Full Irish

Chapter One

Meeting a train, a new client, and a day of mourning

Monasterevin Railway Station, County Kildare, Ireland. May 2.

Rooftop security cameras recorded Eoin Ryan as he paced the length of the inbound train platform below the restored stone edifice of the old Victorian station building. Other commuters trickled in as the clock approached 9:00 am, until his pacing was confined to a short stretch at the lower end, where the last car always stopped. A cold drizzle came and went. He tightened the belt on his Burberry trench coat, and regretted leaving his umbrella in the boot of his Renault. A few constituents recognized him, and he returned their polite greetings and thanked them for their support. But his manners were forced. The train to Dublin would be crowded, humid and hot.

He reached into his pocket and fondled the item he was set to deliver. He looked around at the other commuters, then down the track.

The station clock showed two minutes to nine, the platform now full. Most would be commuting to Dublin for work, alone. Ryan looked at his watch, although the clock would be clearly visible from there. He pulled out his phone, looked at it and put it back again. A woman toting a suitcase behind her approached. She dropped the handle and the suitcase toppled over. Ryan bent over and helped her lift the suitcase. She spoke briefly to him. He nodded and said something.

The bright yellow face of the train appeared out of the bend.

Ryan gripped the item in his pocket again, put the tips of his shoes on the yellow safety line, and hoped the doors would open in front of him, so he might get a seat. He leaned forward, looking at the approaching train. The crowd behind him jostled for position, just like every other morning he’d traveled from home to Heuston Station, transferred to the 25 B bus and exited at Kildare Street, just outside Leinster House. But this morning, he had an important rendezvous at Temple Bar that would take him slightly out of his usual way, before he continued to Government Buildings. He looked around. The crowd seemed eager to get out of the drizzle.

The nose of the train approached. Eoin Ryan looked down the length of the yellow line, countless shoes and boots covering it. The crowd tightened. A surge from behind propelled someone into him. He pitched forward.

The Monasterevin commuters toeing the yellow line had a clear view of Eoin Ryan’s body toppling into the face of the commuter train and onto the tracks as the train rolled over him.

***

Boston, Massachusetts, USA, early May.

Paul Forté sat in his spacious corner office in a rehabbed loft at the bend in Melcher Street, pining for a new case with panache. He looked out on the Fort Point Channel, watching the trickle of walking commuters cross the Summer Street Bridge, while he waited for his partner to show up for their twice-weekly 8:00 am Partners Meeting, a routine they’d followed faithfully for the three years of Ford Forté LLP’s existence.

Mickey Ford liked to call the law firm the two-man wrecking crew, given their reputation for bringing down big people. Paul had to admit, it was apt. The story of his battle against a United States Attorney, especially how the man had been dragged out of the courtroom in handcuffs in the middle of Paul’s trial, had become legendary in the time since Paul and Shannon had married and moved to California. In the meantime, Mickey Ford had taken down a judge and sent two probation officers and a state rep to Shirley State Prison. When Paul got back to town two years after he and Shannon had left, Ford invited him in, they quickly discovered they had common interests and opportunities, and a law firm was born. A law firm that didn’t have to advertise.

The phone rang. Paul was alone in the office. It was only 7:45 am.

Ford Forté.

Paul Forté, please, a man’s voice said.

Speaking.

Sorry, I didn’t expect an answer at this hour.

I didn’t expect the phone to ring, so we’re even. How can I help you?

My name is Francis Duggan. I’m the CEO of BosTech. I’d like you to represent my company in a contract procurement matter here in Massachusetts. May I come by to discuss it with you, at your earliest convenience?

Paul hesitated. You know I hate bureaucrats, on general principle?

Duggan chuckled. I don’t care whether you hate them or bring them chocolates and roses on Mother’s Day, I just want you to stop them from screwing the only local company on the bidder’s list.

Tell me a little about it.

Duggan’s company was a product of the Massachusetts high tech boom. They manufactured software designed to track, control and predict state government spending. The Comptroller’s Office was looking to replace some junk that had failed so badly, the state had lost track of close to two billion dollars.

Initially, there were seven interested parties, but four dropped out because they couldn’t qualify. Of the three remaining, we’re the only American company. The others are from Toronto and Ireland. Royale is the Canadian firm. The Irish company is Chiar-Tech.

There’s a software company still in business in Ireland?

Duggan laughed. You’re behind the times, Paul. Their banks are in the shit, but there is a resurgence of the tech sector. All the big companies are moving there because of the tax policy. Google, LinkedIn, PayPal, Amazon, Twitter, Dropbox, they’ve all snapped up locations down on Silicon Docks. A few of the indigenous start-ups have weathered the storm, if they didn’t invest in real estate.

And Chiar-Tech?

They were smart. Didn’t put a dime into brick and mortar.

Do either of the foreign entities have any local ownership?

Not that’s disclosed.

What do you think is going on? It’s always good to know the client’s worst fear.

I think this Irish company’s wiring the contract, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let it happen.

Who’s representing them here?

Some ex-rep named Boyle. Dennis Boyle.

Dennis Boyle. One of Paul’s former colleagues from his days in the House. Another in the endless line of former committee chairmen who strode briskly through the revolving door and began to make hay like there was no tomorrow. Dennis Boyle, a man so oily, if he gave you a ten for a five you’d still feel like you got cheated. Another dark product from the Jesuit hosts at B.C. High, B.C. College and B.C. Law School.

Another fucking Triple Eagle. Another golfer who cheated.

Come on over, Francis. My calendar just opened up.

***

Finola McGee jumped off the bus from Ranelagh before it came to a full stop, slipped on the wet pavement, but managed to straighten up before twisting an ankle. No need to wobble into a pub so early in the day. She checked her watch. Shit, late again. Eoin was always punctual, and today, considering the urgency with which he asked to meet her, she was certain he’d already be waiting. Eoin had tracked her down the day before, to a book launch at The Arts Club, where one of Labour’s sycophants was touting how their austerity measures were pulling the country from the ashes of the bankruptcy caused by Fianna Fáil’s bailouts. While the man droned on, Ryan had pulled her aside and muttered in her ear about having some information to give her.

As political editor for The Irish Telegraph, Finola had to attend these tedious events, just as she had to endure the endless parade of politicians lying to her face or sticking their heads in the sand. But Finola had been surprised to see Eoin Ryan there. As Minister of State for Environment, he was singularly dedicated to his causes. He was one of few in the Dáil who publicly demanded jail time for the bankers that had practically ruined Ireland. If he tracked her down at a book launch, he had a good reason. Eoin was a crusader. If he had a crusade, it usually meant a good story.

She slowed to a walk as she approached the pedestrian crossing in front of Trinity College. The light drizzle turned to heavier rain and umbrellas snapped open all around her. Cursing herself for having forgotten hers, Finola ducked her head, turned up the collar of her raincoat and broke into a half-run when the lights changed.

The pub in Temple Bar was only a short, usually pleasant, stroll away, but in this weather, she only gave a passing glance at the beautiful façade of The Bank of Ireland. Thinking that at least the throngs of protestors were no longer clogging the pavement, she turned the corner into the narrow, cobbled alley, at the end of which lights glowed inside the entrance of the pub. She ran the last few yards, pushed open the door, and entered the warm, dry pub with a sigh of relief.

The pub was empty, the barman nowhere to be seen. Nor was Eoin. Strange that he’d be late. She expected him to be sitting in their usual place, pointing at his watch as she rushed in. She took off her dripping coat and took one of the empty stools, looking forward to teasing him for being late. She glanced at the huge flat screen TV over the bar as the news came on. She hadn’t had time to check the newspapers online or listen to the latest broadcasts before she rushed out earlier this morning. Here was a chance to catch up, if only the telly wasn’t muted.

What can I get you, Finola? The barman appeared behind the counter as she watched the first raft of ads before the news broadcast. The usual? he asked, his hand on the handle of the pump, ready to pull her a pint of Guinness.

Finola laughed. Not at this time of day, Fergus. I’ll have a mug of coffee.

How about a cappuccino? We have a new espresso maker. I can make one of those for you, froth and all.

Perfect. Thanks. On the TV screen, the weather map predicted the same. More rain, what else was new? She sighed. She’d be splurging on a taxi to work from there. What was it Eoin wanted to tell her? What was so important he couldn’t have told her at the launch last night, or e-mailed her about it? Perhaps something he had discovered recently, yet another scam by some politician. Eoin had an uncanny nose for sniffing out bribery and corruption. And he was insistent and unapologetic about exposing it. So much so that he had few friends in the Dáil. Here was Ireland, struggling to get back on its feet after the banking crash and still so many politicians lining their pockets. It was a miracle there was any money left to run the country.

One perfect Cappuccino. Fergus slid a cup on the table in front of her. Must say I got it right first time. I even did a smiley face with the cocoa powder. Admit you’re impressed.

But Finola hardly heard him. The somber face of the TV anchor hinted at trouble. The picture changed to a portrait photo. Eoin Ryan, looking at her. She shook her head trying to make out what the newsreader was saying.

Fergus, turn up the volume, willya?

Fergus grabbed the remote and soon the empty pub echoed with the speaker’s voice.

Eoin Ryan, TD for County Kildare and Minister of State for Environment, is dead.

***

From the moment he left the House of Representatives, Dennis Boyle took for granted where his lobbying business would come from. He knew because, by pure stroke of luck, he enjoyed lifelong friendships with two well-placed state senators, one of who happened to be the Senate President.

Dennis Boyle had no reservations about making hay while the sun shone, and as one client followed another, the modest sense of ethics he’d learned at B.C. High dissolved into a murky pit. He hadn’t crossed the line, at least not in his own mind.

Then the phone rang one day two months earlier, and he was asked to become the legislative and executive agent for an Irish software company called Chiar-Tech. He’d get ten grand a month, but he had to share that with someone else. He didn’t ask who.

Boyle would be the first to admit, he was okay at math, but he was no computer geek. At B.C., the Jesuits rewarded his mathematical aptitude in a way only Jesuits would. They taught him how to count cards during his 3-credit ethics course. But his typical daily computer usage consisted of three blackjack sites and an almost obsessive viewing of an Internet camera that spied on his children’s Brazilian nanny.

The client was only interested in his relationship with Charles Sligo, the Senate Chairman of the Committee on State Administration. Fackin’ Chah-lie, as Boyle had dubbed him during his Sigma Zi rush.

Initially, this singular focus on his ability to deliver Sligo grated on Boyle, if he had to admit it. Sure, he had to feed a family, like anyone. But he was a lawyer and officer of the court. He had honor, for crissakes.

But ten grand a month bought a lot of honor, and paid a few K-6 private school tuitions as well.

It also bought (thanks to Fackin’ Chah-lie) a skein of language in a Request for Proposals from the Office of the State Comptroller that virtually guaranteed that Chiar-Tech would be the highest ranked qualified bidder for a software contract worth about $27 million.

He also had Sligo’s commitment to earmark the upcoming state budget with money to fund the contract. But anything can happen during a budget debate, and that’s where Dennis Boyle earned his dough. If the Senate put it in their budget, he’d have to get the House to go along in the Conference Committee.

That he could do, he assured his buddy one more time, as they sat on barstools at Temperance, a bar around the corner from the State House, named by a man with sly humor.

I’m not feelin’ it, Dennis, Sligo said. His head full of black curls hung between shoulders anchored to a bar by two elbows. And what the hell? What am I gettin’ out of this?

What do you mean, what are you getting out of this? We’re doing our jobs.

Yah, and if someone starts squawking about the way I’m doing my job, it doesn’t affect your sleep or sex life, does it, brother Dennis? You running for re-election?

Come on, Charlie.

I’m taking all the risk here. I want some of the reward.

"Your reward comes on the other side, pal. You know that. You’re not stopping at State Administration. Your reward is Ways and Means. Your reward is Senate President. You know we’re grooming you for that, right? Don’t tell me there’s no reward."

Chairman Sligo sighed. Dennis, you know what the tuition is at St. Mary’s? It’s seventeen-six. Times three. Sligo’s wife had been unexpectedly fertile. He ran his fingers through his hair. I can’t afford to wait. I’ll have three college tuitions by then and Janice is no buffalo squeezer. She just bought a new Land Rover, for crissakes.

Chip the bartender slipped down to their corner to refresh their drinks. He knew enough not to stick around. This was what Temperance was all about. A watering hole, a refuge from prying eyes, staffed with people who heard and saw nothing.

You told me you were marrying over your head thirteen years ago, Charlie.

And the chickens are coming home to roost. He picked up his fifth Guinness pint, toasted his pal, and took a slow pull, inhaling the woodiness. What’re you gettin’, ten grand a month? That’s a lot of cake, Dennis. You could share some of that with your pal.

I’m not getting ten grand a month. More like six. I have to give the other four to someone else.

Yah? Who? Who’s earning the four grand more than I am, sticking my neck out like this?

You don’t want to know. Boyle patted his buddy’s shoulder. Look, Charlie. I’ll be happy to loan you some dough. I have a nice equity piece coming out of this when we pull it off.

Why don’t I get equity? I want some fuckin’ equity.

We’ll figure something out, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get that fucking money in the House budget. Your best friend will find a way to take care of you. Okay pal?

***

Who the fuck is BosTech? Sligo barked into the telephone an hour later. Not angry, not ready to choke someone. Just emphatic, and perhaps a little peevish.

BosTech is one of the other two bidders. The only one based in Massachusetts. The voice belonged to Teddy Price, a high-ranking staffer in the Comptroller’s Office and the chairman of the bid committee for their biggest software overhaul since the Internet was turned on in the state office buildings.

Some local start-up? You’re not going to let a start-up bid on a project of this magnitude.

Senator, they’re not a start-up. Their product went through years of beta testing and has four patents. It’s a very good product, it’s done very well, and they have money behind them.

Well I don’t give a fuck who they are or where they’re from. I don’t want anybody making trouble for the biggest software company in Ireland. This is international economic development here. This is important shit.

Price took a few breaths to regain his patience. Senator, I need to remind you that your candidate’s financial statements were not, uh…inspirational. And if I disqualify BosTech from bidding, I might as well get a bullhorn and announce, ‘we’re bid rigging here!’ Their legislators will holler from the rafters.

Who are they?

Bill Toole and Ed Cook.

Sligo scoffed. Nobodies. Biff Toole and ‘Shortie’ Cook? Back benchers.

"We have to let them bid. We’ll take care of it on the scoring. I know what I’m doing on this. I did work at the MBTA for fifteen years, right? And yes, I am aware of the Senate President’s personal interest in this issue."

Of course you do, Teddy. Sligo felt his heart racing. Okay, I gotta get the hell off the phone before I have a stroke. He glanced at his watch. Jesus Christ, I’ve got to get over to St. Mary’s for the girls’ choir. Janice’ll kill me if I’m late.

Charlie Sligo slammed the phone down, grabbed his suit jacket and charged out of his Chairman’s corner office suite in the west wing of the State House, hesitating for just a few seconds to scope the rear end of a Suffolk University political science major.

***

Paul rummaged through one of a few boxes stacked against the unadorned, century-old brick wall of his office. He figured after three years it was time to hang the rest of the evidence of his career, maybe even the aerial picture of the State House. The sort of thing that potential clients might like to see, his partner suggested. But hanging more picture frames on brick might violate the lease restrictions on defacing, painting, reconditioning, staining, repointing, moving, or otherwise altering the Historical architectural features of the leased premises. Even though he owned the building, he thought it was important to establish an example. Thus, a lot of his past remained in boxes, including the front page of the Boston Herald from a December day long ago: Ex-rep cleared of federal corruption charge - U.S. Attorney arrested in courtroom during trial.

At the precise hour of his appointment with Francis Duggan, the outer office door opened, and a tall, dark haired gentleman struggled through the doorway pulling a two-wheel cart that held three boxes strapped to it with bungee cords. He wore an elegant, dark blue chalk stripe suit that hung on him like a da Vinci at the Louvre, a playful foulard tie and matching pocket square, and shoes that cost more than Paul’s Saab.

Paul wasn’t one to notice such things ordinarily, but Francis Duggan was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. Black hair, combed back to show off a sharp widow’s peak above thick black eyebrows. Rugged Irish nose and mouth. Liquid blue eyes. Paul’s first thought was to keep the man away from Shannon. Then he laughed to himself. He looked forward to her reaction.

Paul hustled out to greet him.

Mr. Duggan. He extended his hand, and Duggan grasped it