They fed him coffee and chocolate mints. The worm adored the taste of mint. Moses was asleep when they arrived at Shannon. Passengers disembarked. Then the plane took off for Dublin town. His baggage was light. He figured on two or three days to dispose of his business with Dermott Bride. They wouldn’t miss him at his office. Isaac had disappeared for much longer periods than that. The cab ride to the Shelbourne cost him nearly three pounds in Irish money. It was a hotel with white pillars, a blue marquee, statuettes holding lanterns over their heads, tall windows, and a white roof. The Shelbourne sat opposite a long, handsome park. St. Stephen’s Green. Isaac couldn’t see the park from his window. But it still cost him twenty pounds a night. He’d have to kill Dermott and get out of here, or borrow from his pension money to stay alive. He had no idea what Dermott looked like. Would the king materialize on the staircase and present himself, like a fucking Druid? You couldn’t tell what magic Dermott owned in Dublin.
