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Liam thought over how that would play out. Arthur was right—Malcolm wouldn’t like it. Then again, Malcolm didn’t like anything they did. “I’m sure Keegan meant it to raise more awareness.”
“But I’m here because awareness isn’t enough, aren’t I?” Arthur asked boldly, looking over at both him and Taylor with his serious intellect showing. “To take down a giant, you have to make good shots, and sometimes you only get one. This is a strong hit. It will poke at his vanity and embarrass him publicly. That’s what Veritas intended too.”
Liam kept his face neutral, but when Arthur turned toward him, he was shocked to see that the man’s easygoing, joking demeanor was gone. He had the look of a dog who planned to go after the bone.
“Are you sure you don’t know more about Veritas than you’ve said, Liam?” he asked, lowering his head and peering at him over his glasses. “Because I’ve got black ink running through these old veins, and my instincts are screaming that you do. In fact, I’d say you have the goods on something that could blow this whole story open.”
Liam froze like a shocked hare, pinned by the man’s intense blue stare. He didn’t dare look over at Taylor.
“Care to tell an old reporter what you’re hiding?”
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Taylor had never imagined that Arthur Hale’s great reporting skills would be turned on them.
Her, specifically.
She locked her knees and held her breath as Liam continued to stand silently under the older man’s scrutiny.
“Even if I did,” Liam finally answered, “I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything. You’re a reporter. You know what confidential means.”
“I know exactly what that word means,” Arthur continued, “even to the point of going to jail if it came to it. Are you telling me you’d go that far to keep Veritas’ identity secret?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Some secrets are worth preserving, and Veritas’ identity is one of them.”
She wanted to kiss him. So hard. Not that such a scenario would ever present itself, thank goodness. Legally, they were covered.
“Mmm,” Arthur only answered, taking his glasses off once again but continuing to watch Liam.
“He can’t let a good story pass,” Clara said with a sigh. “Don’t let him ruffle you, Liam. That’s his intent, you see.”
“Aren’t you here to help us with Malcolm?” Liam countered, tilting his head to the side.
“Indeed, I am,” Arthur agreed. “Trevor even gave me everything the family business has on him.”
Taylor watched him transform into the version of a man you didn’t want to tangle with, one she was glad was on their side. “Even though Malcolm Coveney hasn’t really crossed us, Quinn and Francesca have a file on him. He’s a dangerous man with a lot of influence and power in Ireland, which you know firsthand.”
“Unfortunately,” Liam agreed as Taylor nodded crisply.
“There’s something else you should know.” Arthur looked at them straight on. “Malcolm appears to be looking at ways to use his influence illegally to identify Veritas and charge him with a crime.”
Although Taylor had already heard that, somehow Arthur’s delivery turned her blood cold. “Accusations of vandalism will be tough since Liam gave permission.”
Arthur shook his head. “Ever heard of Portraitgate, my dear? It happened here in Ireland in 2009, and it involved a supposedly anonymous artist hanging two objectionable comic-strip-like nudes of the then Taoiseach of Ireland, Brian Cowen, in two Dublin galleries.”
“I remember that,” Liam said, his mouth now tight with tension. “The artist was Conor Casby, a schoolteacher from Claremorris. Not far from here.”
Taylor felt a new injection of tension in her body, like someone had given her a shot. “What happened to him?”
Arthur continued polishing his glasses. “Mr. Casby was hunted down by the Garda and brought in for questioning on potential charges of hate speech, indecency, and some others. A major media station reported the story, only to later apologize for hurting the Taoiseach’s feelings. I’m paraphrasing here. Taylor, you should look it up because my early sources in Dublin are saying Malcolm is using a similar playbook. Only this time, he plans to put Veritas in jail if he can. Under the new hate speech laws.”
“But how could he do that?” Taylor asked. “No one even knows where Veritas is.”
Arthur shot her nerves to a new stratosphere as he slowly rubbed his lenses with a cloth. “But Ireland is an IT power now, right? The government has good tech people who are saying they can find Veritas using the email Liam received—”
“You know about that?” Taylor asked, glancing at Liam. “But the center’s lawyers only sent it to our local Garda this morning.”
“News travels,” Arthur said, “what can I say? I actually heard about it from one of the Irish reporters milling around before we went into the arts center this morning. He was trying to impress me.”
