Epilogue #2
Then, an acoustic guitar began to play the opening chords of a song.
The stage lit up, revealing Jace on the right-hand side.
He sat on a small stool, his guitar resting on his knee.
I only realised the entire back of the stage was a giant screen for shadows when Jay stepped behind it, and Jace sang the opening lines to “Carrickfergus.”
I wish I was in Carrickfergus
only for nights in Ballygran
I would swim over the deepest ocean
the deepest ocean
for my love to find
Behind the screen, Jay created the image of water rippling in the ocean, a shoal of fishes swimming by. My breath caught at the simple yet stunning visual.
“Wow,” Roan breathed, sitting forward as he took it in, the display appealing to his artist’s eye.
but the sea is wide and I cannot cross over
nor do I have any wings to fly
if I could find me a handy boatman
to ferry me over to my love and die
The shadows of Jay’s doves fluttered across the screen then disappeared as the shape of a boat sailed past. Jace’s voice filled my ears, the lyrics both sad and hopeful at the same time.
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
of happy times I spent so long ago
My childhood friends and my relations
have all passed on now like the melting snow
All the while Jace sang, his father used illusion to create a story in shadow behind the screen, and my heart lifted to see them collaborate on something so beautiful.
Jay sometimes performed with his brother, Jack, throughout the years, but never with his son.
Tonight was a first, and it was truly something special to behold.
so I’ll spend my days in endless roving
soft is the grass, my bed is free
oh to be back now in Carrickfergus
on that long road down by the sea
My pores tightened, a shiver cascading down my spine the moment Jace’s eyes rose up to the balcony, meeting mine as he continued singing, and while I listened, I realised he’d rewritten the final lyrics to tell a more hopeful story, a story that was his own.
I was high each day and seldom sober
a handsome rover from town to town
ah but I’m better now and my days are a wonder
so come all you young men and join me now
When the song came to an end, the lights faded to black, plunging the theatre into darkness for a few short seconds.
They came back on, and Jace was gone. Jay stood on the empty stage, and the audience applauded riotously.
He smiled and dipped his head. When the clapping died down, he finally spoke.
“Thank you all for being here tonight. As you know, it’s been sometime since I last performed, but that’s not the only reason this show is special.
It’s special because I got to perform with my son, Jace.
Many of you will recognise him from his music career, and many of you may have heard about the tough time he went through this year.
” Jay began to pace across the stage, and as he spoke, one of his doves casually appeared, seemingly out of the palm of his hand.
She flew around his head before landing back on his hand.
He petted her tiny head, the affection so natural it almost seemed unconscious.
“It’s sometimes a cost that comes with fame.
Having the world’s eyes on you can bring bad just as much as it brings good, and the bad can come from the places you least expect.
Someone close to my son betrayed his trust.”
There were exclamations of surprise and intrigue as a warm hand landed on my shoulder.
I turned to find Jace lowering into the empty seat next to me.
“That was beautiful,” I whispered as I stretched to kiss him softly.
He kissed me back, and then we broke apart to listen to Jay as he continued speaking.
“Under a false name, this man managed to get a job, quite ironically, as a member of the security team for my son’s band.
He worked with them for years, all the while he was using my son’s identity to scam and steal from those who were fans of his music.
It was only when one of his victims came forward that we discovered any of this was going on.
I’d like to thank Alison, who’s here tonight.
” He motioned to the woman in the second row, the same one who’d appeared at Roan’s art show with no idea she’d been the victim of catfishing.
“There were more just like her, and I’d like to take a moment to welcome them, too.
” Jay motioned to the rest of the second row, which was entirely populated by the catfish victims and their family members.
Jace had been the one to suggest inviting them, alongside promising them VIP tickets to their show of choice on Astro’s next tour.
It was a small consolation since many of them had had thousands stolen from them by Dixon.
The audience applauded, and though the victims looked happy to have been invited, it still didn’t feel like enough. They deserved to have their money back, but with Dixon still in the wind, who knew if the funds would ever be recovered. For all we knew, he’d spent it already.
“With that said, I know the rest of you came for a show, and I have every intention of providing you with the entertainment you were hoping for. So, without further ado, let’s get started.”
For the next hour, Jay proceeded to wow his audience with illusions and magic tricks that had us all scratching our heads trying to figure out how he’d achieved them. I snuggled closer to Jace and noticed he was a little tense. I studied him and began to wonder what had him so on edge.
The show was almost over, his part was finished, but he was chewing his lip as though there was more to come, but that couldn’t be right. Jay had just concluded his final magic trick, the audience was clapping and cheering, and the man of the hour was taking a final bow, retreating from the stage.
“Jace, what’s wrong?” I whispered, and his hazel eyes met mine.
“Don’t be mad, okay?”
I frowned. “Why would I be mad at you?” In my peripheral, I was aware of the show ending, people gathering their things to leave.
“Because I had to protect you from being involved.”
“Involved in what?”
Before he could answer, my attention returned to the stage, where Jay had suddenly reappeared. All those who’d been moving to leave sat right back down in their seats. Even the catfish victims looked surprised that Jay had come back out for some kind of encore.
“I lied to you earlier,” he confessed. “I didn’t invite the lovely people in the second row here tonight merely for a nice evening out.
In fact, I’ve been hatching a plan to right the wrongs done to them for a while now.
Those of you who’ve known me for a long time know that I have a little bit of an obsession with justice.
I can’t just sit back and let bad people get away with their crimes, especially when it affects my family.
So, I set out to find the person who needed to face justice.
” He glanced at the second row again. “The one who’d caused you all so much hardship and pain. ”
The catfish victims began muttering amongst themselves, speculating as to what was going on, just as what appeared to be a video recording was projected directly onto the screen at the back of the stage, the same screen Jay had used to create his pretty illusions at the beginning of the show.
It was a still from someone’s webcam, showing a background of a living room.
“So,” Jay continued. “When you’re as obsessed with justice as I am, you collect some interesting friends along the way, friends who can help you with things you might not otherwise be able to achieve.”
“He didn’t,” I whispered, shaking my head. Jace’s fingers intertwined with mine, and I turned to stare at him. “He used Margie’s idea, didn’t he?”
Jace nodded, his expression apologetic. “I couldn’t let him involve you.”
I squeezed his fingers. “It’s okay. I understand.”
To be honest, deep down I was terrified of doing what Margie had suggested, mainly because I didn’t have a law-breaking bone in my body. I should’ve been more suspicious when Jay had never brought the matter up with me again, should’ve known he was making his own plans without my involvement
In her last email to me, Margie had detailed how Dixon had always wished for a reliable service on the dark web for hiring local goons who he could pay to intimidate his victims when they’d discovered his scams and threatened to call the police.
Since his victims were located all around the world, it wasn’t possible for him to do this himself.
Margie had suggested I build a website on the dark web purporting to offer such services, then make posts on various forums Dixon frequented under fake profiles recommending the site.
Once he visited and tried to pay for the service, we’d be able to track his location.
It was a simple enough plan, but Jace hadn’t wanted me involved, and I understood why.
If it ever came out that I’d done something like that, I could lose my job, my career.
So, Jay had obviously enlisted the help of someone else who could easily throw up a website and process payments, someone who I suspected was his friend, Oliver King-Clark.
“One such friend of mine helped me to track the very man we’d been looking for.
When we pinpointed his location, I was only too happy to inform Interpol, who had also been highly interested in finding this individual.
And you know, I couldn’t just sit back and let them have all the fun, so I went ahead and asked my friend to get me a little feed to our boy’s webcam so that I could have a front row seat to karma working her magic.
” Again, he addressed the second row. “I hope you all enjoy this as much as my son and I did.”
“Wait, has he been …” My voice trailed off as Jay hit play on the video, and suddenly, Dixon came on screen.