CHAPTER TWO
“The driver’s car was found in a shallow pond near Blackweir Bridge. The driver was still inside and the police said he had a look of terror on his face. Aurora’s purse, identification, passport, money, credit cards, everything were still in the back seat but she was not.”
“Window down?” asked Hex.
“No. Windows were up,” said Hiro.
“What the shit? Did she get out somehow?” asked Eric.
“I can’t answer any of that from here,” said Hiro. “I do think you’re going to need a few men for this. The local police are happy to answer your questions but they don’t want interference from the ‘yanks’. Their words, not mine.”
Joseph walked into the room, staring at Luke as if sending a subliminal message directly to his old friend.
“You want to go?” asked Luke.
“I don’t want to but Julia says she must and that means I will go with her.”
“Julia?” frowned Hex. “Why Julia?”
“She had a dream last night. One more vivid than any she’s had before. She said she could hear a woman, a dead woman, crying for help. She was American and she was in a dark hole. That’s all she could tell me.”
“But how do we know it’s this woman? In Ireland?” asked Eric.
“Because there were male voices screaming as well and they were all Irish voices,” said Joseph. The others quieted, staring at their friend. “I don’t like this anymore than you do. I hate putting her out there but clearly someone, a ghost, is trying to tell us something.”
“Alright, so that’s Joseph and Julia going,” said Luke.
“Marc and Wes Jordan,” said Eric. “They look Irish. We should also send Liffey. He’s damn sure Irish. Maybe the police will be more cooperative.”
“Rory and Fitz both want in on this,” said Hiro.
“Why?” frowned Luke.
“Don’t know, don’t care. If Rory says he’s going, I’m damn sure not stopping him. He and Fitz work best together and no one, not even a drunken, fighting Irishman is stupid enough to take on Rory.”
“Fair point,” smirked Luke. “Alright. Joseph, Julia, Marc, Wes, Liffey, Rory, Fitz, and throw Dom in there for the fun of it.”
“Looks like we have our team,” nodded Hex.
“Before you go,” said Tanner walking into the room, “I should give you a bit of a rundown on disappearances in that part of Ireland.”
“A rundown indicates there are more than one or two,” said Cam.
“Dozens,” said Tanner. “Literally. There are reports of hundreds between 1680 and 1691. After that, there were none for decades. Then, out of the blue, there are dozens every year. Most were locals believed to have fallen off the nearby cliffs. But their families never believed it to be true, saying they knew the cliffs better than they knew the roads or sidewalks.”
“Is there any similarities between these people?” asked Hex.
“None, other than their ages. All over the age of sixteen and under the age of sixty.”
“Tanner, that’s quite a spread, brother. Is there nothing else you can give us?” asked Cam.
“That’s all I have right now but we’ll keep looking. We’ve gotten permission to carry weapons while there.”
“How the hell did we get that?” asked Luke.
“A friend,” smiled Kat coming into the room.
Luke stared at her. “Conor Laughlin is a very old man now. He’s the son of Ian.
They’ve loaned their ancestral castle and homes to the seniors a few times.
Conor was older than me but has kept active and he’s still running the family business.
His son, Sean is your contact there. They’ve cleared everything with the police. ”
“Conor Laughlin is still alive and kicking,” smirked Luke. “This will be fun. He was always a friend to us.”
“Still is,” said Kat. “He’s agreed that you can land at his private airstrip. No customs, no questions.”
“Thanks, Kat. That will help us all out,” said Joseph.
“One more thing. When you arrive, Conor and Sean are going to give you a bit of history to that part of Ireland. There’s always been fierce fighting in Ireland and not always with the English.
Chieftains fought for their piece of Ireland to the death, which nearly destroyed the entire country. Sean is an expert in that area.”
“Sounds like we have a solid plan,” said Luke.
“A solid plan,” said Joseph, “but we still have a missing woman and no witnesses as to what happened to her. We have a dead driver. An empty car and nowhere to look.”
“Well,” smirked Eric, “this is what we do best.”