Page 130 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

He places a kiss on the top of my head. “That’s a question for your birth daddy to answer, Jainie, not me. I’m sure you’ll figure things out with Eoin in time. The man loves you, and sometimes, when you almost lose the thing that matters most, it can temporarily tilt your world off its axis. I think that’s all this is. You’re asking him to stop protecting the person he loves most. All he can see is that person almost died when he did just that.”

Duke does have a valid point. “We’ll figure it out.”

“One day at a time.”

We both chuckle.

“So, what else is happening? I can tell you’ve got something else weighing on your mind.”

“I mentioned to you about the message on Molly’s phone and about me finding the music box.”

“You did.”

“I was speaking to Jessie today, and she suggested I look through some of the older messages. When I went to look for the phone, both the handset and the music box had vanished.”

“Are you suggesting someone came in here and took them without your permission? That’s a serious accusation, Jainie.”

“I realize that but what other explanation is there? They can’t just disappear?”

“And you think that someone may have been Sophia?”

“Only family members have access to this space, and I’m guessing Irish doesn’t come to the house on his own every time.”

“You guess right. I’ve seen Sophia here once or twice. So, you couldn’t find out anything else because you no longer have access to the handset?”

I shake my head. “When I opened Molly’s phone the first time, I downloaded everything onto my laptop.”

“Good thinking. So did you find anything else of interest?”

“I haven’t gone through everything yet, but what I did unearth was that Sophia told Irish that he’d taken her virginity the night of Dylan’s engagement party. Turns out that she lied. He didn’t. Turns out he was drunk, so she set it up to look like he had by using pig’s blood on the sheets.”

“And he fell for it?”

“Yup. Same as he did the first time when Brittany accused him of sleeping with her too.”

“That boy needs to steer clear of whiskey.”

“He does.”

We both laugh once more.

“What do I do, Duke? Do I tell him even though it’s in the past and it’s none of my business? They’re trying for a baby, so whether he took her virginity that night or later, it’s no longer relevant if they’re married and happy.”

“Are you sure they’re happy?”

“If they’re trying for a baby, then they must be? I don’t want to open up a can of worms or be seen to be sticking my nose in their relationship.”

“Then, I think for now it’s best to keep it to yourself and just continue to look for proof that Sophia and her brother may be involved in some way in what’s been going on. Because, if they are, then it doesn’t matter whether Padraig took her virginity or not. She’s a dead woman walking.”

“And how do I find that proof, Duke?”

He chuckles. “You’re the lawyer. I’ll let you figure that one out.”

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

PADRAIG

Padraig’s Apartment, Hudson Yards, New York

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