The Rituals Trilogy

CHAPTER 2: Prologue, Part 2

CHAPTER 2: Prologue, Part 2

The next day was filled with the regular tourist attractions of Dublin, starting early in the morning. They went to Dublin Castle, Saint Stephen's Green, and Oscar Wilde's home. They enjoyed seeing the many musicians and artists who roamed the streets. Even the sunny weather held out without interruption. Lastly, Catherine convinced Danny to take a tour of Trinity College to finish out the afternoon as Kathleen went back to the hostel for a nap.

Later in the evening, after a meal of rice and chicken they cooked together in the hostel's community kitchen, they went out to experience the nightlife. At Temple Bar, the three siblings decided to have a drink, and people-watch. Catherine enjoyed her first and last Guinness for the remainder of their stay.

Being the peak season, the pub was full of tourists. There was hardly an Irish person in sight. Such it was for them wherever they went in Dublin. Many foreigners also lived and worked there to save money. One couple from Hungary shared that they were there for a few years to save up enough to move to a new country and raise a family. A man from Spain and a woman from Germany were renting a house together, but only for a time. Soon after drinks and conversation were over, the threesome continued on their walk.

They ambled down O'Connell Street as the Spire of Dublin loomed high above them. It was chilly now as the wind whipped around, and the sky became overcast. Catherine and Kathleen brushed their hair from their faces as Danny wrapped his jacket tighter around him.

Afar in the shadows, the figure of a man lurked, his green eyes watching them. The girls and their brother didn't see him. They continued on their way without fear or concern for anything but getting back to the hostel.

***

The next day, Catherine went to fetch laundry detergent from reception downstairs. One of the men behind the counter said she had a visitor waiting outside. “A visitor?" she asked, confused.

“Yes, the Garda standing there." He pointed discreetly toward the entrance where there was a shadow of a man in uniform through one of the windows. “He said he needed to speak with you right away."

“Did he say why? How long has he been waiting?"

He shook his head. "No, he just arrived. I was about to come to your room to see if you were in," he answered.

Catherine furrowed her brow. “Thank you," she said to the receptionist without looking back, forgetting the detergent completely.

Walking up to the door, she felt a certain tingle on her arms like she often felt when something ominous was looming in the air. Taking a deep breath, she approached the man in uniform, and he turned to her with a stern face. She could see why the hostel asked him to wait outside. He made an alarming first impression.

“Are you Catherine Green?" he asked in a thick accent.

“Yes?" she answered a bit timidly.

“Are you Michael Shannon's niece?" he asked flatly.

“I'm his great-niece. One of them . . . what is it?"

“I'm afraid he's passed away, miss." He paused. “And we believe his death was not due to natural causes."

Catherine shook her head slowly.

The Garda cleared his throat. “I believe he was murdered, miss. I'm sorry to be the one to deliver the news."

Catherine was shocked. The blood drained from her face and she felt like she was going to be sick. “But—I don't understand . . . how did this happen? We were just there the day before yesterday."

“We know, the locals mentioned he had relatives visiting. I'm afraid I can't release any of the details right now, for investigative purposes." He reached a hand toward her out of courtesy, but Catherine didn't notice and stayed perfectly still. “I'm sorry again, miss. If you have any information that you think may be helpful—someone who threatened him, if he owed money, anything at all—please do contact us." He nodded, his mouth curving grimly as he left.

Catherine walked back to the room and explained to her siblings what had happened. Kathleen started to cry and held onto Danny as his mouth gaped open. He managed to comfort Kathleen with his arms wrapped around her shaking shoulders. Catherine felt like crying but didn't let the tears stream freely until some hours had passed when she was alone in the room for a while.

The rest of the week flew by in a blur. All they could think about was the last visit with their uncle, and what must have happened thereafter. There was a small funeral service, attended by friends, colleagues, and former students, all expressing their condolences to Catherine, Danny, and Kathleen since no closer family members were able to come.

After the service was over and they were back at the hostel, Catherine felt the whole trip was now tainted. She didn't know if she could have fun again. Somehow it would be wrong. Danny and Kathleen seemed to have the same outlook, and they laid low for a while. After a few days, Danny seemed to perk back up when a group of girls from Paris were in for the weekend, and he received a smile from one of them that sent him on the chase. Kathleen agreed to see more tourist sites but on more than one occasion huffed that she would have rather gone to Italy.

Catherine found herself stuck. She hadn't been close to Uncle Mickey, but she couldn't seem to shake her gloomy mood. She decided to sit in the lobby and watch some football to get her mind off of things. She settled in a seat at one of the big table benches amidst a rowdy crowd but didn't join in on the cheering.

“You're not a football fan?" a girl's voice piped up next to her.

Catherine, slightly startled, looked over and saw a girl about the same age as her with long, curly blonde hair.

“Soccer is okay, but no, I'm not really a sports fan," she said kindly.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. My name's Bella," the girl said with a smile that brought out the sparkle in her brown eyes.

“Catherine." She smiled back.

“Lovely to meet you. Listen, do you have a paracetamol?"

“A what?"

“You don't have paracetamol where you're from? Where are you from?"

“The States. I don't have anything called that, sorry," Catherine answered, furrowing her brows.

“Yeah, you seemed it to me. My headache's getting worse with all this shouting. Maybe reception will have some." Bella looked over at the front desk.

“Oh. I've never heard of that word. We usually use a brand name, or say aspirin." Catherine laughed.

Bella chuckled slightly and rubbed her temples.

“Actually, I have ibuprofen if you want that?" Catherine offered.

“Yeah, I'll take anything at this point. Thanks, mate," Bella said gratefully.

Catherine retrieved the pills from her room and re-entered the lobby.

“Thank you, ah! You're sweet as pie," she said, taking two pills from Catherine's palm and plopping them in her mouth followed by water in a cup from the kitchen.

“Are you Australian?" Catherine asked when she was done.

Bella nodded.

They continued to talk for a time, and when an hour had passed Catherine noticed she felt happier. The two went to get something to eat. Upon returning, Catherine told her she was thankful to have met her. It had cheered her up immensely.

“I'm glad to hear it. You seemed a bit down when I first saw you sitting there," Bella said, patting Catherine on the shoulder.

“Why did you come talk to me?"

“You were the only one not shouting at the game."

***

One afternoon, Catherine was sitting in the lounge room of the hostel eating lunch with her new friend Bella. Since their first meeting, she had learned that Bella stayed in Dublin as an Au Pair. She often stopped into the hostel to mingle with other foreigners on the weekend. As she told Catherine a funny story from the pub the night before, a man with dark hair and striking green eyes came through the doors. Bella's eyebrows raised when she saw him.

“Look at that. Cute guy, Cathy." She elbowed her to look up from her magazine.

Catherine hated it when Bella called her Cathy. She rubbed her now sore ribs in irritation. Before she could look, a large group of rowdy men came bursting through the lounge, and the man disappeared. Danny showed up just then.

"So where have you been?" she asked.

"Just went for a small hike this morning."

"How was it?"

"Really great, but not exciting enough," he answered as he sat down. "I'm going to my extreme sports assault course next week. You should come with me."

Catherine shook her head. "No, thanks!"

Danny laughed. “Hey, don't you have to get ready for your interview?" he asked, then looked across at their stunned friend. “Hi, Bella." Danny flashed her a winning smile.

“Oh, he's gone," Bella groaned before turning back to face them. “Hey, Dan." She smiled brightly.

Catherine finished her drink before answering. “Already went. It was this morning."

“Oh, was it?" he said, dumbfounded. He shrugged. “So?"

“I think it was good," she said between bites of her salad.

Kathleen returned then with some ice cream. “They were out of strawberry, Catherine. Here ya go." She handed Bella her vanilla cone as she slid into a chair to satisfy her own chocolate craving.

“None for me?" Danny's eyes bugged out at Kathleen, but she ignored him. His lips curved into a boyish pout.

“How can they be out of strawberry?" Catherine mumbled to herself, frowning.

“What's this now? Interviews?" Bella asked.

“A few internships are available here, so I've been interviewing. I know it's a long shot, though," Catherine answered.

Bella's whole face lit up. “You might move here?"

“For the length of the internship, yes. It would only be for six months, but it's a start." Catherine sighed.

“You're the best new face out there. Don't worry about it," Bella encouraged. Danny and Kathleen nodded.

Catherine felt a little nervous, of course, but hoped she had a chance. Besides the States, Ireland was the only other country on her list, and it was her first choice. “Thank you. I keep worrying, but I know it won't be a waste even if I don't get them. It's good experience."

“What does your family think about you living in a country on the other side of the Atlantic?"

“They don't mind where we live," Danny chimed in with a shrug, “as long as we get a job."

“My parents hate that I live far away, but I want to travel for a while, maybe even stay here." Bella sighed.

“Our parents encourage distance, actually. I think they only had children because all their friends did," Catherine mused.

“That's terrible," Bella said sympathetically, tilting her head to the side.

“No, it's okay. They're good parents, considering how demanding their careers are. Just not very affectionate. They only meant to have Danny. Kathleen and I were a surprise."

Kathleen simply nodded while enjoying her ice cream in silence.

“Having twins would be quite a surprise." Bella laughed.

Danny rhythmically beat his hands on top of the table a few times before taking Catherine's unfinished salad for himself. "Until recently, we had our grandparents, at least. That was enough."

Catherine's phone rang suddenly. She left the table to answer, returning only a few minutes after.

“Who was that?" Danny asked, taking a napkin to wipe his mouth.

“It was the internship from this morning."

“That was fast," he said.

“Out with it then," Bella demanded.

“They offered it to me." Catherine smiled, and almost immediately Bella rose from her seat to wrap her into a big hug, carefully keeping her vanilla ice cream from harm as she did.

“That's great! Why aren't you more excited?" Kathleen asked with sparkling eyes.

“Oh, I am. It's just the terms are different than I expected."

“Like how?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

Catherine patted Bella's back appreciatively as she was released from the bubbly embrace. “They want me for the six-month internship, but they also want to keep me on permanently when it's over."

Danny blinked a few times, understanding fully dawning on him. “So you're moving here forever?"