‘A warning?’

O’Hara nodded eagerly. ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Is somebody giving you trouble?’

‘I’ve an idea who it might be, yes. Willie, thanks for your help.’ Hennessy shook him by the hand and showed him out, telling Jimmy to drive O’Hara wherever he wanted to go.

Back in the study he sat behind his desk and told Kavanagh and Murphy to make themselves comfortable. He offered them tea or coffee but they declined. He didn’t offer them anything stronger because even under stress Kavanagh didn’t touch alcohol and he could already smell whiskey on Murphy’s breath and they’d all need clear heads.

‘I’m coming round to thinking that maybe you were right about what you said yesterday, Jim,’ Hennessy said to Kavanagh.

‘About going to the farm?’

Hennessy nodded. ‘I think it’s best. The weekend’s coming up, and I can just as easily run things from there, for a short time at least. Mary and I will go tonight, Jimmy and Christy can come with us and we’ll take another couple of lads with us just to be on the safe side.’

‘Ye want me to stay here?’ asked Kavanagh.

‘I want you to organise a search for this Chinaman. He shouldn’t be that hard to find, not in Belfast. There can’t be that many Chinese here, and this one’s a stranger, from London. He’s got to be staying somewhere.’

‘No problem,’ said Kavanagh.

‘And I’m bringing Sean Morrison back.’

Both Kavanagh and Murphy smiled. They knew Morrison well and had worked together on many occasions.

‘He’s still in New York?’ asked Murphy. Morrison had left Belfast more than two years earlier.

‘Yeah, he’s liaising with the various Noraid groups in North America.’ Morrison had told Hennessy he wanted to get out of Belfast for a while and his request had come at a time when fund-raising in the United States had been going through a rough patch. Morrison had made a difference, not the least because his broad Belfast accent and typical Irish good looks went down so well with the Americans. He looked just like they expected an IRA activist should, tall, broad-shouldered, with curly black hair and piercing blue eyes. He spoke well and with conviction about the aims of the organisation and the Noraid groups had used him to full advantage. Morrison had also been a great help in arranging for forged passports and visas for IRA members who wanted to get in and out of the United States without being identified, and had recently begun to form links with arms suppliers. He had been a godsend. But right now Hennessy needed someone he could trust, and he trusted Morrison with his life.

He told Kavanagh to start the hunt for The Chinaman right away, and asked Murphy to step up security arrangements around the house. He waited until he was alone before picking up the phone and calling New York.

Morrison answered on the third ring, his voice thick with sleep.