Laced

“Okay then,” Regan said. “I’m sure Jane and John Doe made it a point to blend in with the crowd. They’re middle-aged and in good shape. The last thing they want to do is attract attention.”

Michael shook his head. “It sounds like blend in they did. I wish I had more to tell you.”

“And we wish we had more of a description of them,” Regan said. She rolled her eyes. “We just learned from the girl who signed up the last-minute ru

“A friend of mine just broke up with a girl because her laugh is so god-awful,” Michael said fervently. “And she’s absolutely stu

“Thank you, Michael,” Gerard said. “You can go back to work now.”

“Cheers,” Michael responded as he gave Gerard back the list and walked out the door.

Gerard sighed. “If I caused you this trouble, I’m terribly sorry,” he said. “I really mean that. The crime rate in Ireland isn’t bad, and I never thought-”

“Don’t worry about it, Gerard,” Jack said with sincerity. “We have no way of knowing if that’s how they found out we’d be here. And if it is and we nab them, then we’ll have you to thank for drawing them out of their lair. You don’t know how much I want to put those two behind bars. They’ve stolen from so many good and generous people. Lately they’ve gotten more daring, and this time they set a fire that could have been deadly.”

“I’m going to make sure everyone in Galway is on the lookout for the Does,” Gerard promised. “If they’re here, I’ll make sure they won’t rest easy. I’ll have them looking over their shoulders every minute.” With a determined look on his face and the list of names in his hand, he picked up the phone.

With the help of the staff at the radio station, it took only thirty minutes to determine that Joe and Josie Cullen were schoolteachers who had driven up from the Dingle Peninsula on a whim early Sunday morning to join the race. They took pictures to bring back to their students, anxious to teach them that exercise can be fun and it’s never too late to start any new venture.

“And Brad and Linda Thompson,” Gerard reported, “bought a home last year in a little village south of Galway. Their number is unlisted. As of yet, we haven’t come up with any other information about them.”

“It’s a good start,” Jack said. “We’ll take a ride into the village now and look around. Gerard, do you think you could get copies of the pictures those teachers took at the race? If they have e-mail, maybe they can scan the photos and send them to you. It might be helpful.”

“I’ll get on it right away,” Gerard said.

“And, Gerard, do you have a tape of last Monday’s show?”

Gerard looked a little embarrassed. “I’ll have my assistant get the master from the tape library and make a copy. I promise not to edit the parts where I, uh, talked too much, shall we say.”

Regan smiled. “We just want to hear the woman caller’s voice, the one who asked about where we were staying, that’s all.”

As they walked out of his office, Gerard put his arm around Regan. “Try not to be late for Louise’s Irish stew,” he joked. “We’ll have ourselves a good meal. Afterwards we can stop in town for a pint at one of the pubs playing music and then come over here to do the show.” He paused, and his tone turned serious. “If the Does are still somewhere around Galway, we’ll find them. And we’ll make their lives miserable.”

He needn’t have been concerned on that score. Just outside of town, the Does’ lives were getting more miserable by the minute.

24

Knuckles white from gripping the arms of Dr. Sharkey’s dental chair for dear life, Bobby was pla

Stealing that necklace was a stupid, impulsive thing to do. They certainly hadn’t pla

And for their trouble, Bobby ended up minus four front teeth. Each of the carefully pla

A

All for a necklace that meant so little to them.

Bobby really wished he could turn the nitrous back on. He was feeling depressed and scared. There was nothing remotely cheery in the harsh little treatment room, nothing at all to lift a patient’s spirits-except, of course, the tank of nitrous, that was now off-limits.

“Your dentist has talent,” Sharkey allowed. He was bent over a side table, stirring a grayish paste with a steel utensil. Bobby thought he looked like a mad scientist. “Where did you say the man is based?”

I didn’t, Bobby thought, but he had to give an answer. “He’s in New York.”

“‘New York, New York, what a wonderful town,’” Sharkey sang. “Mother and Dad and I went there years ago. It was a brilliant trip. Brilliant.”

“Um-hmmm,” Bobby said.

“If I get back there, I’d love to watch your dentist in action. He’s a master.” Sharkey straightened up. “I’ll fix you up with this temporary cap. It should hold you till you get home. Now open wide…”

Bobby closed his eyes while Dr. Sharkey pushed the cap up against his stub, then picked and poked and prodded inside his mouth.

“Voila!” Sharkey finally a

With great trepidation Bobby opened his eyes. Dr. Sharkey held up a mirror to his face. Bobby grimaced at his tired reflection, made worse by the harsh fluourscent light overhead, and then smiled. A big bulky chunk of matter, resembling an oversized and slightly faded kernel of corn, stood in stark contrast to the rest of his Hollywood smile. He had to squelch the impulse to scream, jump out of the chair, and throw Dr. Sharkey against the wall. I look like Goofy, he thought desperately. But he knew he couldn’t make a scene. It was too dangerous with Jack Reilly on his tail.