CHAPTER 6

What is that good-for-nothing Pádraig Hanraghan doing here? Is he working for Davin? One of those mindless kids she remembers so well from her own training, who could justify anything because they were at war. Mary knows he has been to Santiago de Compostela more than a few times. She has often wondered where Pádraig gets the money to pay for these trips. Not only to Santiago de Compostela, he has visited New York a couple of times. Could he be more than just Davin's eyes here? She is puzzled why Davin has dragged Eamon out of obscurity. It has all the hallmarks of one of those convoluted schemes he has had over the years. Some have worked but all of them have been high risk. Yet Eamon has told her – and she wants to believe him – there is little or no risk on this trip. If, as Davin claims, he is wholeheartedly in favour of the peace process, favours the Good Friday Agreement, then why the hell, Mary can't help wondering, are we so secretive, still mounting an undercover operation? If Fernando Griffin is running drugs, all they have to do is tip off the Brits through one of the back channels they use to convey secret information.
        As she swivels the postcard rack, Mary fends off the offer of help from the bored shop assistant. There are views of the cathedral, of various seascapes and the countryside, which mean nothing to her. She is worried about Eamon, who suddenly seems to have aged; he looks old and tired. This shocks her, as she has always thought how fit he looks, at least ten years below his age. Maybe the new short haircut has contributed to his rather shrunken appearance.
        Mary sees the young woman talking to Eamon. Her slim youthful body seems to highlight the decline in Eamon, how old and drawn he looks as he greets her, not very enthusiastically, she also notes. Pádraig has vanished from her view. She smiles at the shop assistant and takes another slow tour of the foyer, sees Pádraig entwined with young Aileen. Again she wonders where he gets the money for all these trips. Certainly not from what he earns, walking tourists on tours of the Walls of Derry with a quick look at the Bogside and the Bloody Sunday Memorial. Not at five pounds a tourist. She knows this because they have some of Pádraig's fliers and recommend him to those of their guests who enquire about such trips. It has to be Davin who funds him, probably as a courier, she guesses, that is one reason why he is able to travel so much. Nor can she figure out why Pádraig made himself so conspicuous in the square. The Celtic baseball cap is his trademark back home. Is he careless or has he been instructed to make himself known? She looks at some jewellery, then fingers the silk scarves and thinks they are all over-priced. By now, she is sure the woman is alone in the foyer. Eamon is signing a paper, she hands him a set of car keys, and they go outside. At which point she spots Pádraig and Aileen also leaving. Pádraig puts his cap on. She can't work this out, the blatant display by him, the use of Aileen, whom they both know.
        Maybe I've been leading a normal life for too long, the return to secrecy and subterfuge is firing up my imagination. Maybe he is just here for a holiday. Aileen and he have come away to avoid the prying eyes and gossip back home. And Davin probably said, just let me know when you see the Delaneys, but don't let on you know them. He wouldn't need to say any more. Pádraig understands these things, as they all do. Besides he is a quiet lad, who does as he's told, has never been in trouble as far as Mary knows.

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