Read an exclusive extract from The Dodger: DJ Carey and the Great Betrayal

PROLOGUE

DJ’s phone was ringing, but it didn’t sound like he was abroad. That was strange. He had recently explained how he was in Seattle getting treatment.

Tom Brennan turned into The Avenue off Granges Road on the outskirts of Kilkenny city. He didn’t get out of the car, he just watched the house and waited. There was no answer.

Moments later, the front door opened. DJ walked out with an attractive woman. She looked younger than him and had dark, straight hair.

Tom sent DJ a text and the reply came swiftly. He had an explanation for the normal dial tone – his calls were being diverted to his Irish number for privacy reasons, but he was travelling, on his way back from Seattle.

Tom read the text and lifted his head. He could see DJ right there but decided not to confront him. It was a summer’s day in August 2021. DJ and his female companion strolled a few doors up. Maybe they were joining their neighbours for a barbecue?

The realisation was dawning on Tom that his hard-earned money was probably never going to be paid back. He had heard stories, he had his own theories, but he had needed to see for himself.

He knew in that moment that DJ Carey was a liar. He wasn’t in America where he was supposed to be getting treatment for his cancer. In fact, he had never been too far away. All this time, he had been in Kilkenny city.

One of the best hurlers who ever lived, one of the leading Irish sports stars of his generation, a man who had also attended Tom’s alma mater, St Kieran’s College, had conned him.