Cry of the Hunter - Jack Higgins [58]
He shook his head and sighed. ‘Except me,’ he said. ‘Even if we made it there would always be the emptiness in me.’ He stared out into the rain. ‘I’ve destroyed myself. I’m damned if I’m going to destroy you.’
She pushed herself back on her knees and said evenly, ‘I see. And what if I told you I wasn’t going to take any notice of you.’
He shrugged. ‘You’ll have to, because at the first available opportunity we’re going to part company.’ She started to speak and he raised his voice and went on. ‘No ifs or buts. You’re going to buy a train ticket and you’re going to cross the border. You’ll be safe over there until this Rogan business is settled. After all, you’ll be able to cross over easily enough. They aren’t looking for you yet.’
‘And how do you propose to make me do all this?’ she said quietly.
He shrugged. ‘We’re going to part company whether you like it or not.’ There was a grim finality in his voice.
For a long time there was a silence and then she raised her head and he saw the white blur of her face through the darkness. She was perfectly calm when she spoke. ‘Whatever happens I shall go to that cottage in Cavan. Always remember that.’
For a moment the love leaped up inside him and he moved towards her, his hands trembling, and then with a sudden roar, headlights lifted over the hill and came down the dirt road towards the farm. Fallon got to his feet and stared out into the rain. A small van turned in through the gates and bumped across the yard towards the farm. As he watched, the door opened and Hannah Costello stood framed in the light. A figure got out of the van and moved towards her. For a moment they stood talking and then they both went in and the door was closed.
The girl gripped his arm tightly. ‘Who do you think it is?’ she said and there was fear in her voice.
He shrugged and moved towards the ladder. ‘Could be anybody.’ He quickly descended the ladder and held it steady as she followed him. She handed him his trenchcoat and he draped it across his shoulders and said, ‘We’d better go and find out.’ He took her hand and together they ran through the heavy rain to the farm door.
For a moment they paused outside the door. Inside they could hear voices and suddenly Johnny Murphy shouted, ‘I’ll kill you, you dirty bastard.’
Fallon flung open the door and stepped into the room. Hannah was standing by the fire, an expression of grim determination on her face and Murphy crouched by the table, a poker held in one hand. Patrick Rogan was standing facing them.
Fallon stepped forward and his trenchcoat fell to the floor. Rogan turned, a look of alarm on his face that he quickly erased with a smile. ‘Is it yourself, Mr. Fallon?’ he said. ‘I’m glad to see you all made it safely.’
Fallon paused three paces away from him. ‘What do you want here, Rogan?’ he said in an ice-calm voice.
Rogan shrugged and said nervously, ‘The terrible time I’ve had of it – you’d never believe. I left Castlemore on top of a cattle truck. Friends gave me shelter in a village near Stramore for a few days but the search is that fierce now, they panicked.’ He shook his head. ‘They turned me out, Mr. Fallon. Did you ever hear the like of that?’
‘They probably liked you about as much as we do,’ Murphy said.
Rogan ignored the remark. His cheeks were hollow and unshaven and his right eyelid twitched nervously. ‘I pinched that van in Stramore,’ he said. ‘I knew I’d be safe if I could get here.’
Hannah grunted and swept across the room to the kitchen sink where she began to dry some plates rapidly. ‘You can get out,’ she said. ‘I’ve told you once. I wouldn’t cut you down if you were hanging.’
Rogan turned on her. ‘For God’s sake, Hannah. You wouldn’t turn a dog out on a night like this.’
‘I like dogs,’ she said calmly. ‘Now get out, you butcher.’
‘He isn’t going anywhere,’ Fallon said. ‘He’s going to get what he deserves.’
He took one step forward and Anne Murray screamed high and clear, ‘No, Martin! No!’ And then Rogan jumped back, sudden fury on his face, and pulled a revolver out of