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Back The Last Drop of Blood
Chapters (60)
  1. Cover
  2. INTRODUCINGKATIE MAGUIRE
  3. ALSO BY GRAHAM MASTERTON
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Epigraph
  7. Contents
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. About the Author
  60. An Invitation from the Publisher

‘You was listening at the door, wasn’t you? How many fecking times have I told you not to listen at the door if you know what’s good for you?’

‘I wasn’t listening, darling. I was upstairs changing the bed.’

‘Then how come you asked me who Gráinne was?’

‘I heard you say it just when I walked in. And like you said, it’s none of my business. I was curious, that’s all.’

Barry seized her upper arm and pulled her around to face him. He glared up at her for a few intense seconds and then he reached up, took hold of both of her ears, and twisted them hard. Megan gasped, and bit her lip.

‘Don’t fecking listen to what’s none of your fecking business, do you have me?’

Megan nodded, with tears in her eyes. She half-lifted her hands to her ears, but then resisted the temptation in case he realized how much he had hurt her, and relished it.

‘Right,’ he said. ‘I’m going out to lay a cable and then I’m off to The Cotton Ball.’

‘Do you want me to come with you?’

‘Why in the name of God would I want you to come with me? Don’t I get enough of you cnawvshawling here at home?’

‘Well, sometimes you want me to come with you. But if you don’t today, that’s grand. Shelagh’s invited me around to see her new baby.’

‘You never fecking told me that. When did you start making plans to go out without telling me? And you never told me that Shelagh had calfed.’

Megan was about to say, I did, I told you last week but you were too scuttered to remember, but all she said was, ‘I’m sorry. I must have forgot.’

Barry slowly licked his lips as if he were trying to remember something, but then he reached into the back pocket of his brown corduroy trousers and took out a thick folded wad of euros. He pulled off two €50 notes and held them out.

‘Here… give Shelagh this for the baby. Tell her to buy it something to wear or something like that. And when I say it’s for the baby, she’s not to spend it on Baby Powers.’ By that he meant the miniature bottles of Powers whiskey that young women put in their handbags for an evening out at the Zombie Lounge. ‘What is it, a boy or a girl?’

‘Girl.’

‘Jesus. Just what we need around Mayfield. Another scanger.’

1 a quick death and an easy one

10

Katie had only just sat down at her desk the next morning when her phone rang. It was Chief Superintendent Brendan O’Kane’s personal assistant, Bridie.

‘Could you come along to Chief Superintendent O’Kane’s office, please, ma’am. He’d like a word.’