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“Bullying him?” I gaped. “Stop it, Billy.”
“It’s true. My brother has been the victim of a vicious smear campaign. I was afraid for his safety,” Billy continued, tone convincing. “He’s dangerous, Garda. I don’t want to think about what could have happened to my brother if I hadn’t been here to protect him from this lunatic.”
After taking down a whole heap of notes, making a few phone calls, and cajoling between themselves for a few minutes, one of the male Garda’s searched us all before finally settling on Joey, gaze stern and unyielding.
Aw crap.
“Shitting on your own doorstop, Lynch?” he asked, inclining his thumb towards the Lynch house. “Have to say, that’s a new one for you.”
“Yeah, well, what can I say. I like to keep things interesting,” Panting breathlessly, Joey flopped back on the ground and held his wrists up. “Let’s just get this over it.”
I watched in horror as another Garda walked over to where Joey was sprawled out, and roughly dragged him to his feet. “Joseph Lynch, I am arresting you under Section 4 of the criminal law act on the suspicion of assault…”
“What?” Tadhg roared, eyes bulging, as he threw his hands up in outrage. “Are you serious?Theywere double-teaminghim!”
“You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you do say will be taken down in writing and may be given in evidence…”
“Mam!” Tadhg hollered then, bolting back towards his house. “Come out, quick! They’re arresting Joey again.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I blurted out, hurrying over to where they were placing handcuffs on my, well, on myJoey. “This is all a huge misunderstanding.”
“What’s going on here?” I heard Joey’s father demand, as he stood at the front door of their house, with a can of beer in one hand, the remote control for the television in the other, and a cigarette balancing between his lips. Squinting, he asked Tadhg, “Which one is that?”
“It’s Joey,” Tadhg cried out hoarsely, still clutching the floor brush, as he looked up at his father with a pleading expression. “Please, Dad, do something!”
“Your son is under arrest, Teddy,” the Garda called back to him. “Under the—“
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Teddy Lynch interrupted, waving the Gard off. “Don’t give me that long spiel. What’s he being accused of?”
“Assault,” the Garda replied, looking a little uncomfortable.
“Assault, eh?” He turned his gaze on Joey. “Did ya do it, boy?”
“Sure did,daddy,” Joey sneered, as tension emanated from his body.
“Then do whatever the fuck you want with the little bollox,” his father told the Gard. “Let the courts deal with him. Just don’t expect me to come down to the station to bring him home like the last time.” He turned back to Joey and called out, “Do ya hear that, ya little fucker? Don’t you be phoning your mother up to come save ya, either. You can clean up your own mess this time.”
With my mouth hanging open, I watched as his father hauled a tearful Tadhg back inside and closed the door behind them.
I wasn’t the only one stunned by his father’s reaction, because the Gard leading Joey to the car shook his head and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.
“Wait,” I blurted out, jumping into action, as I hurried to intercept them. “Garda, please, you don’t understand. He didn’t start this.“
“Save your breath, Molloy,” Joey interrupted, as he walked compliantly to the car. “It doesn’t matter.”
“No, no, it does, it does matter,” I argued, watching helplessly, as he was bundled into the back seat. “Joe—”
The car door slammed shut, cutting me off, and I looked on, helpless, as resigned green eyes stared back at me.
“Joe,” I whispered, pressing my hand to the glass.
I watched as he sucked in a sharp breath before turning away from me, jaw set in a hard line, as another Garda climbed into the backseat alongside him.
The other two Gards climbed into the front seat and then they were driving away, taking him with them.
This time, the tears filling my eyes weren’t caused by my throbbing eye socket.
Spinning around to glare at Paul who was walking back to the car with his brother, I called out, “Are you proud of yourself?”
