Chapter 6 - NO MORE PRIVATE DEALS
At seven that evening, the Brass Lantern was closed to customers.
Vincent sat in the same booth where the whiskey had spilled two nights earlier. Two older men from his organization stood near the bar.
Dominic was not among them.
Kathleen sat beside Declan at a table near the entrance. She had insisted on coming after Cassidy told her that the ledger contained her name.
Cassidy remained standing.
Vincent looked at the envelope in her hand.
“Is that it?”
“Copies.”
“Where’s the book?”
“With an attorney.”
One of Vincent’s men stepped forward.
Vincent stopped him with a glance.
“You involved a lawyer?”
“I involved someone who doesn’t answer to this room.”
Declan placed both hands on the table.
“I kept the accounts.”
Vincent turned toward him.
Declan’s voice shook, but he continued.
“Dominic issued private loans through the docks. He used your seal. I changed amounts, collected payments, and wrote down personal information about borrowers.”
“Why?”
“Pills. Money. Fear.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“You expect that to save you?”
“No.”
The answer seemed to unsettle him more than an excuse would have.
Kathleen spoke next.
“I asked my son for the money.”
Cassidy looked at her.
Kathleen’s face had lost its color, but she did not look away.
“I knew Cassidy’s name was on the agreement. I told myself we were protecting the house. What I protected was my own pride.”
Vincent opened the copied pages.
As he read, anger appeared in small changes: a tightened jaw, a thumb pressed too hard against the paper, a longer pause beside each company name.
“You signed some of these payments,” Cassidy said.
“I approved advances.”
“You never asked why people repaid three times what they borrowed?”
“Dominic handled collections.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Vincent looked up.
For the first time, Cassidy saw uncertainty beneath his authority.
“My father taught me that knowing every detail made a man look weak,” he said. “Dominic handled what I didn’t want on my desk.”
“So you didn’t create this.”
“No.”
“But you gave him the power to create it.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“You came here to accuse me?”
“I came here because everyone in my family spent years pretending that not looking made them innocent.”
The front door opened.
Dominic entered holding a pistol low beside his leg.
Kathleen inhaled sharply.
One of Vincent’s men reached inside his jacket.
“Don’t,” Dominic said.
Vincent remained seated.
“You point that at me in my own place?”
“You were going to hand me over.”
“You stole from me.”
“I made money you were happy to spend.”
Dominic looked at the envelope.
“Give me the ledger.”
“It isn’t here,” Cassidy said.
“Then tell me where.”
“No.”
He raised the pistol.
Cassidy did not move toward him. A boxing ring had rules and measured distances. A gun erased both.
Vincent stood slowly.
“Dom.”
“Stay out of it.”
“You used my name.”
“I protected your name. You wanted clean hands, so I handled the dirty work.”
Vincent looked at the weapon.
“You’re proving how badly I judged you.”
Dominic laughed once.
“You judged me perfectly. You needed someone willing to do what you pretended not to see.”
The accusation struck because it contained truth.
Sirens sounded faintly beyond the unmarked door.
Dominic turned toward Cassidy.
“What did you do?”
“I scheduled the files to be delivered if I didn’t cancel by seven fifteen.”
It was not a bluff.
Her attorney had copies, along with a list of borrowers and companies. A written statement from Declan had been submitted that afternoon.
Dominic looked at the clock above the bar.
Seven fourteen.
“You ruined everyone in this room.”
“No,” Cassidy said. “You counted on everyone being too ashamed to speak.”
The clock changed.
Seven fifteen.
Dominic’s attention moved toward the door for one second.
Vincent crossed the distance and seized his wrist. The pistol struck the carpet. One of the older men kicked it beneath the bar.
Dominic was forced against the table.
No one celebrated.
Kathleen covered her mouth.
Declan stared at the floor.
Cassidy’s phone vibrated.
DELIVERY CONFIRMED.
May you like
The evidence had left their control.
This time, no member of the Gallagher family could hide it again.
