Page 21 of Dublin Debacle

“Is he well enough to go home?” Emily entered the kitchen behind the doctor.

“I wouldn’t advise it. I’m not due back at hospital for a couple of days. He can stay here under my care during that time.”

Emily’s smooth forehead creased. “We don’t want to burden you for too long.”

“It’s not a problem,” the doctor said. “I had a rough week and had planned on relaxing, reading a book and hanging out here anyway.”

Emily gave the woman a relieved smile and then frowned again. “I can’t stay with you all day. I have to run errands and open the pub later.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Dr. Kelly said. “Surely, whoever attacked your uncle wouldn’t do it again in broad daylight.”

Jack wasn’t sure about that. “We were careful not to lead anyone here last night, but we can’t be certain they won’t find him.”

Dr. Kelly’s brow wrinkled. “You think that’s a possibility?”

“Maybe,” Jack said. When the coffee finished dripping into the carafe, Jack poured three cups full and handed the first to Dr. Kelly and another to Emily. “I contacted a friend of mine,” he said, his gaze connecting with Emily’s. “He’s in the security business. He should be here this morning to watch out for you and Mr. O’Brien.”

“Is it really necessary?” Dr. Kelly said.

Emily snorted. “The men who attacked my uncle didn’t care that he’s an old man.”

“They attacked Emily as well, so they aren’t opposed to preying on women,” Jack added. “We think it best to have someone trained to protect here with you as long as Emily’s uncle is here.”

Dr. Kelly wrapped her hands around the mug of hot coffee as if to warm them and nodded. “Okay, then.”

“Or, we can move him to his own place and have Jack’s friend keep watch on him there,” Emily suggested.

Dr. Kelly shook her head. “No, he’s fine where he is, and it gives him more time to recover and me a longer timeframe to observe him.”

Emily’s frown eased. “Thank you, Aoife.”

The doctor touched her arm. “Don’t worry. This isn’t the first time I’ve helped a patient who didn’t want to go to the hospital. At least Paddy isn’t suffering a gunshot wound.”

“You’ve helped someone with a gunshot wound?” Emily asked, her eyes widening. “Here, in our home?”

Dr. Kelly dipped her head toward her coffee mug, refusing to make eye contact with Emily or Jack. “Some injuries are best left unreported,” she murmured. “And so-called accidents seem to be on the rise.”

Emily’s hand froze with her mug on its way to her mouth.

Dr. Kelly glanced up, her gaze connecting with Emily’s.

Emily lifted her chin. “Like my father’s?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes.”

“What do you know about the accidents?” Emily demanded.

“Not enough, that’s for certain,” Dr. Kelly said. “Just that they began several months ago.”

Two months. The approximate amount of time since the propaganda started showing up online.

“Any of your patients talk about what happened to them?” Jack asked.

Dr. Kelly shook her head. “That’s the problem. Other than telling me about their injuries, they didn’t want to talk about how they’d received them or who delivered them. They appeared to be afraid to talk.”

“Men in black ski masks attacked my uncle,” Emily said. “I have no idea who they were. I’m not certain my uncle would know either.”

Jack had seen the posted messages. Some appeared to have come from the Radical Nationalists, a call to arms to those who believe Ireland would never be free until it united and expelled non-Irish, foreign nationals from its shores—to take back what had been stolen, by force if necessary. They’d also posted that Dublin had become overrun with traitors who couldn’t be trusted. “Could the victims be afraid to bring their attacks to the police because they’ve been threatened with further violence if they do?”

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