James “Father” O’Leary’s protection of the Barber family

James “Father” O’Leary’s protection of the Barber family is a late, uneasy consequence of Andrew Barber’s estrangement from his father, William “Billy” Barber. Introduced as an aging former gangster who now works as a fixer, O’Leary appears first as an unseen safeguard against threats surrounding Jacob’s trial; after the case is dismissed, he physically stops Dan Rifkin from approaching the Barbers with a knife. His protection offers immediate safety, not reconciliation: Dan remains convinced that Jacob killed his son, and the family’s vindication cannot erase that loss.

An Indirect Connection Through Billy Barber

The Barbers’ connection to O’Leary is not established through an ordinary friendship of their own. Andrew learns about him from Paul Duffy, who identifies him as James O’Leary, known as Father O’Leary, and describes a criminal record stretching back decades. O’Leary had been a muscle man and leg-breaker, with weapons, drugs, and violence among the offenses associated with his past; he had also beaten a federal RICO charge in the 1980s. By the time Duffy discusses him, he is too old for that former role and hires himself out as a fixer, handling matters such as collections, evictions, and silencing people.

That background makes O’Leary’s eventual claim to be a friend of Andrew’s father significant. The relationship reaches the Barbers through Billy, not through a newly formed alliance between O’Leary and Andrew. The novel supplies no account of the arrangement between the two older men; it lets O’Leary’s brief explanation establish the connection while leaving its history outside the scene.

Protection During the Trial

The immediate danger around the family gives O’Leary’s role practical force. When Andrew asks what to do if he sees the threatening figure again, Duffy’s instruction is to cross the street and call him. That night, Andrew checks the street from the bedroom window and sees that the black cruiser is still there. The surveillance makes the protection feel less like reassurance than an ongoing precaution: danger remains present even when the family is inside its home.

O’Leary’s protection does not make the Barbers’ wider isolation disappear. During the trial, Andrew and Laurie are friendless in Newton, and Laurie sits alone in court, separated from other people by an unmistakable zone of empty space. The family’s fear is bound up with the Rifkins’ grief and with the public suspicion directed at Jacob. O’Leary can guard against a particular threat; he cannot restore the family’s former place in the community or answer the questions that the case has left unresolved.

Intervention After Jacob’s Release

After the charges are dropped, the Barbers’ relief is intense but conditional. Andrew describes the dismissal as more than a not-guilty verdict, yet the family does not return to normal. They avoid restaurants and other public places, and Andrew takes over the grocery shopping because Laurie does not want to encounter the Rifkins at the market again. The threat of renewed conflict thus persists alongside the family’s legal vindication.

At the courthouse garage, Dan approaches the family with an ordinary kitchen knife. A few feet behind him, O’Leary arrives in a scally cap, his hands in his pockets. Before Dan can reach them, O’Leary takes hold of his arm, knocks the knife from his hand against the car hood, and restrains him. The action is swift and controlled; when Andrew asks who he is, O’Leary answers that he is a friend of Andrew’s father, sent to look out for the family. Asked what should be done with Dan, he follows Andrew’s instruction and lets him go.

Protection Without Reconciliation

O’Leary’s intervention prevents an immediate attack, but it does not settle the moral conflict between the families. Dan leaves in tears and helplessness, apparently still believing Jacob killed Ben. The Barbers have been freed from prosecution, and O’Leary has ensured their physical safety in that moment; neither outcome changes the fact that Dan’s son is dead or gives Dan grounds to accept the family’s relief as his own.

O’Leary then turns to Jacob, congratulates him, praises the courtroom outcome, and reveals that he knows Jacob is Billy Barber’s son. The encounter brings the older generation’s hidden connection into the aftermath of the trial, but it offers no account of how that bond began or what obligations it carries beyond this act of protection. O’Leary’s presence is therefore both a safeguard and a reminder of the family’s inherited ties to violence: safety arrives through a man whose own past is marked by it, while the deeper wounds remain beyond his power to mend.