. Right after the Boss said, “And where do you propose to take the priest?” we heard Mr. D in the background demanding to know what was going on. The Boss asked for some privacy and I heard the chatter and noise go silent, but Mr. D’s voice was still there, demanding answers. I’d expected some pushback, but when the Boss put us on speaker and I explained that I wanted to keep Aidan away until we’d confirmed once again that the Donovans were on the level, the dramatics began to get out of control.
And then Aidan said the one thing that could reel Mr. D back in: “It’s my uncle, Jim O’Leary. Your old bodyguard. He’s the one who’s after me. He was the one in the church.”
That stopped Mr. D dead, mid-rant. Aidan and I looked at each other over the phone on our end, and I figured the Boss and Mr. D were having one of those silent conversations they did sometimes.
“Say that the fuck again,” the Boss snapped at last.
“It’s Jim O’Leary, Boss,” I confirmed. “Saw him with my own eyes, and we got an old photo of him to compare. It’s him, unless he has some identical twin no one knew about.”
“He doesn’t,” Aidan supplied.
“But he’s—”
