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The bratva wouldn’t target her, and the Cartel has a family crisis.
“Not exactly. Sinead’s related to them through her mother, but both sets of grandparents had ties to the mob here and Sinn Féin.”
“The IRA?”
“Yup. Sinead’s family has only been here for three generations on her mom’s side. Her paternal family’s been here for four generations. They came over when the war ended.”
Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army were Irish nationalists. Depending on whose side you were on, they were patriots or treasonists. Either way, people described Sinn Féin as the propaganda machine. The voice of the public and political movement, while the IRA was the—muscle. That’s the best I can describe it since I don’t know enough beyond that to take sides.
“How does this link to the O’Rourkes or matter to Sinead?”
“Remember Duffy O’Toole?”
“Sorta.”
I look at Luca since the guy’s the same age as him. Luca grimaces.
“I remember him. He ran the school newspaper from sophomore year until we graduated. He thought he’d walk into a position with CNN the moment he graduated college. He wound up working for some Westchester newspaper. Is he working for the newspaper in the city?”
Carmine nods.
“He stuck to print journalism. Remember how tongue tied he used to get? No one wants to listen to that. He’s moved up from Westchester, but he’s not a stand out at such a large international paper. Anyway, his grandfather was Liam O’Rourke’s mentor or something.”
Thanks to the bratva— actually thanks to the Irish fucking with the bratva —the Irish went through a high turnover in their leadership recently. Liam O’Rourke died when I was a senior in high school in an airplane crash. His son, Donovan, took over. He led the mob for nearly ten years. He fucked around with the Kutsenkos one too many times, and when he went after Maksim’s wife, Laura, he went one step too far. Next came Declan, who was Donovan’s cousin through their dads. He thought he’d avenge Donovan and went after the bratva. That was a shitshow for them, too. He didn’t last a year. Their current leader, Dillan, was both men’s cousin through another one of Liam’s brothers. Liam came from a big, stereotypical Irish family. Yet another brother has Finn and twins Sean and Shane. Somehow the family tree wrapped its way back around to Cormac and Seamus being Dillan’s cousins on their mother’s side. Their father actually took their mother’s last name, which makes them O’Rourkes, too.
Oh shit. Now it clicks. Luca must remember too because he explains what we both realized.
“His grandfather was Liam’s mentor, but Duffy’s dad is Cormac and Seamus’s uncle. He’s their father’s brother.”
Carmine’s eyebrows rise while his mouth turns down. He shares more of what he learned.
“Duffy’s grandfather was Liam’s mentor or whatever, but he was also Sinead’s paternal grandfather’s best friend before he died in Vietnam. Their parents arrived in New York on the same ship. Sinead and Duffy used to play together as kids. Sinead has a flashback photo on one of her social media accounts with them making a sandcastle at a beach.”
“But she grew up in Rhode Island.”
“Her parents moved there when they got married to get away from the mob.”
Luca interjects, but he says what I think all of us figured out.
“He’s pissed Sinead’s representing Gabe because he’sCosa Nostra. And he thinks his Sinn Féin roots mean publishing propaganda against you. He thinks he’s going to win a Pulitzer from this shit.”
Carmine agrees as he shrugs and shakes his head.
“Pretty much.”
I clench my fist.
“I want him at the garage in an hour.”
Matteo speaks up, shooting me a skeptical expression.
“This is worth killing him over?”
Mmm. That might be a little rash.
“Maybe not yet. Carmine, is there anything linking Duffy to the O’Rourkes and Sinead?”
“No. I don’t think they have any clue.”
