Page 13

THIRTEEN

Kieran took the passport from me. The name on the document was Sarah Williams and she wore a face full of makeup and had long blonde hair in the photo. The country of origin was England. So, I’d been right about her not being from Ireland.

I read the information to Kieran, and he typed it into his laptop. There were several beeps coming from the machine.

“Does she have a record?” I asked.

He nodded. “She was the driver in the armed robbery Carl was imprisoned for. But she testified against the others and got a suspended sentence. What I can’t figure out is why her prints didn’t come up on our initial search.”

“That all happened a long time ago. Maybe the fingerprint records haven’t been computerized yet.”

“Well, if she didn’t know about Carl being here, that could be why they were arguing,” Kieran said.

“But it’s too much of a coincidence that they both just showed up this weekend,” I said. “Neither you nor I believe in coincidences.”

“True.”

“So, do you think he forgave her, and they were working together? They did argue a lot, though.”

“It is possible. But we only have conjecture. There is no way to know. Did you ever overhear their conversations?”

I shook my head. “It was obvious they were arguing from their facial expressions and hand gestures, but it was all in whispers. Any time one of us came close to them, they stopped talking.

“Maybe the accountant, Maximillian knocked them off,” I said. “I’m just trying to think about the people who are trapped here. I mean, he’s very thin but he is the right height to stab up into the heart.”

He started typing quickly.

“Are you looking for others related to the heist?”

“I am. But the other two men involved are dead. And they don’t look like any of our guests.”

I frowned. “So, you were thinking maybe one of them faked his death and changed his name?”

“It happens more than you think with criminals trying to hide their past mistakes.”

“You know, in my books, the why of the situation is often the most important question that has to be answered. The motivation of a killer, that is.”

“I know what you mean by the why. I’m not an idiot. As you know, it’s the same in actual police work.” His eyebrow went up again.

“Yes. I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t. I’m just thinking out loud. If that’s okay?” The last bit came out with a bit of snark. I never meant to step on his toes. It was just the way my brain worked. I had to say things out loud.

“Okay,” he said.

“Why would two people who shouldn’t want anything to do with one another show up at a remote castle in Ireland for a long weekend?”

“They were planning a new heist,” he said. “With the other two in their group dead, they may have pulled in a third or fourth partner, who’s turned on them. But why? We’ve seen nothing in the castle, or the records, to say that a treasure exists.”

“You’re right. While there might be rumors of treasure within the walls of the castle, we haven’t seen proof of that. But people are weird and greedy. Maybe they know something we don’t. I think that tour is first thing tomorrow morning. The art history one. Maybe some of the art is original?”

“I’m assuming you’ll be going on that?”

“I will. But what is bothering me is even if Sarah killed Carl, then who killed her? We still have a third party who wanted them dead. And are they still on the grounds?”

“We’ve had the bridge blocked since we came across the river,” he said. “There is no way anyone could have left the premises after the murders. The killer has to still be here. And don’t forget, someone knocked Gordon out with a bottle of whiskey last night.”

I shivered. “Right. And you’ve done a thorough check on the staff?”

“We’re in the process of it. They have thirty regular staff members on the estate and another ten to fifteen who come in for part-time work.”

“That has to be expensive, covering all those wages,” I said.

“Yes. I’ve been going through the paperwork, and it takes millions of pounds each year to cover their expenses. Hence the reason they are looking to expand their whiskey enterprise.”

“And why they are bringing in tourists for the weekends.” A thought struck me. “Do you think this might be more personal than someone just planning a heist?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, this is their first soft-open weekend for tourists to stay and do all of the events they have planned. Two murders in one weekend might make potential visitors think twice about coming out here.”

“True,” he said. “So, you’re thinking it may also be some past history between the O’Sullivans and the killer.”

I shrugged again. “I mean, it’s possible. None of this really adds up. We’re missing something. I’m just trying to make different connections for us to explore.”

He shook his head. “Mercy, there is no us. I will explore these different avenues with my team. Your job is to stay safe and out of the killer’s way. Do you not remember what happened the last time you inserted yourself into an investigation?”

I’d been held at gunpoint and threatened. It was tough to forget that. “I remember. But I will be keeping my eyes open. Besides, I helped you figure out who Sarah really was. It isn’t like I’m not useful.”

“That’s true. You know I appreciate your help.”

I smirked. “Just not when I’m too intrusive. There is one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Like I said earlier, I’d really like to do some research in the study. I think it’s significant that Carl was murdered there. He’d been spending time supposedly doing historical research, according to the O’Sullivans. Why? It has to be the treasure, right?”

“As I said before, the books that were on the desk have been gathered for evidence,” he said.

He took out a pair of gloves. “Use these. They are in box number twelve over there in the corner.”

“I brought my own.” I pulled them out of the pocket of my cardigan.

He smirked.

“What are you going to do about Sally Airendale?”

“I texted Sheila at the station, and she’s working on processing a search warrant.”

“It’s the O’Sullivans’ property, can’t you just ask them?”

“I’m sure she’s hidden the figurine somewhere. To go through her personal belongings, we need to go by the book. Until then, please don’t say anything.”

“I won’t. But I will be keeping an eye on her.”

“That’s not a bad idea. It may be a while before we can get the warrant. Sheila texted and said the judge is on a fishing trip, so he won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

I smiled. Small-town justice was quite different from what I’d experienced in New York. Let’s just say, it was a bit more relaxed than the big city. Though, in both places everything took longer than one might expect. The city because they were overwhelmed with too many cases. Sometimes autopsies would take weeks, if not months. Things happened a bit faster here, but not by much.

I went through some of the books that had been on the desk. There was a diary of a former noblewoman who had lived in the castle in the seventeen hundreds. The loopy handwriting was sometimes difficult to read, but she spoke in detail about the grand parties that had been held on the estate. There were balls where hundreds of people had been invited.

Her marriage, however, was not exactly happy. Once she’d delivered two sons, her husband had little to do with her. She didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he gave her great freedom to travel, which was unusual for a woman of her station. She kept a list of her purchases in her diaries.

She was one of the residents who had acquired many of the pieces of art now adorning the walls of the estate. It was obvious she was an intelligent woman with fantastic taste. She had traveled throughout Europe with her sons. In her words, she wanted them to grow up to be more appreciative of their place in the world, and not a drunken sod like their father.

She pulled no punches when it came to writing about her family and friends.

“This would make a great movie,” I whispered. I told him what I’d found so far.

Kieran grunted. “She sounds interesting.”

“She is. She was the one who kept the estate going and dealt with those who farmed and lived on the land. From all accounts, she was quite the businesswoman. Even more surprising was that her husband permitted it.”

During her time, that simply wasn’t allowed. She must have been quite a strong presence.

I took pictures of some of the entries with my phone, the ones where she mentioned her purchases. I wanted to compare them with the inventory list that the O’Sullivans had given Kieran.

Maybe, if the two victims had been after one of the pricier items in the house, we could narrow down why they were here to steal it.

Something niggled at my brain, though. How would they have found out about it? This was an inside job. Someone who lived or worked on the property had to be a part of this.

“Kieran?”

“Yes?” He didn’t bother looking up from his computer.

“Do you have someone in mind who might be doing all of this?”

He paused his typing and glanced up at me. “You know I don’t make assumptions. As of right now, anyone who doesn’t live on the court is a suspect. The pathologist should have a time of death soon. That will help us as well.”

“Well, I can narrow it down to a two-hour time span, if that helps. He was on the tour with us for the tasting. Then we all went back to the house, and we found him almost exactly two hours later.”

“Right, and during that time, all the suspects say they were either getting ready or were already in the lounge for cocktails.”

“But we know there are secret passages all over the house. Anyone could have gone through the walls and back to their rooms without anyone seeing them. Do we think Sarah killed him?”

“Do I want to know how you are aware there are passages all over the house?”

“No. What about Sarah?”

“I told you, I’m not making any assumptions. But she was one of the first to arrive at the cocktails, according to Mrs. O’Sullivan. She fell down the stairs and made quite the scene. What are you thinking?”

“That she was so tiny under those heavy robes. They made her look like she weighed a good thirty pounds more than she did. When I pulled her out of that pond…” I shivered. “She was bony, and I was just wondering if she had the strength to impale Carl with that letter opener. I mean, how sharp was that thing?

“And if they were working together, why kill him?”

“Well, from what I’ve learned so far, she was drowned in that pond. The water there is the same as what was found in her lungs and there are some contusions on her neck that showed someone tried to strangle her and she’d then been held down.”

“Ugh. That is an awful way to die. I mean, getting stabbed with a letter opener isn’t much better. It’s the force that I’m wondering about. I mean, your M.E. will know better, but I feel like the killer has to be quite strong. First to get that letter opener up and into the ribs to Carl’s heart. And then to hold Sarah down like that. The water wasn’t that deep.”

I blew out a breath. It felt like I was missing something. There was something in the back of my brain that I’d either seen or heard, but it just wasn’t coming to the forefront.

That happened when I was writing sometimes. I didn’t call it writer’s block when I stalled out a bit anymore. After all these years, I understood it was part of my process for my subconscious to work things out before I could put them on the page. The best thing for me to do was to focus on something else.

“You make a good point. So, our suspect is most likely male.”

“And strong,” I added.

“That narrows it down a bit.”

“The accountant is quite thin and willowy.”

“Size doesn’t always matter when it comes to murder. When someone is upset about something, they can have unnatural strength. I wouldn’t count him out just yet,” he said. “Sheila just sent over some files. You were right about his past. And he has current troubles as well, dealing with a partner who has absconded with some of the firm’s money. The O’Sullivans weren’t victims of that crime, but I’m sure he is also here as a way to reassure them.”

“Funny way to handle that by bringing up everything that is going wrong. And searching for treasure. Are you sure he didn’t kill his partner and take the money for himself? If not, he’s such a negative person I can’t imagine why they keep him on. Do you think we should warn them?”

“Not yet. I’ll keep an eye on him. From what you just said, he’s still looking for the treasure, right?”

“Fair point.” If he’d stolen money from his firm, maybe he wouldn’t need more.

I wasn’t taking him off my list just yet.

Something clicked in my brain. “Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

“Well, in my head, I’ve been thinking the suspects are all guests here. The trouble didn’t begin until we all arrived. But as you said there is an entire staff that works here. Anyone could have come in and killed Carl. And Sarah was murdered outside.”

“Except we’ve vetted most of the staff, and everyone checks out. Again, like you just said, why choose this weekend to start all the trouble? And you sound like you are marking the O’Sullivans off the list, but we don’t have any proof that they were not involved.”

I pursed my lips. “You’re right. Still, I know you don’t trust my gut, but I do. It is not them. They wouldn’t ruin their chances for this weekend to be successful. This is making my head hurt. And it could be someone from the outside working with someone on the inside. The staff might check out, but do we know everything about them?

“First, I need to get into that study. I want to see what else I can find in there.”

“You don’t think it’s the journals that you just read?”

I shrugged. “It could be one of the things she listed is the treasure they are talking about. I just thought I’d look around while it is light to see if I can find anything else.”

“I’ll come with you,” he said. “I could use a break.”

Well, that was a surprise. I was so used to him saying no to my snooping that I just stood there staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You said, yes.”

He chuckled. “I told you before it was okay. I know I can’t keep you from sleuthing, but if you are with me, or your sister, at least we can keep you safe.”

I rolled my eyes.

“What is it you really hope to find in the study?”

“In looking at the books that Carl had on the desk, they had one thing in common.”

“What’s that?”

“They were either inventory lists from past centuries, or diaries. He was looking for something specific.”

“Yes, and…?”

“Well, he was still looking, right? I mean, if he’d found what he was looking for, he would have taken it to his room, or it would have been on his person.”

“So, you think he was still on the hunt.”

I nodded. “And what if it wasn’t a painting or vase he was searching for? Or even buried treasure. Though, I’m not ruling that last one out. People can be silly sometimes at the mere hint of treasure. And as we both know, that usually doesn’t work out.”

“So, what is it you think he was hunting for in the study?”

I smiled. “Follow me, Detective.”