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“Is your uncle Arthur still doing some investigative pieces on the side?”
There was a short pause before J.T. said, “Not often. Only when it’s really juicy. Usually his granddaughter, Meredith, and her husband, Tanner, handle that kind of thing since they took over running his newspaper.”
Yeah, she knew about that. Every journalism student studied the founding ofThe Western Independentand the storied career of its Pulitzer Prize-winning creator, Arthur Hale. He was the definition of a living legend. “Well, I need someone who likes to investigate corrupt king-men and then take them down in print.”
“That’s Uncle Arthur, all right.” Another pause. “We talking about that terrifying man in the Veritas mural, right?”
“Yeah. Malcolm’s big up here in this part of Ireland, but I don’t know if he has his tentacles down in Cork. Liam, do you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “He might. It’s a small country, run by a few men.”
She conveyed that to J.T. “I was hoping your uncle might be willing to look into him. I’m not an investigative reporter, and I certainly don’t have the authority he does.”
J.T. snorted. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll tease you about it being a roundabout way of saying he’d old. Not that he is. He may be eighty-five, but he’s spry as ever. Heading over to Kenya twice a year with my aunt, his lovely wife, Clara, and then hopping on planes to see the rest of the family who isn’t in Dare Valley now. Let me talk to him and get back to you. You’ll laugh, but he’s actually in Kinsale right now, visiting the Irish branch.”
“You’re kidding me!” Her heart rate sped up. Before Ireland, she would have chalked a piece of luck like that up to a coincidence. Not anymore. “Thanks for asking him, J.T. I can send you some info if that helps.”
“Trust me. Between the video and the Veritas mural, he’ll have seen the story. The man still wakes up at dawn and reads a million papers. No one knows more than Uncle Arthur. Not even my aunt Clara, but swear you won’t repeat that. I’ll talk to you shortly, Taylor. Take care of yourself, okay?”
The gravity of his voice rooted her in her seat. Yeah, they all needed to take care. “I will, J.T. And thanks again for talking to your uncle! You’ll have a VIP pass to the opening of our museum here.”
“You’re a sweetheart, Taylor. Later.”
“Later.” She clicked off and pressed her phone to her chest. “Oh, please, please, please!”
“What are we praying for,a stór?” Liam asked in that deep, steady voice of his.
She took his hand, wanting to touch him. “A miracle.”
His smile made her feel like she was soaring in the clouds. “I love those.”
Thirty minutes later, they had their miracle.
Arthur Hale wasn’t just willing to look into Malcolm Coveney.
He was coming to Caisleán to investigate.
CHAPTERNINE
Liam had never seen people juggle so many balls in the air.
His mother was talking on the phone, gesticulating wildly, in the corner of the arts center’s newly outfitted conference room. Linc was sitting at the table with Wilt, Donal, and Eoghan, deep in discussion, while Ghislaine conducted a virtual meeting on the computer in the glass-walled media room on the opposite side.
“I should be helping with all this,” Taylor said beside him as they stood in the doorway.
“You have. Which is why we’re here to tell them about Arthur Hale coming.”
Liam put his arm around her as his mother looked over. She gave a hasty wave, the kind he well remembered from his childhood when she had a million things on her plate. He gave a calm answering wave. She would need some of his calm energy as much as Taylor did right now, although with Taylor, he had another tool at his disposal. Their attraction and close proximity cleared her mind of all thoughts better than any meditation practice could. Him too.
“We shouldn’t interrupt. How about I give you a tour of the arts center while we wait for an opportunity to speak to them?” he suggested, taking her arm.
She shot him a look. “Really? Tour director Liam in the house right now?”
“Taylor, there’s nothing we can do but stand here and wait, and since you’re practically jumping out of your skin, I will endeavor to keep you distracted. Since kissing in front of everyone doesn’t seem like the right option.”
She agreed with a laugh, and he did his best to make the modified tour entertaining, but her attention was scrambled. Even though they didn’t go outside to look at the mural, they were both aware of the locals milling beneath the windows to check it out. When they’d arrived after Taylor’s call with J.T. Merriam, the parking lot had held more than three dozen cars, unusual as his mum and Linc had decided to cancel the art classes today. He’d spotted cars from other counties and known some people had driven up already to see in person what was gaining ground online.
Veritas had put them on the map, and only Liam knew Taylor was one and the same. His mum had sent out Veritas’ post on Instagram to every employee of the center using the pronouns he and him. He still was having trouble adjusting to the idea the world thought Veritas was a man. Of course, he had made the same assumption himself before learning the truth.
