Paddy had had no trouble getting the information from
Margolin's safe. The only problem he ran into was the Margolin's large Newfoundland. The dog,
as animals sometimes did, sensed Paddy's presence and came into the study while
Paddy was rifling the safe for the blackmail information. It sat down on its
haunches, panting and drooling as it watched. The moment Paddy closed the safe
again, the Newfie stood and tried to get him to play. Paddy bit back a laugh at
the look of surprise on the dog's face when its paw went right through the
place where Paddy was standing.
"Sorry,
pup. I'd love to stick around and entertain you, but I have more important
things to attend to right now."
The Newfoundland
looked around, trying to find the source of the voice that was in its head.
Then it let out a deep, frustrated bark, which was Paddy's cue to leave
posthaste.
Before returning to Evan's house where the others
were waiting, Paddy opened the envelope. He wanted to see if he was right about
the information Margolin had been using to blackmail Marshall. He was. "Go dtachta an diabhal thú, (May the devil choke you)," he spat
out angrily. He was sorely tempted to destroy the contents but knew that if
Marshall was going to believe there was no chance of his being blackmailed
again, Vic had to give him the set of pictures and the negatives that the
envelope contained. Paddy did, however, stop at an all night copy store. He
knew someone who would want to see the pictures for very personal reasons.
When he got to Evan's house, he handed the envelope
to Vic. He could see the temptation to open it on Vic's face. Then the man
shook his head. "Whatever's in here is none of our business. As soon as
it's morning, I'll give this to him and then the job is over."
"What about Margolin?" Evan asked.
"There's nothing we can do, legally, and somehow
I think you'd frown on my dealing with him the way Mrs Peake and her thugs did
with me."
"So they all get off scot free," Evan said
angrily.
Dom shook his head. "I suspect they'll get what
they deserve—in time. As one of our compatriots is wont to put it, 'Karma is a
bitch'."
"You all believe in Karma," Vic asked in
surprise.
Dom smiled. "Guardian angels come in all sizes,
shapes, and beliefs, just as humans do."
"Okay, now that I think about it that makes
sense. If they didn't, half the people in the world would be unprotected when
they needed it most."
"A good deal more than half, when it comes down
to it," Paddy said.
"So now you're going back to… wherever?"
Vic didn't sound very happy about that idea.
Paddy replied, "Until the next time you need
us." He grinned. "Personally, as bad as it sounds, I hope that's
soon. I rather enjoyed playing detective."
"You could always come back and visit, when
you're not saving someone else's skin."
Paddy glanced at Dom then nodded. "I just might.
For now, however…"
"We'll miss you," Evan said. "Both of
you."
"The feeling's mutual," Dom replied.
"You take care of Vic and try to keep him out of trouble."
"Me?"
Dom grinned. "Yep. I think you two have a dinner
date and after that… Well, let nature take its course."
Evan looked at Vic and smiled. "Not a bad
idea."
"Not at all," Vic agreed softly. "Not
at all."
"Until next time," Paddy said, and then the
angels vanished.
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