“Ask me where I’m going right after,” he said. “Ask me.”

“Okay. Where are you off to?”

“A dog fight.”

Breen sat up.

“You mean dogs fighting?”

“Exactly. Murph has an in, and he’s bringing me.”

“Where are you going to see this?”

“About two miles from where we’re sitting.”

Fanning waited a few moments. He was pleased with Breen’s reaction.

“I don’t know the address,” he went on, “But it’s the real thing. And a lot of the big shots show up.”

“The bad guys.”

“Yep. It’s a kind of neutral place, where they might bump into one another but no-one starts throwing shapes. Business gets discussed, and all that. But it’s for betting. Been going on for years.”

Fanning finally felt he was getting through to Breen. He stared at him.

“Oh. And they go for blood-lust, I’d have to say. That medieval thing, it keeps on coming back, you see.”

Breen’s blank expression gave way a little. He gave Fanning a rueful look.

“Savage,” he said. “Incredible. But are you going to be able to handle it?”

“I’ll have to, won’t I.”

“Christ, I hope, you know…”

“I’ll be okay. But you can see where this could go.”

Breen nodded. Then something slid into his thoughts and his face changed.

“Absolutely, yes. Okay. Let me know. Okay?”

Fanning had chosen his words carefully for this moment.

“I wanted you to know first,” he said.

Breen’s schmoozing smile appeared He leaned on toward Fanning.

“Thanks, Dermot. That means a lot to me to hear you say that. A lot.”

“This is the one. I’m sure of it.”

“If anyone can get this — I mean really get it — it’s you, Dermot. We’ll talk?”

Chapter 6

The motorway began its long, banked inland, and Sugar Loaf mountain slid into view over the trees. Minogue eyed the low clouds shrouding its peak. The rain would surely have started up on Calary Bog and its Protestant church where they were headed.