Bloody Friday: Drugs, Guns & Women

By Edmond Gagnon

Best Friends Patrick Kelly and Jimmy Flynn, from Belfast, share a common dream of a better life beyond the borders of their small island. In his quest to see the world, Patrick Kelly joins the military. He's sent to VietNam to fight the spread of communism. Jimmy Flynn is mad at the world and he joins the IRA. He fights a war against his own cou

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edmond Gagnon Author
• Release date: May 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781989910030

Edmond Gagnon

Edmond Gagnon grew up in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He joined the Windsor Police Department in 1977, a month before his nineteenth birthday. After almost two years as a police cadet, Ed was promoted to Constable and walked a beat in downtown Windsor. He spent the next thirteen years in uniform, working the street. From there, he transferred to plain clothes where he worked in narcotics, vice, property crimes, fraud, and arson. He was promoted to Sergeant, then Detective. During that time, Ed investigated everything from theft and burglary to arson and murder. He retired with a total of thirty-one years and four months of service. Within weeks of retirement, Ed took to travelling the world, visiting countries in Southeast Asia and South America as well as riding his motorcycle all over Canada and the United States. He kept in touch with family and friends through email, sending them snippets and stories of his adventures. The recipients of his musings suggested he write a book about his travels and Ed put together a collection of short stories in his first book, A Casual Traveler. Bitten by the writing bug, Ed decided to share some of his police stories.He created the Norm Strom Crime Series, inspired by events and people he encountered during his years in law enforcement. In that series, Ed wrote and self-published Rat, Bloody Friday, Torch, Finding Hope, Border City Chronicles, Trafficking Chen and Border City Chronicles - Four More. He also wrote the Abigail Brown Crime Series with, Moon Mask and The Millionaire Murders. Edmond Gagnon continues to write, adding the science fiction thriller, Four, to his collection of novels. Ed still travels frequently and resides in Windsor, with his wife, Cathryn.

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BLOODY FRIDAY

Edmond Gagnon

Copyright © 2014 Edmond Gagnon

EBOOK ISBN: 9781632630995

PRINT ISBN: 9781632631152

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Published by BookLocker.com, Inc., Bradenton, Florida.

Although this book was inspired by and based on real people and true events, the characters and situations presented herein are a figment of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is strictly coincidental and was not purposely intended by the author. Any opinions expressed in this book are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher.

Booklocker.com, Inc. (or your publishing company name), 2014, First Edition

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my fans and readers of my first two books. Your invaluable support, feedback and constructive criticisms have helped me to become a better writer.

Special thanks to the following people:

My daily sounding board – Cathryn, my wife

Beta Readers and Editing – Doug and Laurie Cowper

Kay Tall

Michael Carter

Donalie Beltran – author of Murder is a Family Affair

Proofreader – Sarah Braund

Angela, Richard and the staff at Booklocker.com

In remembrance of the victims of Bloody Friday,

in Belfast, Ireland

July 21st, 1972

1

Bloody Friday

Megan Doyle was thoroughly enjoying a pint of Guinness at O’Darby’s Pub, on her last day in Belfast, Ireland. It was Friday, July 21st, 1972. The pretty Canadian girl was visiting relatives and touring the United Kingdom for six weeks.

Megan’s flight home didn’t leave until later in the evening, so she thought she’d spend her last afternoon with her new Irish friend, Erin Kelly. The two twenty-year-olds had met a couple days earlier at O’Darby’s. They discovered that they had the same taste in beer and men. They hit it off immediately, joking how they could have been life-long friends.

Erin seemed preoccupied to Megan, so she asked if everything was okay. Erin said she’d been scrapping with her boyfriend, Jimmy Flynn. Jimmy was spending a lot of time with other men she didn’t approve of, but he said he was going to make it up to her and take her away for the weekend. Erin’s face lit up when she told Megan she would be meeting Jimmy when he came to pick her up.

Just wait till you see how handsome he is. His long black curly hair and those light blue eyes that I fell for. I just can’t get enough of him. Damn his boys club.

The girls giggled, sipped their beers, and talked about how Erin might visit Canada some day. Erin had never been anywhere off the island. Up north to Derry, was as far as she’d gone. A weekend away with Jimmy would probably be a short trip up the coast, to an old abandoned cottage he knew about. Jimmy promised Erin he’d take her to America some day. Jimmy made lots of promises.

The girls were a couple of pints into the lazy afternoon when Jimmy Flynn came strutting into O’Darby’s. Megan had her back to the door, but Erin’s big smile announced Jimmy’s arrival.

Erin leapt from her bar stool. Hello my darlin. I want ya ta meet my friend Megan, from Canada.

Jimmy gave Erin a half hug and kissed her on the forehead.

He brushed his stringy black hair from his eyes and said, Aye, good ta meet ya. C’mon baby we gotta get goin.

What? We just ordered another pint. Why don’t ya sit and have one Jimmy?

Jimmy checked his watch, and then he looked around the bar.

We gotta get ta the cottage before dark baby, but I gotta meet one of the boys over at bus station first. The car’s out front, c’mon we gotta go.

Oh, one of the boys, Erin said, as she looked at Megan and rolled her eyes.

Erin apologized to Megan for cutting their visit short. Jimmy never even said good-bye. He was already out the door.

Boy, he’s all wound up today; I don’t know what the big hurry is! It was so lovely ta meet ya Megan, we’ll write each other and stay in touch, okay?

Jimmy was already waiting in the car as the girls hugged and said their farewells. Megan watched out the front window as Erin and Jimmy drove off. She noticed a pay phone near the front door, so she called a taxi to return to her hotel. Erin cancelled their beer order before she left, so Megan thought she’d catch a nap before dinner.

The Bakery

Erin went off on Jimmy as soon as she got into the car. That was pretty rude Jimmy. I’ll probably never see Megan again.

Jimmy cut Erin off. Maybe sooner than ya think baby, ya know how I’m always talkin about taking ya t’America.

Erin went silent, her big brown eyes fixed on Jimmy. She was a tiny thing with a huge heart. And her heart belonged to Jimmy.

What are ya talkin about Jimmy? America? I thought we were goin up the coast to your secret cottage?

Jimmy kept checking his mirrors and his watch, as he darted in and out of the thick traffic.

I wanted ta surprise ya baby. One of the boys set it up. We’re getting outa here for good. We’ve got tickets on an ocean freighter to Boston. We leave tonight.

But what about my mum or my things? I need to pack Jimmy.

I took care of it baby, I packed yer things and left yer mum with a few flagons of single malt. I know it won’t last her long, but I told her we were takin an extended vacation. Yer suitcase is in the trunk.

Erin stared at Jimmy is disbelief. Was it really true?

She knew she’d never really miss her drunken stepmother. Her real mother died when Erin was quite young, she barely remembered her. Erin’s father died a year after marrying his second wife. She was his mirror image, they were both drunks. Erin was closest to her older brother Patrick. He always looked out for her. Patrick eventually left home and joined the military, to get away from his abusive father who liked to use him as a punching bag.

Erin met Jimmy through Patrick. The two boys grew up closer than most brothers. They even had matching shamrock tattoos on the back of their necks. Patrick always thought Erin was too good for Jimmy, even though Jimmy was his best friend. Patrick had a soft spot for Jimmy, who was orphaned as a baby when his parents died in a car wreck. Jimmy had a bad temper and he was a difficult child. He bounced around a few different foster homes, but eventually went off on his own once he was old enough.

Patrick was the only one who could effectively deal with Jimmy’s temper, and the trouble it got him into. He eventually gave into their infatuation and gave Jimmy his blessing. Patrick told Jimmy that there was only one condition: If he ever hurt Erin or let anything happen to her, he would never forgive him.

The trip to America had always been a dream that she and Jimmy talked about. Erin was at a loss for words as dozens of memories and new ideas ran through her head. While she was lost in her thoughts, Jimmy wheeled the car into a parking spot across from the bus station.

I gotta drop somethin off to one of the boys before we go baby. I’ll just be a minute.

Jimmy took a satchel across the street to where another man was waiting in an old black car. The two men got into a heated conversation, so Erin jumped behind the wheel of Jimmy’s car. She remembered that Megan might still be at O’Darby’s and it would be a great time to tell her that she was going to America. Erin yelled out the window to Jimmy, saying she’d be right back. Jimmy looked back in bewilderment, but he nodded and waived her off.

O’Darby’s was only a couple blocks away, but Erin couldn’t find a parking spot anywhere close. A car pulled out of a spot in front of the bakery at the opposite end of the block from O’Darby’s and Erin wheeled in.

Timing is Everything

Megan’s taxi pulled up in front of O’Darby’s, so she went out the front door to catch her ride. Megan paused for a split second as her foot touched the paved sidewalk. For that split second she felt stillness in the air. Then she was blasted with a cacophony of sound; breaking glass, a sharp, ear piercing bang, and the roar of what sounded like a speeding train. Megan was thrown sideways from the shockwave of the explosion at the opposite end of the block. A newspaper box cushioned her fall, as she was thrown to the sidewalk. Megan was dazed. She looked down the street and saw a thick cloud of dark smoke with an orange fireball mushrooming up, and into the blue sky.

A firm hand grabbed Megan by the arm. It was the taxi driver trying to help her up. She felt like she had just awoken from a deep sleep, and was groggy. She could see the taxi driver was talking to her, but she couldn’t hear his words. Megan staggered as the taxi driver guided her to his car. Her hearing slowly came back, like someone was turning up the volume. She smelled something burnt in the still air.

The taxi driver said, C’mon lassie, we need ta get out a here.

Megan tripped over something on the road as she reached for the rear door of the taxi. It was a woman’s sandal, spattered with blood. She felt nauseous and weak in the knees as the driver helped her into the back seat of his taxi. Megan could hear everything now; there were people yelling and screaming. She looked out the back window as they drove away. She saw cars on fire and bloodied people wandering about in the street, like zombies. Some rubble and the bloodied woman’s sandal lay in the foreground.

The explosion at the bakery shook the ground under Jimmy’s feet, two blocks away. He turned around and saw that Erin and his car were gone. He remembered she had said she’d be right back. Jimmy got a sick feeling deep down in his gut. He immediately broke into a sweat, and then started running toward the bakery. As he rounded the corner by O’Darby’s he noticed the fire and thick black smoke at the other end of the block. Just then, Megan’s taxi rounded the corner. Megan saw Jimmy, but he didn’t notice the taxi. Jimmy stopped at the bloodied sandal in the middle of the road.

It was such a tiny sandal. Could it be Erin’s? No, it can’t be.

Jimmy’s feet felt like they weighed fifty pounds each, as he tried to walk to the other end of the block. He felt sick to his stomach, when he recognized what was left of his car, parked near the bakery. There was an empty parking spot directly behind his car; the vehicle that had been parked there was upside down on the other side of the street, in flames. Jimmy saw the driver’s side door of his car was open, but he couldn’t see anyone inside.

Jimmy forced himself to move closer, but his feet got even heavier. People around him were screaming and crying. Black smoke wafted through the air. It smelled of burnt fuel, flesh and gunpowder. Some people were helping others who were bloodied and injured by the explosion. A man was bent over a woman’s torso, feeling her neck for a pulse; he shook his head and walked away.

The woman’s face looked familiar, but one side of it was badly burned. The force of the explosion had blown all of her limbs off. It was surreal, but Jimmy’s eyes locked onto the dead woman lying there, in the middle of the street. It was Erin. Just then another explosion shook the whole neighborhood; it came from the bus station just two blocks away.

Jimmy fell to his knees. He looked up to the sky and shouted, Oh my God, what have I done?

The heart of Belfast was on fire and in chaos. That day became known as Bloody Friday. The Provisional Irish Republican Army set off nineteen separate bombs in the downtown area in just over an hour. Nine people died and one hundred and thirty were injured. The IRA accomplished their goal that day, the widespread disruption to everyday life in Ireland.

2

Jungle Ghost

On Bloody Friday Patrick Kelly lay prone and silent in a thick and tangled jungle in North Viet Nam, near the Laotian border. He was three days into his mission. Patrick was following a North Vietnamese tax collector from village to village along the Ho Chi Minh trail. He hoped that the tax collector would lead him back to his army base camp.

Patrick had grown accustomed to living in the jungle; it had been his home for the past year while he was assigned to the CIA’s Phoenix program. He was originally recruited from his British SAS regiment, to team up with U.S. Special Forces who were carrying out covert operations in North Viet Nam and Laos.

At the time, Britain never admitted to being involved in the Viet Nam war. Although they denied sending troops to fight in the conflict, they secretly supported the United States by helping them ship essential military supplies. They also permitted some of their elite soldiers to volunteer and serve in exchange programs that allowed them to fight in Viet Nam with the Australians. In the infant stages of the conflict the SAS operatives were known as the Jungle Ghosts. They were the elite, the best of the best.

Patrick checked his watch. The early morning sun was almost completely blocked by the thick jungle canopy. The bits that shone through looked like little twinkling lights hung high in the trees. It had rained through the night; the warmth of the morning sun caused the cool and wet jungle floor to steam like a giant sauna. Patrick was oblivious. He was trained to ignore things like heat, cold, rain, thirst, hunger, and even pain. He knew how to sustain himself indefinitely in the jungle, if the situation presented itself. Patrick was thirsty and his canteen was getting near empty. He reached up and took hold of the giant leaf he had been using for shelter.

He folded the leaf to form a trough and let the rain water funnel into his mouth, I’ll save my canteen for later.

Things were still quiet in the village, so Patrick lay back trying to picture the sky beyond the jungle canopy. He remembered how big the blue sky was, back home in Ireland. His sister Erin would make him and Jimmy sandwiches to take along when they ran off to spend the day along the seashore.

They’d forget about how shitty their lives were, dreaming and talking about traveling to far away places. They’d fill their lungs with salty ocean air and listen to the sound of crashing waves, as they stared off into the big sky, littered with huge puffy clouds. Erin would point out different animal shapes that she