To Keep a Bird Singing Read online

  Mrs Sugrue nodded. ‘He was upset for a long time over the Jim Dalton matter but he let it go. I think he decided to accept it for what it was, just another of those horrible things that happened because of the Troubles. But when he learned about Meabh everything changed. I knew it would too. I knew he wouldn’t let go after that. In a way I always knew how it was going to end.’

  Mrs Sugrue met Noelie’s stare. He understood then that she had known all along that her husband’s death hadn’t been an accident.

  ‘The day that Sean died, that afternoon in fact, Special Branch came here. They went through everything and I mean everything. It was all Official Secrets Act with them and they claimed they had the right because of him being in Special Branch all those years. They took the whole lot. I have little of his now, other than photos, which they only returned to me after I complained and threatened to go to the newspapers.’

  ‘But your husband was one step ahead of them. He had made provisions and arranged for the information to go to Don Cronin.’

  ‘He trusted Don Cronin. I never did. He was a selfish, greedy man. But Don Cronin knew what to do. He was no one’s fool. He kept the information out of circulation all this time.’

  ‘Did you know what was in the file that your husband gave Don Cronin?’

  ‘No, he wouldn’t tell me but I knew it was going to cause him trouble.’

  ‘When did you realise that your husband was steadily gathering evidence about what had been going on with Albert and Danesfort?’

  ‘Not until we went that day to Garda HQ. He told me then. I had read between the lines though. Sean changed a lot near the end. He became secretive and obsessed. He was weighed down by what he had found out. And to add to his problems Robert’s health had deteriorated much more rapidly than anyone had expected. When it became clear that Robert’s days in the gardaí were numbered and that his illness was worsening, Sean found himself even more on his own. Robert passed some of the information to Sean, I believe, in an effort to right past wrongs. That’s possibly how he got the film, but I don’t know for sure.’

  Noelie also wondered how the map of Egan’s burial place had come into Sugrue’s possession. Perhaps Robert had had it all along.

  ‘Did you know about Brian Boru?’

  ‘I heard the name mentioned but Sean was careful. There was information that could get you killed and knowing anything about Brian Boru was one of those bits of information. I knew nothing other than that a mole of substantial value existed.’ Mrs Sugrue looked at Noelie. ‘Our betters have covered up quite a lot to keep that bird singing.’

  Noelie felt angry again. ‘You could’ve helped me when I came here. My best friend was murdered.’

  Mrs Sugrue looked at him angrily. ‘I’ve done my bit. I paid with Sean’s life. I loved Sean. He was everything to me. You don’t understand what it meant for him to turn whistleblower. He didn’t want to be one. He didn’t want to bring shame down on anyone, in particular on Robert who he was close to and who had helped him so much. But in the end he had no choice. So don’t lecture me about doing the right thing by you or by anyone.’ She paused and looked at Noelie. ‘You won’t win, by the way. This sort of business destroys everyone and everything it comes into contact with. I knew it would bring us all down and it nearly has.’

  ‘So you accept your husband was murdered?’

  ‘I fooled myself for a while that he wasn’t, but the evidence was everywhere.’ She shrugged. ‘An inquest was held. No one could explain how or why the car hit the wall at that speed. You know Sean didn’t have his seatbelt on. Tony Donnelly did though. Yet Sean always wore his belt. Ask Meabh, he was obsessed with those sorts of things.’ Mrs Sugrue sighed wearily. ‘I had to make a decision. I could have kicked up a fuss but I knew also that I had to go on. I have Tomás, Meabh’s brother, to look after. And things did turn around for Meabh, although she’d never admit to that. She went on to college. Our community rallied around me. I was offered help financially. If I was to rail at what had happened to my husband, where was it going it get me?’

  ‘They bought you off.’

  ‘Our family counts. Sean couldn’t see that, he was so blinded by doing the right thing. He went to Garda HQ, the highest authority in the police force, and look where it got him. I’ve decided to turn the other cheek. Call it being bought off, if you like, but I’m still alive.’

  On the return journey Meabh asked Noelie to stop outside Mitchelstown where there was a walk that she knew. It was a grassy stretch of riverbank. A passerby gave them a strange look and Noelie realised it was their faces. They both looked like they had gone fifteen rounds with Muhammad Ali.

  Noelie watched the river current and remembered the cavern under Albert’s garden, how close he had come to death. It was a bleak memory and he moved on quickly.

  Meabh spoke. ‘I’m glad I faced her.’

  ‘It was the right thing to do. I understand her better now.’

  ‘I never will.’

  Noelie moved nearer and put his arm around Meabh. She leaned against him.

  ‘Your father’s a man to be proud of, Meabh. I’m not sure he would’ve been my cup of tea, being Branch and so on, but he stood up when he had to. He should be awarded a second Scott Medal, but I don’t think that that will be happening any time soon.’

  ‘He stood up only to be cut down.’

  ‘That’s how it is so often.’

  She looked at Noelie. ‘But you have to, you must stand up. I did and it’s the reason I’ve survived.’

  Noelie agreed and thought of Hannah. She had got involved to help Noelie and when it became clear that the situation was dangerous and she was putting herself at risk, she had stayed committed. She believed in doing the right thing, whatever the cost. A lot of people simply weren’t like that. Hannah couldn’t be any other way.

  44

  Meabh’s confrontation with her mother reminded Noelie that he needed to see his sister. A lot had happened since he had last spoken to her. She would’ve heard about Church Bay and would know that what had happened there involved him. He needed to explain.

  Meabh offered to accompany him but he felt it would be better if he went on his own.

  ‘We’re still in danger,’ she reminded him. ‘I know you have to go but come straight back to the hotel when you’re done.’

  Noelie said he would.

  His brother-in-law answered the door. He made no comment about Noelie’s appearance or about what had been in the news. He didn’t ask him in, simply called loudly to Ellen that her brother was at the door and walked away. Noelie wondered how Arthur was coping with Shane’s death. Maybe it was easier for him to stay angry with Noelie.

  Ellen came along the hall. Noelie thought she looked a little better.

  ‘Jesus,’ she said. ‘What happened to you? Come in.’

  They went into the room immediately inside the front door. It was one of Noelie’s favourites, bright with a high ceiling and a wide bay window. He sat on the edge of the sofa. At first Ellen stood then she sat too.

  ‘I heard about Hannah. I’m so sorry.’

  He met his sister’s eyes. He saw her hesitate and then come over. He stood and she held him.

  ‘She was such a lovely person and I know how close you were.’

  Noelie nodded, struggling to maintain his composure. He put his head on Ellen’s shoulder and she didn’t move away; Ellen knew better than anyone how far back Noelie and Hannah went.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said.

  ‘They said she was murdered.’

  ‘Yes.’

  Ellen grimaced and shook her head. Noelie sat again. ‘I owe you an explanation. I want to tell you everything.’

  He began at the beginning: finding the records, discovering the statement and the allegations about Jim Dalton’s murder, and becoming entangled with Inspector Lynch and Special Branch. It took him nearly half an hour. When he finished, his sister stayed silent for a while.

  ‘When I heard about t
he bomb in your flat, just after we argued, I knew then that whatever you had got involved in was a lot worse than anything I had imagined. I don’t know where I got the idea but I thought you were involved in something to do with drugs or money-lenders or I don’t know what.’ Ellen paused. ‘Byrne had told us a bit about the mole in the IRA story and how she had looked into that in relation to Shane’s disappearance. I sort of came to my senses with the news of that bomb. I put two and two together, I suppose. Look, it’s no excuse, but things like that are far removed from everyday life, from my life, I mean. I didn’t realise it was so serious. Now I’m just glad you’re safe.’

  She continued, ‘We’re different, Noelie, and we need to accept that about each other. I need to accept it about you but you need to accept it about me too.’

  Noelie nodded. He agreed. They had always been going in different directions. Ellen had never been interested in politics or history or anything like that; she couldn’t get out of school fast enough. Noelie was the opposite.

  Ellen wasn’t finished. ‘Part of the problem, a big part, has to do with what’s gone on between you and Arthur. He’s my husband and you’re my only brother. Neither of you think about me in the middle. I need you to make an effort, Noelie – especially now. He’s a good man, he’s very kind, and I love him. What’s happened has broken him, it really has.’

  Noelie nodded again. Maybe it was the impact of the grief that he was feeling but he didn’t want to cause anyone any more pain. He needed Ellen. If he was going to make that work, he had to get on better with Arthur.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Hesitating, he added, ‘I want to sort this out. I know it will take time, I understand that, but you’re all the family I’ve got.’

  Ellen nodded.

  ‘Would you come to Hannah’s funeral?’ he asked. ‘We don’t know when it will be yet, there’s an issue with the police investigation, but it would mean a lot to me.’

  ‘Of course.’

  He stood and they hugged once more.

  ‘I miss Shane, Ellen. Coming here, knowing that he’s not around any more. It’s … I’m so sorry.’

  ‘I know that.’

  45

  Noelie slept on the floor of Meabh’s room at the hotel. In the morning he walked her to the taxi rank near the bus station, a short distance away. It was bustling around there and he was reminded that life was going about its business as it always did.

  There had been further news coverage of the events at Church Bay. Though there was still no mention of Keogh’s connection to Special Branch or his unsavoury past, one report had linked what had happened to the murder of Don Cronin. As to where Albert or Keogh were, there was no word yet.

  Overnight and during breakfast Meabh had been quiet and withdrawn. Noelie put it down to her confrontation with her mother. Mrs Sugrue was a formidable woman, more stubborn and firmer in her convictions than Noelie had realised. Clearly she knew a lot more than she was saying and even now, with all that had emerged, he couldn’t say with certainty where her allegiance lay; certainly it was not with her daughter.

  Noelie had also been in contact with the Daltons. After seeing his sister the previous evening, he had visited Mrs Dalton. He told her about what had happened, about what they learned about Keogh and about what could’ve happened to her husband. Not surprisingly Ethel Dalton had become upset. Noelie was glad to be able to tell her about the ultimatum he had put to Branch – to produce information on the location of her husband’s body within forty-eight hours or else. He asked her to let them know immediately if she heard anything.

  They found a taxi. After hugging tightly, Meabh reminded Noelie about Amsterdam. He reassured her he would visit and thanked her again for all that she had done.

  ‘Nearly getting you killed, you mean?’

  ‘Then saving my life.’

  They both laughed.

  ‘We’ll call it quits so.’

  Noelie shook his head. Half-serious, half-laughing, he said, ‘For me it will never be like that. I’m bound to you forever now. Isn’t that what they say about anyone who saves your life?’

  Meabh got in the taxi. ‘We’ll see.’

  He went from the taxi rank to Hannah’s. Her mother and her brother were there. Eoghan was married with a family in Manchester and, from what Hannah had told Noelie, he was strapped down by a big mortgage. He was obviously shaken. He asked Noelie to explain the background to Hannah’s murder so Noelie told him the whole story. He pointed out that Hannah had made the link with Irwin in Australia, and how important that development was to understanding the criminal nature of what had been going on over decades.

  It was good for Noelie to retell Irwin’s story. In going over it again, he gained a better appreciation of how poisonous the conspiracy was. The accounts of abuse relating to Danesfort also better explained the violence that had been meted out to Irwin’s friends and, in due course, to Hannah. Noelie reiterated his view that the single biggest miscalculation they had made was in underestimating how dangerous Albert and Keogh were.

  The family had received more details about Hannah’s death. She had been strangled and had been dead for approximately twelve hours by the time her body was recovered from the fire scene. CCTV footage showed her meeting one person at the train station; he had since been identified as Keogh. The pair had left the station together and that was the last sighting of them. Gathering further evidence, including forensics, was complicated by the fire at Church Bay which had destroyed the contents of the house. The investigation was ongoing.

  Hannah would be buried in Kenmare, the family’s home town. No date could be set until the body was released by the gardaí and for the moment there was no indication as to when that might be; it could be a week to a fortnight at least. The family would keep Noelie posted.

  They weren’t sure about what to do with Hannah’s place. Noelie was invited to stay on until something was decided. From a practical point of view he had nowhere else to go, but the flat was full of memories. He remembered that he had come to view it with Hannah, way back when she had first considered buying it. He agreed to stay there for the moment.

  Around lunchtime he got a call from Detective Byrne. There had been a development and she figured Noelie would want to come with her to see it for himself.

  She picked him up in an unmarked car. She offered her condolences and asked after Hannah’s family. After a while, she enquired if Noelie and Hannah were an item and he explained that they weren’t but that they were very close friends.

  They drove in the direction of Ballyvolane and Noelie wondered if Byrne’s news was to do with Glen Park. However they carried on beyond it and into open countryside. He noticed the fancy computer communications system on the police car’s dash. Although the tablet-sized screen was tilted out of his view, he saw text flickering down the screen and was reminded of Special Branch and of how long they been watching him and Hannah.

  At Church Bay, Keogh had confirmed that Branch were behind the pipe bomb thrown into his Douglas Street flat. At first Noelie had assumed that the same group of people were also down at Church Bay helping Keogh and Albert. Now he realised that that probably wasn’t the case. Their age, for one, suggested that they weren’t police. There was also the revelation that Albert and Branch were at loggerheads. For the first time Noelie was coming to appreciate that they had been facing two distinct opponents all along. Evidently these two groups had interests in common – in the main around managing the Keogh/Father Boran identity – but they had separate agendas too.

  Branch wanted to retrieve the double-8 film because it was part of their means of controlling Keogh. Albert wanted the film because its publication would expose the abuse at the Donnelly farmstead and Danesfort.

  There was an important unanswered question though: what was the overlap between the groups? Was it just tactical or was there someone in both camps, someone high up in the Irish intelligence service whose real allegiance was to Albert and his group? Noelie thought about t
he other unidentified figure in the film, the third man. Who was he and where was he now? Noelie didn’t know the answers to these questions but he was sure that information – regular, accurate and upto-date – had been passed to Albert and his group about what Noelie and the others had been doing. The question was, who was channelling this information to Albert?

  Near Whitechurch, Byrne stopped the car suddenly at a division in the road. After consulting a map she took a left along a narrow slip road that eventually led into a builder’s quarry. It was desolate.

  ‘Getting rid of me too?’

  The detective feigned shock. ‘Really, Noelie.’ Suddenly smiling, she nodded to the rear. ‘I almost forgot, on the back seat, take a look. There’s a folder.’

  Noelie retrieved it. The name on the front read Paul Cavanagh a.k.a. Andrew Teland. Prominent inside was a photo of the man they knew as Big Ears. He was wearing a priest’s dog collar. Born in 1963 in Terra Haute, Indiana, he later attended seminary college at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Chicago. Later again, he served in the archdioceses of Chicago, Baltimore and Boston before being laicised in 1997 following a conviction for sexual assault on a minor. Approximate date of arrival in Ireland: 1999. According to the file, Teland was still wanted on charges in the States. A copy of a US warrant was with the file.

  Byrne spoke. ‘What do you make of that?’

  ‘Albert was looking after him, giving him protection?’

  ‘That’s how it seems.’

  Noelie thought about this. ‘Was it known that Teland was here in Cork?’

  ‘It’s not clear. That’s being looked into, but I’ve a feeling it wasn’t known.’

  They reached a wide, open yard. There were some locals standing around. Two garda cars had made a checkpoint but Byrne and Noelie were allowed through. Byrne stopped near two plain-clothes officers and rolled down her window. She spoke to a detective who looked Noelie over. He cut quite a sight, he knew, with his bruised face and stitches. The swelling on his face had gone down a little but he was now various shades of black and blue.