miles this side of Portmagee. It’s on an inlet, same as Portmagee. We can motor down and wait for them on the water. That is, if they’re not too speedy. We won’t be able to pick up the keys to the boat until half eight.”
Riki glanced at her watch. “All right, let’s be on our way,” she said, punching the city’s name into the vehicle’s GPS system.
She drove southwest from Tralee before turning along the southern shore of Dingle Bay. In less than an hour, they reached Cahersiveen, a colorful small town that stretched along the River Fertha. Riki parked next to the town’s marina, and Gavin led the way to a blue and white workboat moored between a pair of sailboats.
“This is the one,” he said. “A retired gent rents it for charters. I told him we were in for a day of cod fishing.”
There was no one about the marina. Ainsley checked the time. “It’s shy of eight,” she said. “Gavin and I didn’t have a chance to eat this morning. You mind if we look for some takeaway in town to bring with us?”
Riki tossed her the car keys. “Grab me a coffee, if you would, but be quick about it. And bring me my tablet from the car when you return.” She found a large storage box on the dock she used as a seat and sat down to wait.
Ainsley slipped behind the Audi’s wheel as Gavin climbed in the passenger’s side. Riki’s tablet was lying on the seat, and he scooped it up and tapped the screen. The device illuminated with a map of the region, their present location indicated at the center.
“Do you think it will be rough offshore?” Ainsley asked, backing the car out of the lot.
“Afraid of the water?” Gavin replied with a snort.
“Seasickness.”
“There’s two thousand miles of open ocean pounding the Irish coast here. I bet it’s always rough.”
The Glasgow girl turned pale. Gavin laughed again, then studied the map on the tablet. A tiny red ball was visible moving along the road from Tralee.
“Our friends are on their way.” He held up the image for Ainsley to see. “Why don’t we just take care of business now and save ourselves the sea voyage.”
“What are you saying?” she asked.
Gavin tapped the tablet and smiled. “Just head back out of town and I’ll show you.”
* * *
• • •
DIRK MADE NO MENTION of Riki’s appearance to Summer as they grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel, then made their way toward Portmagee. There was only light traffic as they left the outskirts of Tralee, which vanished altogether when they turned onto a side road leading west.
“Do you really think they would have transported Meritaten from the Slieve Mish Mountains to an offshore island for burial?” Summer asked, gazing at the flat pasturelands rushing by the window.
“It seems possible,” Dirk said. “If her sons died on Skellig Michael, there is certainly logic to the notion.”
The road edged along the River Fertha on their right, which expanded into a wide inlet that ran west to the Atlantic. Dirk drove past a scattering of old white farmhouses as the road curled along the shore. Reaching a short straightaway outside the town of Cahersiveen, he tapped the brakes when he spotted a car blocking the road ahead.
It was the silver Audi. It was parked crossways on a narrow two-lane bridge that spanned a river inlet. The car’s flashers were blinking, and a gruff-looking woman stood behind the open driver’s door waving her left arm.
As Dirk slowed, he passed a heavyset man lingering at the forefront of the bridge, seemingly unconcerned about the woman.
“Why is she blocking the road?” Summer asked.
“I don’t know. She doesn’t look like she’s in distress. Maybe the road is out behind her.”
Dirk pulled to a stop in front of the Audi. He had started to roll down his window when the woman raised a pistol from behind the car door. Aiming the weapon at Dirk and Summer, she fired three shots through their windshield.
“Get down!” Dirk yelled, ducking low beneath the dashboard.
Jamming the transmission in reverse, he punched the accelerator, sending the car screeching backward. He peeked over the dash to get his bearings as multiple popping sounds punctuated the air. The rear window shattered next, followed by the instrument cluster.
Glancing at his side-view mirror, Dirk saw the hefty man they’d passed earlier standing in the middle of the road. He had his arms raised and was firing a weapon from behind.