Shadows of Deceit by Patrick Cotter Page B

fight began, the third man lunged towards Harry and caught him on the chin; the impact made him crash heavily into the desk where Wemyss was sitting. Harry swiftly recovered his position and hit his attacker hard in the stomach before finishing the argument with a head butt that caused the aggressor to slump to the floor. Tommy and Steve quickly returned and roughly pushed all three men out into the street.
    “Get out of here and don’t ever come back.” Steve shouted.
    He then went over to the one who had slipped on the pavement and savagely kicked him several times in the back. Tommy held Steve and restrained him,
    “That’s enough Steve, enough. He’s got your message.”
    Steve slowly withdrew after one final kick.
    “Enough Steve!”
    Tommy pulled his partner away and turned to face Harry who was now standing in the doorway with Wemyss,
    “Are you alright?”
    “Yea, just a bit out of practice, I’ve hurt my fist though.”
    Harry said rubbing his knuckles.
    “Will you get the fuck out of here; I’m trying to run a decent club.”
    Wemyss said as he checked his shirt cuffs,
    “Be away with you now before other guests start arriving.”
    “No problem, we’ll see you again soon.” Tommy said.
    Outside they found Dermot already seated in his car. Harry was invited to sit with him. Tommy and Steve followed in another vehicle. As the cars pulled out into the traffic Harry noticed that the three attackers were moving away into the darkness.
    “Thank you for that, you are useful.” Dermot said.
    “You knew these men?”
    “One of them I’ve seen before. I think he’s the son of one of my former tenants in Edinburgh. I run a letting business - you know flats and houses.”
    Dermot shifted his bulk on the seat and continued,
    “They were a bloody rough lot. Undesirables all of them.”
    “I was glad to be of assistance. That’s a nice club there.”
    Harry looked out of the window,
    “By the way, where are we heading?”
    “I’ve some business to arrange near the coast. Come along with us you might learn something.”
    Harry recalled that Dermot and Andrew were working together on the Letting business so he decided to tease out a bit more information.
    “You run this business on your own?”
    “No, there’s a partner involved as well, a friend of mine I used to work with in England some years ago.”
    ‘This is where Andrew comes in’, Harry thought. He decided not to say that he knew him and that he had already started a part time job with him.
Chapter 4
    The two cars finally arrived at a small desolate seaside cottage. An older man with a strong Irish accent greeted them by the front door. Dermot did the introductions.
    “This is Michael, Michael O’Shaughnessy. He looks after the cottage for us. Michael this is Harry, he’s joining us for the evening.”
    The two men shook hands.
    “Come on in, the fire’s lit so it’s not too cold. I’ve some drink and food and there’s plenty for everyone.”
    Despite the initial show of friendliness Harry sensed that Michael’s eyes were suspiciously following him as he moved into the room and sat down next to Dermot. Tommy and Steve soon arrived and were greeted by Michael and shown in. They preferred to stand at the back by the drink’s table rather than sit by the fire. Michael retreated to a back room and prepared the food.
    Tommy poured and served drinks to everyone,
    “Good health!”
    “Slainte.” Dermot said as he downed his drink in one and held the glass up.
    “Another large one Tommy.”
    Steve turned to face Harry,
    “So what really is the truth about you then Harry lad? Are you on the run from someone?”
    ‘You bastard,’ Harry thought to himself, somewhat startled to be confronted in this way. He turned his head to reply to Steve.
    “I’ve told you my story back at the club, or weren’t you listening?”
    Dermot looked across angrily at Steve and shook his head indicating to him not to pursue the question any further. He