Caomhnóir – Manny - 23

Manny paced from the fountain to the Washington Square arch and back again, checking his watch every ten seconds it seemed like. He started to worry when it was fifteen minutes past the time he was supposed to meet Alasdair. Then his cell rang. Answering, he looked around and nodded, closed it, and walked across the park to a row of benches where man sat in front of tables, intent on the chess games they were playing. It took him a moment to recognize Alasdair, as the commandant was wearing a cap and had his hair pulled back, bound with a leather thong.

Manny took the vacant seat opposite him. “Black or white?”

“You play?”

Nodding, Manny said, “Rather well actually, or I did once upon a time.”

“Excellent, then this will look real.” Alasdair made an opening move before saying, “You are still certain it was him?”

“Very, as impossible at it is to believe. I killed him. I know I did. And then with the fire on top of that—“ He made a return move, shaking his head. “But I’d know that voice anywhere.”

“It’s not impossible. You didn’t say the ritual words, at least according to what Sofietje told me.”

“No I didn’t. I wanted him suffering for eternity for killing Godric. And, I suppose, for everything else he did as well.” He looked at Alasdair, his eyes filled with anger and despair. “Why is he back again?”

“It happens. Rarely but it does. The one who makes decisions about Scriostóir and who should be chosen to be one, can also decide if one that we killed is worth bringing back to life again. It sounds as if Cerdic ‘made the cut’ as they say.”

Manny nodded, the game forgotten. “What do I do now?”

“To begin with, you tell no one that he had returned. No one. Understood?”

“Meaning Hamlin.”

“Precisely. It’s apparent that Cerdic is keeping a very low profile now, and, I would say if I had to guess, that Mr. Shadrick is the one who sent that man to kill you. This tells me that he doesn’t know what you are. Did he show any surprise when you reappeared at the house looking for a job?”

“Not that I picked up on, but then at that point I wasn’t thinking along those lines. I’d figured that Scriostóir I screwed with was the culprit”

“Alright. For now, go on about your business as normal. I’ll have to have a talk with Sofietje. Then we’ll decide whether to move you somewhere else or let you take care of the problem. That is, of course, if Cerdic isn’t there with the intention of dealing with you before he moves on.”

“Just let him try,” Manny growled, earning a glare from Alasdair.

“You will do nothing, and I mean nothing, unless directly attacked. That is an order.”

“Yes, mijn commandant.”

Caomhnóir – Manny - 22

Three hours later dinner, study hour, and Hamlin had come and gone. Gebhard was on his way to the airport and the boys were planted in front of the television watching a movie. While they did, Manny checked to make certain that the house was locked up and that they’d tidied their rooms.

When he reached the stairs leading to the fifth floor he paused. He though he heard voices coming from above him, which made not sense as all the boys were accounted for and Mr. Shadrick lived alone up there.

‘Probably just the TV,’ was his first thought, but he was curious to find out if that was so. Quietly, he climbed the stairs, stopping on the landing outside what had once been Cerdic’s very private and well-secured domain.

Inching forward, he pressed his ear to the door, trying to decipher the words of what sounded like an angry discussion between two men. One voice he recognized as Mr. Shadrick’s. It took a long minute to figure out who the other one belonged to. Then shock registered on his face as he backed slowly away. “Impossible,” he whispered softly.

Without thinking of anything but what he’d heard, he turned and raced down the stairs. When he hit the first floor he pulled up short, trying to calm his racing emotions. He had to get the boys to bed before anything else. Then he needed to call Alasdair.

Half an hour later, with the boys in their rooms and hopefully settled for the night, he sat in his room, staring at his cell phone. Finally he flipped it open and dialed. Alasdair answered on the first ring.

They talked for a few brief moments, Manny telling the commandant what he’d heard. At first Alasdair was doubtful, but it didn’t take Manny long to convince him that they had to talk face to face. “I can get away from here mid-morning while the boys are in class,” he said and they set a time and place to meet.

Coming Saturday, Feb. 9th - 'Three's a Party' Anthology

From Silver Publishing

Silver Presents: Three's a Party

https://spsilverpublishing.com/silver-presents-threes-a-party-ebook-p-1357.html

Some loves are too big to confine themselves to just two. The heart has room for more. Three's a connection. Three's a relationship. Three's a party.
This anthology contains:
The Other Man by LM Brown, Slow Burn by Jade Astor, Poly Sigh by Allison Cassatta, Afternoon Delight by Caitlin Ricci, Bear Hugs by SA Welsh, Nikki's Secret by TN Tarrant, Three Lovers on the Grift by Edward Kendrick

As well as two more anthologies featuring Silver authors

Silver Presents: Dreams and Desires

https://spsilverpublishing.com/silver-presents-dreams-and-desires-ebook-p-1355.html

Silver Presents: Love is Love

https://spsilverpublishing.com/silver-presents-love-is-love-ebook-p-1356.html

Caomhnóir – Manny - 21

“Why is it that every time Manny comes in to work you’re with him?” Gebhard asked Hamlin the next evening when the two young men showed up together.

“Blame the puppy,” Hamlin replied. “I leave him at Manny’s place so I have to be there before he leaves. I just tag along after that.”

“Well if you’re going to keep doing that I suggest you get a key from Manny tonight, because he’s going to have to stay here for a while. I need to go out of town for a few days on personal business.”

“Gee, give a guy some notice why don’t you,” Manny grumbled.

“I just did. Eight hours notice. Luckily you’ve got things here as well as there. Look, I’m sorry. If I’d known earlier I’d have given you a head’s up. But I just found out myself.”

“No problem I guess. When will you be back?”

“It shouldn’t take more than three days. Then I’ll give you a couple of days off in exchange.”

“That works.” Manny took a key off his keyring, handing it to Hamlin. “Do you mind going out and getting this copied?”

“Not at all. I’ll be back ASAP.” Hamlin pocketed it, chuckling to himself as it rested against the one he already had, and left.

“You two have become good friends I gather,” Gebhard said moments later.

Manny shrugged. “We were before Cerdic sent him to London. We’ve just renewed it now that he’s back.”

“Do you miss him?” Gebhard asked suddenly.

“Cerdic? Yeah I guess.”

“He was a good man,” Gebhard said quietly. “Taking all you boys in like that.”

“Well you and Mr. Shadrick are continuing that, so that makes you good men too.”

Gebhard gave him a slight smile. “We own the house now. One of the conditions of that are to house the boys until they turn eighteen. As long as we’re doing that we decided to fill any vacancies with more kids.”

“Which will become a never ending cycle I suspect,” Manny said.

“Maybe. Who knows? Speaking of cycles, it’s almost dinner time so let’s get the boys down here.”

“What time do you leave?” Manny asked as they headed upstairs.

“I’m taking the red-eye at eleven. Then you’re on your own until Mr. Shadrick comes on duty in the morning.” 

Caomhnóir – Manny - 20

“I got it,” Manny declared the moment he walked into the loft.

“Without getting caught I take it. What’s it say?”

“That Gebhard has a reason to be stressed, but it has nothing to do with me. In the three years I’ve known him, I never realized that he was married.”

Hamlin nodded. “I knew, though I think it was a marriage in name only.”

“Well it’s not going to be that much longer. The letter was from her lawyer. She’s filing for divorce.”

“Damn, poor man.”

“Yeah, I agree. So now we’re back to square one again.”

“Not a particularly logical conclusion,” Hamlin said, “because he could still be the one who set you up somehow, but I suspect you’re probably right. That leaves Mr. Shadrick or one of the boys saying something out of turn.”

Manny sighed. “I hope it’s not one of the kids.”

“If it was then it was unintentional; maybe someone asking where you were and them telling him or her without thinking. Though that begs the question of how telling that person you were heading south led to your being found in that specific city and hotel.”

“That holds true for anyone who knew, especially as I never travel using my own name.”

“How many IDs do you have?” Hamlin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Several.”

“But all with your real age, right? You couldn’t claim to be say twenty-five or even probably twenty-one.”

“True, but since passenger lists are inaccessible unless you’ve got very high clearance, and I doubt they list height, weight and age, tracking me that way would have been a no-go.”

“Okay, let’s try another track. How long between when you told them you were on your way south and when you actually left?”

“Two days. I got this place when I first got back to the States, but I hadn’t had time to do more than move in when an urgent assignment came up. That took three weeks and then I had the one down south to deal with. But I needed a couple of days to myself. I stopped by the house of course, that’s when I said something about heading south.” Manny shook his head. “I was pissed when I found out you’d vanished without a trace, so I came back here and threw myself into painting that wall and all. It took my mind off of things.”

Hamlin looked at the wall and smiled. “So something positive came out of my running away.”

“True. That and you coming back again.” Manny gave him a fast hug, and then got back to the subject at hand. “As far as I know, no one knew about this place back then.”

“But,” Hamlin pointed out, “if it was Mr. Shadrick or Gebhard who wanted you dead they could have followed you easily enough. So, as far as that goes, could someone who might have been watching the house in hopes that you’d return.”

“Which means my telling them where I was headed would have been a moot point.”

“Unless it gave Gebhard or Mr. Shadrick the idea that killing you somewhere else would throw any suspicion away from them. All someone would have had to do was follow you from here to the airport. If they got lucky they might even have been on the plane with you.”

Manny frowned. “So we’re back to who, and working with that scenario it couldn’t have been Gebhard or Mr. Shadrick.”

“I suppose not. We’d have a real conspiracy theory if it was because they’d have to have an accomplice.”

“Not beyond the realm of possibility. I wish to hell that I knew how much they knew about what Cerdic was doing. We know he turned physical punishments over to Gebhard, but did Gebhard know what we did to merit them, or was he just told to work us ‘til we dropped.”

“Good question. How are we going to find out?”

“Hell if I know, but if I don’t want someone gunning for me again I’d better, and quick.”