Kate Thompson - The New Policeman

J.J. Liddy and his best friend, Jimmy Dowling, often had

The new policeman stood on the street outside Greens pub.

They were falling, as well, on J.J. Liddyor J.J. Byrne,

It wasnt that Mary Green didnt want her customers to

Helen was already out milking when J.J. got up. There

There was never enough time. The summer was always particularly

In the Garda barracks not far away, the new policeman

The kitchen was full of the smell of lamb stew

The visitor was Anne Korff. She didnt need to be

Right, said Ciaran, plonking the stewpot down on the table

The new policeman was off duty, driving along the narrow

J.J. was curious about what Helen had to say, but

The new policeman went into Kinvara, got a bite to

This parish was unlucky, said Helen. Father Doherty was a

There was only one hairy patch in the whole glorious

Mary Green had never, to her knowledge, been in the

It poured rain all morning. The goats stood in their

An hour later his puncture was fixed and he was

The souterrain was a much greater test of J.J.s courage

J.J. sat on the warm, grassy bank of the ring

J.J. woke with a start. It felt to him as

Did you pass J.J. on the road? Helen asked Phil

The dog limped painfully behind J.J. as he walked down

Helen was angry with J.J. If she hadnt been, she

For some reason that was not at all clear to

Well, said J.J. He was still stunned by what he

The new policeman arrived into work bright and early on

In your far distant history, said Aengus, people moved freely

J.J. was charged with energy. The languid feeling that hed

There were no musicians playing that night in Winkles, nor

J.J. sat down on the footpath beside Bran and leaned

It was a long walk up to Eagles Rock, at

The case of the missing teenager had come to a

There was, after all, a pigeon on the gate. While

Aengus? he called.

Anne Korff, with Lottie at her heels, walked back into

The new policeman phoned in sick during the week and

You were lucky, said Aengus.

To Sergeant Earlys annoyance, Garda ODwyer didnt turn up for

J.J. stood at the edge of the woods and looked

At the head of the huge steps, Aengus put Bran

He gets up my nose, said Aengus. They were climbing

Ciaran had tried to talk Helen out of holding the

J.J. retraced his steps across the hillside. He called out

Call him off! said the priest.

In the Chinese restaurant, Helen experienced a sudden release of

In Tr na ng, the effects were no less dramatic.

Inside the souterrain, Aengus and J.J. felt the change as

It was the new policeman who found the body in

J.J. stared at the dying dog. Once again he was

Will we go down to the village? said Aengus. See

Ciaran and Marian were down at the GAA pitch, watching

The new policeman had just reported for duty when Sergeant

The cil, everyone agreed, was the best ever. There were

J.J. Liddy and his best friend, Jimmy Dowling, often had arguments. J.J. never took them seriously. He even considered them a sign of the strength of the friendship, because they always made up again straightaway, unlike some of the girls in school, who got into major possessive battles with one another. But on that day in early September, during the first week that they were back in school, they had an argument like none before.

J.J. couldnt even remember now what it had been about. But at the end of it, at the point where they usually came round to forgiving each other and patching it up, Jimmy had dropped a bombshell.

I should have had more sense than to hang around with you anyway, after what my granny told me about the Liddys.

His words were followed by a dreadful silence, full of J.J.s bewilderment and Jimmys embarrassment. He knew he had gone too far.

What about the Liddys? said J.J.

Nothing. Jimmy turned to go back into school.

J.J. stood in front of him. Go on. What did she tell you?

Jimmy might have been able to wriggle his way out of it and pretend it was a bluff, but he had been overheard. He and J.J. were no longer alone. Two other lads, Aidan Currie and Mike Ford, had overheard and had come to join in.

Go on, Jimmy, said Aidan. You may as well tell him.

Yeah, said Mike. If he doesnt know he must be the only person in the county who doesnt.

The bell rang for the end of the morning break. They all ignored it.

Know what? said J.J. He felt cold, terrified, not of something that might happen but of something that he might find inside himself; in his blood.

It was a long time ago, said Jimmy, still trying to retract.

What was?

One of the Liddys Jimmy said something else but he mumbled it beneath his breath and J.J. couldnt hear. It sounded like burgled the beast.

The teacher on yard duty was calling them in. Jimmy began to walk toward the school. The others fell in.

He did what? said J.J.

Forget it, said Jimmy.

It was Aidan Currie who said it, loud enough for J.J. or anyone else to hear. Sure, everyone knows about it. Your great-granddad. J.J. Liddy, same as yourself. He murdered the priest.

J.J. stopped in his tracks. No way!

He did, so, said Mike. And all for the sake of an old wooden flute.

Youre a shower of liars! said J.J.

The boys, except for Jimmy, laughed.

Always mad for the music, the same Liddys, said Mike.

He began to hop and skip toward the school in a goofy parody of Irish dancing. Aidan trotted beside him, singing an out-of-tune version of The Irish Washerwoman. Jimmy glanced back at J.J. and, his head down, followed them as they went back in.

J.J. stood alone in the yard. It couldnt be true. But he knew, now that he thought about it, that there had always been something behind the way some of the local people regarded him and his family. A lot of people in the community came to the cils and the set-dancing classes that were held at his house on Saturdays. They had always come, and their parents and grandparents had come before them. In recent years the numbers had increased dramatically with the influx of new people into the area. Some of them came from thirty miles away and more. But there was, and always had been, a large number of local people who would have nothing to do with the Liddys or their music. They didnt exactly cross the street to avoid J.J. and his family, but they didnt talk to them either. J.J., if hed thought about it at all, had assumed it was because his parents were one of the only couples in the district who werent married, but what if that wasnt the reason? What if it had really happened? Could J.J. be descended from a murderer?

Liddy!

The teacher was standing at the door, waiting for him.

J.J. hesitated. For a moment it seemed to him that there was no way he could set foot inside that school again. Then the solution came to him.

The teacher closed the door behind him. What do you think you were doing, standing out there like a lemon?

Sorry, said J.J. I didnt realize you were talking to me.

Who else would I be talking to?

My names Byrne, said J.J. My mothers name is Liddy all right, but my fathers name is Byrne. Im J.J. Byrne.