“Yes. It seems that he was trying to break away from that life and that coincides with him leaving Ireland and coming here.”
Where he met my mum who, as far as I knew, had no idea what kind of man John O’Connell really was. He’d gotten in too deep and abandoned Natalie and her mother to run away from it.
Alfie and Elliot were silent, seemingly waiting for me to ask questions. I didn’t. I felt too defeated to question what the abandoned four year old inside me already knew. My father wasa liar. I knew there was more to the story, I just didn’t know that my father was a criminal.
“There seems to be a few years where he was out of that life,” Elliot continued. “During the time he was living with you and your mother he worked in construction and didn’t seem to get into any trouble. According to my guy, your father reconnected with old friends at some point and decided to return to that life.”
“He left me and my mum to go back to this.” I felt sick.
“Or they found him and he left you to keep you safe from it.” I didn’t reply to Elliot. I knew he was trying to soften the blow. Alfie didn’t say a word.
“Is he still working for them now?”
“That’s more complicated.” Of course it was. “After he left, he worked with them for a number of years?—”
“Who? Who is ‘them’?”
“The Berne family. They’re low-level gangsters, nothing too impressive but nasty enough if you get on the wrong side of them. I think your father got mixed up with the family in childhood and has spent the rest of his life trying to stay on the right side of them.” He paused, letting me absorb that. I didn’t want to absorb any of this. “For the last twenty or so years, they’ve been building their trafficking operation and your father got his hands more than dirty after he left you.” He started to elaborate, telling me all of the things my father had been involved in. I held up a hand.
“I don’t need details.” It made my stomach turn. How had my mother fallen in love with a man like that? Then I remembered the man I loved, the things he was capable of.
“Alright. About a decade after he left you, he got into some sort of dispute with the family. I believe he was supposed to help pick up a shipment but instead he got into a fight and was arrested. Because he wasn’t there, the drop didn’t go according to plan and the family took a big hit financially.”
“Financially,” I repeated. I knew what Elliot was getting at. My father owed them money.
“He was sent to prison for eight years. The fight that he got into was pretty brutal. Grievous bodily harm. GBH. Almost beat a man to death. We know he left the organisation on bad terms. He was attacked multiple times in prison; they had to put him in isolation. He got out when you were about twenty years old. The homelessness since was probably his way of disappearing. He’s existing now on a small stipend of benefits from the government which won't last forever.”
“What about the drinking?”
“I couldn’t find any evidence that he's ever been in a facility for alcohol abuse though his medical records do note him down as an alcoholic. The years since he got out of prison have been a mix of drinking with periods of sobriety and homelessness. He’s worked here and there though I don’t think he’s currently employed. He may be telling the truth about being sober now but unless you want me to put eyes on him 24/7, I won’t know for sure.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want that.”
“I didn’t think you would. As for where he stands with the Berne family, I think he’s mainly been hiding from them. They haven’t exactly been hunting him down over the last few years, I doubt he’s worth anything to them.”
“Until now,” I said. “Now that his daughter is marrying a billionaire and he can pay back the money they lost because of him.”
“This doesn’t mean he doesn’t care,” Elliot said gently.
“But it does mean he’s telling lies.” I rubbed my face. “So he really is here for money. To bail himself out.”
Neither of them answered, I didn’t need them to.
“How much does he owe?”
“I don’t know. A drop like that? A few million easy.”
I closed my eyes, trying to breathe in a chest that felt too tight.
“What do you want me to do?” Alfie asked. It was the first time he’d spoken.
“Pay him.” I snorted. A sick laugh that held no humour. “Wait until Natalie’s wedding is over, then pay him off. If you don’t care about spending the cash.”
“I don’t care.”
I nodded. Of course he didn’t, the money wasn’t what mattered to him. “Thank you, Elliot. I appreciate your hard work.”
“I’ll keep digging, Miss.” He left then before I could tell him not to bother. I didn’t know what else could be left to dig up.
