Chapter Seven
Sinead looked aroundat them all and suggested, “Gretchen is one of the watchers of this city too.Maybe she would know where Shanon is.”
Finn sat back in his chair and thought about it for a moment before he said, “That’s not a bad idea lassie, give her a shout out and let’s meet her.Right now, they know this city better than we do.The rest of the boys will be here tomorrow and we’ll have time to plan our attack right down to the bone.We want this done before anyone else gets hurt.”
Sinead nodded.“I have a feeling she’ll want to help as she considers Shanon to be more trouble than the effort.”
Liam stared at her.“More trouble than the effort?What the hell does that mean?”
Sinead smiled.“More trouble than the effort to swat a fly, Uncle.She said that Shanon brought nothing but trouble and promises she couldn’t keep.She told me this Shanon woman wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and bit her in the ass and that one day her dirty deals would be her undoing and the devil wouldn’t even want her in hell because she would probably sell it off from underneath him.”
Seamus chuckled.“That might very well be true on her part.This woman is double dealing, or would it be triple dealing?Cheating on two men, running a scheme on one of them calledembezzling from an embezzler.Dealing in drugs and human trafficking.You name the sin and she is committing it.No telling what she convinced Moses Lord to do while she lied to him as well.And there’s no clear picture of what else she’s doing either.She’s a real piece of work.I’ve met one of her brothers and heard firsthand stories about the other one.”
Liam agreed, “Neither of them are worth the powder to blow them to hell and I imagine they got that from their father cuz their mother was just plain yonkers from the get-go.”
Shay looked over at Colin.“I’d very much like to meet this Gretchen as well.She might be able to give us more information about what’s really going on here in Miami.”
Colin stared at him.“What do you mean?What’s supposed to be going on here in my city?”
“Shanon is supposed to have headquarters on an island off the coast of Florida somewhere.Everyone talks about it but no one knows where it is.I was hoping that one of Timmy’s boys knew about it but now I’m thinking maybe this Gretchen might know where that island is as well.Shanon trains soldiers there to be deadly and cut-throat.She also keeps slaves for trafficking.It’s like the island from hell.An Island of horror, some have called it.There are reported drug making labs and storage warehouses.She keeps women and children in cages there, until she finds buyers.To really shut her down we need to find that and take her down completely.I know her husband was on the loose for a while.Stuart had been hunkered down somewhere safe.The FBI thought it must have been down in the Turks and Cakos but the more I think about it the more I’m thinking he was at her island.It’s only makes sense now.”He shrugged.
“Aye you might be right about that.”Finn nodded.He turned to Sinead.“Can you call Gretchen and get her over to the warehouse right away?”
Sinead stared at her uncle and said, “No.I can’t call her.She doesn’t have a phone but I can try to get a hold of her somehow.”She glanced up at the clock in the room.“She shouldn’t be too far away and I can check with her and tell her what you want.But it will be up to her if she wants in on this.”
Finn nodded.“ Yes.Please try and convince her?”
Sinead nodded then gathered her purse, went over to her father and kissed his cheek.“You start healing Da, we need you home soon.”
Colin patted her hand.“Aye girl, I’ll live to fight another day.Go find your friend and bring her around.I’d like to meet this woman.Make it happen.”
Sinead paused then said, “She’s a bit bold and brass but she’s a good woman under all of that.She’s just been pushed aside all her life but she can look at you and see everything there is to see almost right away.”
Sioban agreed as she defended the streetwise woman too, “She’s just misunderstood and has been dismissed as trash when she’s anything but.”
When Sinead and her two sisters walked out of the hospital room, Finn smiled.He looked over at Colin.“Aye, I can tell these kids are yours, they either look just like you or they show the same stubbornness...just like you.”
Colin settled back in his bed and beamed with pride.“All my children know right from wrong.”
Lora nodded as she added, “Sinead and Sioban are really outspoken about her beliefs.”
“Mairead was pretty quiet though,” Finn pointed out.
Colin snorted.“Yes, she is but when she states a fact she’s usually right on the mark.She has a way about her.More like her beautiful mother really.”
Lora flushed a bit at the compliment then stated, “And if they all say this Gretchen is a good person, then sheisa good person.”
Seamus agreed, nodding his head, he told the room, “Aye lad, I remember these girls from last Christmas.But I really noted that they were suddenly all grown up.”
Colin nodded.“Driving cars, working jobs and college.”He sighed.“One day they were all small.Just the prettiest little princesses then it seemed like the next day?They were young women.”
