Page 32 of Dublin's Danger Dancer

“I found the pink bracelet I made you. The one you swore you’d wear forever, but I don’t have it, it’s still with...” I can’t say his name. It feels like a betrayal to tell her. I swallow hard remembering last night. Guilt ceases my chest like a tourniquet. I take a deep breath and vow to regulate my carnal pleasure.

Talking to her like she knew about last night I continue. “It’s part of my plan for putting him in prison for what he’s done. This is the only way I can get close to him. I know,” I say “it’s a lie I’m telling myself, but it makes me feel better. Last night, kissing and everything. It was a horrible mistake, you know. And I feel sick to my stomach for enjoying it. I haven’t eaten anything all day. I miss you so much it feels like there’s a cavernous hole in my heart.”

The wind moves faster, tearing through the grass and ripping through the trees surrounding the small cemetery. It’s as if Harry is trying to chastise me through the natural elements. Even if Liam wasn’t her killer, the notion of me with him would make her extremely angry, just like the branches wiping the bark.

“I’m going to a boxing match tonight and there I’m gonna find out more. Enough so we can put him in prison,”

I stand up, dust myself off. “I know what it looks like, Harry, but I’ve got this.” I say, stroking the tombstone. Just as I do, a raven starts squawking loudly on the oak tree beside the entrance. Its arched beak pointing in my direction.

Chapter Ten

True to his word, Liam arrived at exactly 6:00 pm. I looked outside the window, seeing him in his immaculate flint tweed suit with a brown chequered pattern. He rings the doorbell.

I’d chosen a red Herve Leger dress that was given to me by one of the girls at the club after she got pregnant. She retired and told me she’d never be able to fit in again and even if she could, it would never look good on her again, so I should enjoy it. The thick bandages clung to every curve of my body, and despite myself, I wanted Liam to find me attractive.

I open the door while I pull back the metal prong on my ankle stilettos.

I hear him bounce brightly up the stairs as if he were on a trampoline. I open the door wider while still lifting one leg to me, at a perpendicular angle and leaning into the door frame to secure the buckle around my ankle.

Liam’s face has soured. He’s wearing exactly the opposite expression to the one I’d expected. I could practically see steam exit his nostrils.

Without saying a word, he backs inside, closes the door behind him and pulls out a chair from my dining table.

“Sit down,” he demands.

I sit, scanning the kitchen for a weapon I could use.

“I’m only going to ask you this once and if you lie to me, I’ll know,” he says.

I stuck in a deep breath through my teeth.

“Are you using again?”

“Coke?” I ask.

“I don’t know what else you’d be on to. I can’t see track marks on your arms or your feet,” he says, looking down.

“No, I’m not using, why do you ask?’’

He takes his fingers to his forehead and rubs intently, pushing his elbow into the table as if trying to shake off a bad dream.

He pushes his tongue into the side of his mouth. “Then why did you take my watch and pawn it?”

The hairy beast wasn’t as silent as I’d assumed.

For a moment I’m speechless. My mind races through a litany of logical explanations. Knowing that he would want to fact check, I only had one viable choice.

“I wanted to offset what you do for a living.”

“Oh,” he says, “and how did you do that with my watch?”

I straighten myself in the chair, raising my chin and knitting my fingers together. My thumbs cross over.

“They’re only kids, the girls you bring into Ireland.”

Liam shoots up from his chair and steps before me recoiling in horror.

“What’s that got to do with the watch?”

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