Chapter 4 #3
Riley smiled at him. “I won’t be doing that, not until I find Cain,” he stated, his tone clear and concise.
“So, if you’re hoping for me to tuck tail and leave, just give it a rest. I don’t need to go in through the pub’s doorway, since I can go through any number of other tunnels.
Plus, I’m quite happy to bring in some law enforcement to ensure I have access to everything I need. ”
At that, Gerald’s expression got grim. He looked over at Derek and asked, “You won’t let this happen, will you?”
The old man looked at him and nodded. “I didn’t have a problem with him in the first place,” he pointed out, “because I do feel like he’s here after the dog. Yet now you’re making it seem like there’s a reason he shouldn’t be going down there.”
Gerald snorted. “Anybody who says anything that’ll help you with Timmy, and you’re good with it. So, how the hell will that work for the rest of us?”
There had to be hidden meaning in all that, but it certainly wasn’t a clear explanation. Riley watched as the men revealed several harsh glimpses into each other’s psyches as they worked and wandered through the problem.
Finally Derek announced, “I’ll let you go in through the pub doorway, but you don’t go alone, …
and you have to tell me when you’re going.
I don’t want anybody else going down here alone and getting lost, injured, or worse—dead.
” Derek shot Riley a look. “And I sure as hell don’t want to bring in a lot more police. ”
Riley asked, “Did you even bring in the police on this one for Timmy?”
“I tried, but, as far as they’re concerned, it was an accident.”
“And did they go down and look?”
He nodded. “Only for about five minutes, then they were out.”
“And did you take them through some of the other sealed doorways?”
Derek shook his head. “No, because they didn’t care.”
“Didn’t care, didn’t know, or didn’t want to antagonize?” he asked, his tone quiet.
Gerald flashed him a smile and nodded. “I see you understand.”
“I understand a lot of things in life,” Riley muttered, “but right now we have a problem, and it depends on how much cooperation I get as to which way I proceed.”
“And that sounds very much like a threat,” Rory declared, glaring at him.
“It’s not a threat. It’s a statement. You all have something illegal going on in the tunnels.
I don’t want to run into it, but you guys certainly aren’t telling all I need to know.
Meanwhile I’m just trying to find a lost War Dog.
Be that as it may, I’m going back down there.
I’ll either be using the pub’s doorway or I’ll use one of many others.
I don’t particularly care, but this one’s convenient. ”
“It is convenient, but it’s not the closest though,” suggested one of the men. “That is something you might want to keep in mind.”
Riley nodded. “That’s another point. Good enough. I’ll just go find another doorway,” he declared, his smile bright. “And, of course, nothing down there is legally owned by any of the properties above the tunnel,” he reminded them, “just so we have that clear.”
Gerald frowned and asked, “What are you talking about?”
The old man sighed. “Yes, that is the truth. It’s not private property down there.”
“So, if you happen to be down there and if you see me,” Riley explained, “I am fully allowed to be there.”
Rory glared at him. “Again that seems like a threat.”
“Only from your perspective,” Riley noted, staring at him. “And that is also very interesting.”
He flushed and snapped, “I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means that you’re being an idiot, Rory,” Derek snapped, glaring at him. Then he turned to Riley and repeated, “Look. You’re welcome to use the pub entrance to the tunnel. I’m not trying to hide anything, but if you find any information, please share.”
“Information about your son?”
“Yes, please,” he muttered. “I don’t know what you’ll find, but if you’ve had any kind of experience with this, you know perfectly well that we don’t always know exactly what we’re looking at.”
“That is the truth,” he added.
“Agreed.”
The two men shook on it. Derek started to leave the building but asked Riley one last thing, “When do you think you’ll be down there again?”
“Going right back down now,” he stated. “And then I’ll get some equipment together and return later.”
He stared at him. “You meant, now?”
“Absolutely.”
He frowned. “Did you see something we didn’t?”
“Probably,” he replied, studying him carefully. “But if you’re asking if I’m ready to share with you, no. … I’m most certainly not.” Derek glared at him, and Riley shrugged. “I’m not about to set off any anger or panic or whatever,” he noted, “not until I have more evidence of what I saw.”
Derek frowned and muttered, “Shit.”
“I know you would like answers.”
“Definitely, I want answers.”
“So, give me a chance to get them.”
“I don’t want you going alone.”
“Well, that may be a condition if I use your door,” Riley clarified. “However, you don’t have any say about it if I access the tunnels somewhere else.”
One of the other men grumbled, but Jacob came to Riley, offering, “Look. I can go with you. I know these tunnels pretty well.”
Riley stared at him and asked, “So, why would you?”
He flushed. “I guess that’s a fair question. Timmy’s my cousin. … I was never in line to get the pub, so I’m not really in the running for any of that. I was born on the wrong side of the blanket, so dear old Granddad doesn’t give a crap.”
Derek sighed. “You and I have been over that many times.”
“I know, but it still grates when you think about how that whole Beltran inheritance system works.”
“It doesn’t work very well at all,” Riley agreed, studying Jacob carefully. “It’s one of the reasons why most people nowadays don’t give a crap.”
“Yeah, but some of the old folks do,” Rory argued, staring at him. “And they’re the ones who generally hold all the money right now.”
Riley nodded. “Yes, trillions of dollars are being passed as inherited wealth right now. It’s the great wealth transfer, and it will last for probably another ten years or so.”
Rory muttered, “That’s only helpful if you’re actually in line to get something. When you’re not getting anything, it doesn’t really make a damn bit of difference.”
“Then you do what you got to do,” Riley suggested. “You keep working and making your own way, not expecting anybody else to give you a handout.”
Jacob laughed. “You’re right there,” he replied, “and that’s what I plan to do. Yet I don’t always appreciate it.”
Riley agreed. “It’s never appreciated. Anyway, Jacob, I accept your offer and thank you very much,” he announced. “If you can’t go at some point in time, just let me know. I’m not too bothered about going it alone.”
“You really not worried about being there alone?” Jacob asked.
“No, I’m sure not.”
Jacob frowned at him and asked, “Why the hell not?”
“Remember that you and I went to school together here.” He shrugged.
“I know an awful lot of those tunnels down there quite well, without any of you helping me,” he pointed out.
“So, I already want to check out a couple that I remember from before. One was used for smuggling not very long ago. But what most people don’t know is, when that case broke, they still hadn’t found one of the smuggler coves’ hideaways.
And I do know where that is. So, a part of me wants to go check it out. ”
“Why didn’t you say something down there?” the old man asked, staring at him.
“We weren’t close to it, and there’s a better way to get there,” Riley shared, his tone smooth. “Besides, just as you don’t know and trust me, I don’t know and trust you guys either.”