Laced

Kathleen waved her hand disgustedly. “And I should have made a living doing the Irish jig.”

Seamus knew the discussion was over.

During di

“The first,” Da

“Ouch!” the older Sharkey cried. “I get a pain just thinking about it. Did he have brown hair? And was he with a brown-haired woman?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it!”

“Really?”

“Yes. He seemed upset when he got into his car.”

“He was laughing when he was in my chair, I can tell you that. The strangest laugh. His wife hurried into the treatment room to see what was going on. She told me he couldn’t have any more nitrous oxide.”

Mother Sharkey looked up from her spaghetti. “That was when I was upstairs. If I’d been there, I never would have allowed her to interrupt you.”

“Thank you, Mother, but it was necessary. She said he had a heart problem.”

Kathleen shrugged. “The woman didn’t want to fill out the forms. You would have known about his heart problem if she had.”

“Fill out the forms?” Da

“You didn’t?” Seamus asked, astonishment in his voice. “I’m up here taking notes and writing down license plate numbers in case any of these people turn out to be dishonest, and you didn’t even get their names?”

“It’s all right, Daddy. They’re not coming back. He’s going home to his dentist in New York-or Los Angeles. Who knows?”

“What do you mean, son?”

“First he said his dentist was in Los Angeles, then he said New York. It really doesn’t matter.” Da

They all ate in silence for several minutes, savoring the delicious spaghetti sauce. It was Seamus’s specialty. The bread was crunchy and hot, and the salad tasty.

Finally, Seamus wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You didn’t tell me about the other emergency yet.”

Da

“She designed that fu

“Yes.”

“What does she do at He

“She’s a housekeeper.”

“Based on that decal, I’d say she’s a very talented artist. She should pursue her art.” Seamus helped himself to another piece of bread. “You know what happened at He

“No,” Da

“I do,” Kathleen said. “I saw it on TV today.”

“What happened?” Da

Seamus explained in great detail. “…And this Jack Reilly’s wife’s cousin is Gerard Reilly, whose radio show I tune into when I can’t sleep. Last week I heard him say that his cousin, Regan Reilly, and her husband, Jack, were coming to Ireland for their honeymoon. Jack Reilly is head of the Major Case Squad in New York. I can’t wait to hear Gerard’s show tonight. I heard a promo for it before. Gerard’s going to have Regan and Jack Reilly on as his guests, as well as that lucky so-and-so who discovered the Claddagh rings in his basement.”

“He was a lucky so-and-so,” Da

“Keep the radio low. I need my rest,” Kathleen instructed her husband.

“Of course, dear. I just hope I don’t fall asleep before Gerard Reilly’s show comes on. By ten o’clock I’m usually tuckered out.”

“Stay up with me in the living room, and we’ll listen together, Daddy.”

The older man smiled at his offspring and fondly patted his hand. “I’ll make popcorn. Maybe we can call in with questions.” He laughed. “It’ll be fun. I just hope I don’t fall asleep.”

Seamus Sharkey wouldn’t have slept for days if he had known that not one but two sets of criminals had been under his roof, and he had written them up in his little black book.

35

Sheila and Brian drove back down to Galway, this time in their rental car. They listened to the radio and learned about the note the Does had left for Jack Reilly at He

“Oh, God,” Sheila said. “Now you know they’ll be sticking around. I can’t figure out what they were doing at the Get in Shape gym today. It’s so odd.”

“Let’s not worry about it,” Brian suggested. “We’ll just stick with our plan.”

In Galway the O’Sheas bought a black wig, black cape, long black skirt, and old-fashioned white bo

“I feel better already,” Brian declared. “We’re moving forward.”

“I’m glad you feel better,” Sheila said, “because I certainly don’t. The woman at the wig shop made me very nervous. She asked me three times why I was buying a dark wig. You could tell she thought it looked terrible on me.”

“It’s supposed to look terrible. You’re a ghost,” Brian said practically. “Listen, the saleswoman probably felt guilty she was selling you something that wasn’t the least bit flattering. But, believe me, she was happy to make the sale. Now,” he said, looking around the busy street in the heart of Galway, “let’s grab a bite to eat.”

They found a pub that looked inviting and were seated at a corner banquette. “You picked a good night,” the waitress told them. “A couple of our young musicians will start playing in a few minutes. They’re really talented. They’ll be playing the tin whistle, the flute, the accordion…”

“Sounds great, but we can’t stay too long,” Brian informed her.

“Shame,” she said. “What can I get you?”

They ordered pints of Gui

“Somewhere around midnight.”

“Then why can’t we stay here too long?”

“I figured we’d go back to the castle and relax. I wouldn’t mind taking a shower. I feel a little grubby.”

Sheila rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious if we go back to the castle and then leave again so late? There’s not a lot going on in that neck of the woods at midnight.”

Brian touched Sheila’s nose with his index finger. “You’re right, short stuff. That’s why we make a good team. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Short stuff” is what Brian had called Sheila when they were kids. The childhood nickname still bugged her, but at the moment she chose to ignore it. “It’s going to look odd anyway when we show up there at one or two in the morning,” she said. “After scaring Margaret Raftery to death,” she added.

“Listen, they’ll be thrilled to see us, whatever time we get back there. Everyone else was checking out.”

“Everyone except Regan and Jack Reilly, I bet. Having them around makes me jumpy,” Sheila said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brian said. “They’re not concerned with us. They’re busy looking for two international jewel thieves who stole May Reilly’s tablecloth.” He laughed. “I’d love to meet those two thieves. They must have some sense of humor to steal a tablecloth.”

“Hello!”

Brian and Sheila jerked their heads at the sound of a familiar voice. Regan Reilly was approaching their table! Jack was walking with an older couple toward the back of the pub.

“Hello,” Sheila and Brian both managed to say, concealing their sudden angst.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Regan said, looking from one to the other.

Sheila managed a laugh. “We didn’t think there’d be much food at He