“It’s good to see you, girl,” she said to Kathleen.
“When you reach my age relatives are hard to come by.” “And it’s good to meet you,” Kathleen told her.
“And you, Mr. Keogh, what would your speciaiity be?” Mary Power asked.
“Well, I like to think I can turn my hand to most things.” Keogh spooned some stew to his mouth and smiled. “But I’ll never be the cook you are.”
Ryan pushed his plate away. Mary Power said, “More?” He shook his head. “Tea would be fine.” She got up and started to clear the plates and Kathleen helped her. Keogh said, “Could we all know where we stand here?” “You mean where Mary stands?” Ryan said.
“Simple. She’s hacking me to the hilt on this. If things go well, she gets a hundred thousand pounds.
That means she can kiss this place goodbye and go back to County Down.” She showed no response at all, simply took plates to the sink, then reached for the kettle and made tea.
“Everything’s in order. The truck is in the back barn.
I’ve aired the cottage at Marsh End and there’s a fire in the stove. Somebody will hhve to stay there.” Ryan nodded and accepted a mug of strong tea.
“Perhaps Kathleen could stay with you, and Martin and myself could make out at the cottage.” “Fine.” She opened a tin box and took out a ca’.
“Try this. I made it myself,” and she reached for a knife and cut it into slices.
THERE WAS A MOTORCYCLE ON ITS STAND JUST inside the barn, a black leather biker’s jacket draped across it, and there was a helmet. Keogh recognized it at once. “Hell, where did you get this beauty, Benny, a Montesa dirt bike?” “You know this model?TM Ryan asked.
“Of course. Spanish. They’ll do half a mile an hour over rough ground if you want them to.” “And is that good?” Kathleen asked.
“It is if you’re a shepherd operating in hill country,” Keogh told her. “These things will go anywhere.” He turned to Ryan. “You bought this for Benny?”
“Not really. A bit small for him. I thoughtit might suit our circumstances. I’ll explain later.” He said to Mary, “Let’s have a look at the track.”
She turned to Benny. “Show us, Benny.”
He nodded eagerly, almost ran to the back of the barn, tossed some bales o.f hay to one side, then felt for a hidden catch. The wooden wall swung open.
Inside in an extension of the barn stood a large track painted green and white. THE LEGEND ON THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK READ Shelby Meat Importers. Keogh said, “Is this what I think it is?”
“An exact replica of the track we’re going to heist.”
“So what’s the point?”
“A decoy, that’s all. Benny will dump this down on the coast road, all doors locked and so on. That should hold the police up ncely while they try to get inside. It’ll give us extra time, if we need it, to get away with the real McCoy.”
“Very ingenious. And Benny can handle this?” “Benny can handle anything with an engine like you wouldn’t believe. Benny should be a Formula One driver only he’s too big.” Benny nodded delightedly. “Right, let’s go back inside and have a cup of tea and then Benny can take us to the front line, so to speak.”
‘]’HE COAST ROAD WAS DOWN BELOW, A SECONDary road joining it at the side of a wood. The Land Rover pulled in and Ryan got out with Keogh and Kathleen and Benny followed.
“So this is it?” Keogh asked.
“That’s right,” Ryan told him. “Four o’clock, Friday afternoon, give or take fifteen minutes, and the transporter reaches this junction. Take my word for it, all carefully checked.” “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Keogh said. “It’s all right saying the Howler takes out the truck’s security system, but hBw do you get the damn thing to stop in the first place?” “A good point, but that’s where Kathleen comes in.” Ryan put an arm around her. “I’ll explain wh.en we get back.”
THE SECOND BARN WAS FILLED WITH FARM MAchinery.