Page 63 of Against Ebony Irish Seas

“It means they don’t plan to do dick, that’s what, and likely on someone’s orders,” Linc replied harshly. “Sorry for the language. Excuse me while I go outside and kick a tree.”

By the time the yellow-and-blue-checkered Garda car finally appeared, everyone had a cup of tea. Denis took their statements and had his sidekick take photos of the graffiti, but it was all a rote exercise and everyone knew it. Sophie didn’t bother to go into detail about the recent newspaper articles she’d been featured in, and neither did Jamie.

The only moment he almost lost his cool was when Denis looked Sophie over and asked what she’d been doing at Jamie’s house in the first place. Her face blanked for a moment before she told him about the issues with the mobile home. But Denis didn’t stop there, asking Jamie what he was doing at the cottage instead of Summercrest. He’d only answered, “We had gone out for the evening. When will you have a lead?”

“Hard to say,” Denis said after giving them a knowing look that gave Jamie the uncharacteristic desire to deck him. “It sounds like kids from what you say. Just playing a prank.”

“A prank!” Sophie cried out. “That wasn’t—”

“I doubt we’ll catch them given the lack of evidence,” Denis continued. “You shouldn’t hold out hope.”

He nodded to them and left through the front door. Jamie and Sophie closed the profaned door after him. She wasn’t trembling anymore. Her cheeks were flushed. Anger, he expected, the same emotion roiling through his veins.

When they turned back to face the crowded parlor, Jamie set his feet. “This is the third time we’ve had one of our artists intimidated, the first being Ellie with the inspector, the second being Mary Kincaid’s son vandalizing Kathleen’s shed. Now this nonsense has come to someone’s home—mine—and I’m not going to swallow it anymore. A few of you have more experience dealing with this kind of situation than I do, but it’s clear we can’t count on the Garda for help. So what are we going to do?”

Sophie snorted. “One of the main actions artists are urged to take when they receive threats is call the police. Guess we can cross that off the list. Groups like Artists at Risk Connection encourage artists to talk to stakeholders who can raise the visibility of the situation.”

He turned to her. “So we go back to the media? They’re part of the problem.”

Suddenly she looked exhausted, her color fading to gray. “The media is always a mixed bag, but the right reporters and organizations can raise awareness. As we’ve discovered with Taylor and other positive press.”

“But it doesn’t keep you safe,” Bets said, walking across the room and stopping in front of Sophie. “I have to ask you again. Do you want to just bag this and go back to Provence?”

Jamie’s heart rate sped up as he waited for her to reply.

When she only pressed her fingers to her mouth, Bets laid her hand on her shoulder. “I hate to make a point of such a thing, but it would be unconscionable if I didn’t. Greta wasn’t here tonight and you weren’t alone. You were lucky. We can’t know they weren’t planning more.”

He thought of Sorcha again. If she hadn’t woken him up…

“I’ve thought about leaving.” Sophie stroked her neck. “I probably need to give it more thought, but I don’t think me leaving solves the problem.”

“It would for you, darlin’,” Linc said gravely. “You could complete the statue in Provence—or forget the whole thing. No one would blame you.”

She turned her head and met Jamie’s eyes. His throat grew thick as they gazed at each other. He tried to smile, but it faded from his face all too quickly. He couldn’t reassure her. What assurances could anyone give?

“I have discovered so many reasons to stay,” she said, her voice breaking. “If I do, we’ll have to figure out a more secure living situation. Maybe it’s having lived in Provence, but I happened to like my gate, high walls, and sensor lights.”

“We could have Jamie’s house fenced in with a gate tomorrow, if you want to stay here,” Liam offered. “The last utility company is still dragging its feet about your mobile home, as you know.”

Jamie met her eyes again. “I would want to stay here with you and Greta.”

She nodded. “I’d want that too.” She bit her lip. “But I don’t know if it’s enough.”

“We also could find you an excellent guard dog that’s good with children,” Kade added. “On our horse farm, we’ve had thieves scared off because of the dogs.”

She gave an all-body shiver. “It’s funny, the things you take for granted. For years, I didn’t worry about these kinds of threats although my parents dealt with them all the time while I was growing up. Every time it happened, they stood their ground. While I understood that they should be able to paint anything they wanted without being hurt or threatened by other people, I still cringed every time I went to one of their gallery showings.”

“You must have been a really brave kid,” Kathleen said, making Sophie smile ruefully.

“I tried to do what they wanted. I was raised to believe in the importance of art, and I still believe in that. I smiled at the protesters as they shouted horrible things at us. I never shouted back. Blah, blah, blah. But right now… I want to send Sandrine back to our home in Provence with Greta so I can see if this will blow over. Because if it doesn’t… I can’t put her through that. I just can’t.”

He had to work up his spit to respond after hearing her voice break. “Then we’ll talk to Sandrine in the morning.”

“My father will want to go with them,” Donal said after a moment. “I plan on visiting Denis’ superiors. Hopefully they’ll see reason. This is not good press for those who want serious law and order in this country.”

“And you can bet we’re going to blitz the hell out of this in the media.” Linc made a fist. “You start threatening women and children like this, in their homes… The public is going to be outraged, and I’m going to sweeten the pot by offering a hefty reward for anyone with information leading to these goons’ arrests.”

“Let’s hope that has the wolves turning on each other,” Carrick said. “Kade, I’ll be wanting one of the guard dogs you mentioned for my home. I take my sheep dog when I’m at the fields. I don’t want Angie and the baby to be alone in the house right now without support.”

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