Page 18

EIGHTEEN

“It’s me,” Kieran whispered in my ear. “I’m going to take my hand away, do not scream.”

He let go, and I leaned down to pick up my phone where I’d dropped it on the stone. Thankfully, it was in a protective case, so it wasn’t broken.

“You scared me to death,” I whispered.

“Not here,” he said. Then he half dragged me back to Lizzie and my room.

When the door creaked open, Lizzie and Mr. Poe were sitting on her bed with pensive looks on their faces. Well, I knew who’d told him to search for me.

I shook my head.

She wagged a finger at me. “Don’t even,” she said. “I’ve been waiting on you for half an hour. Rob and Scott are scouring the castle for you. When we couldn’t find you, I texted Kieran. I was worried the killer had you.”

I sighed. “I’m fine,” I said.

“Well, I didn’t know that, did I? You couldn’t be bothered to tell me you were going snooping.” She picked up Mr. Poe and hugged him. “Or at the very least, leave me a note. I thought you might be dead.” She sniffed, and it was obvious how upset she was.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to worry you. But I knew you’d try to stop me if I told you what I’d planned.”

“With good reason,” Kieran interjected. “We’re dealing with a killer who has murdered two people. It isn’t safe for you to go traipsing off alone. I believe we’ve had this conversation before. You can’t scare us like that.”

It was obvious he was worried about me. That moment when he held me close flashed through my brain, and my cheeks heated.

“Fine. I’m sorry that I worried you both. I thought since dinner was going on that I could use that time to do a bit of searching. Do you want to know what I’ve found out or not?”

His eyebrows went up.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “First, promise me you won’t do something dumb like that again.”

I made the cross-my-heart sign that we used to do as kids. For us, it was sacred. “Promise.”

“Okay. Now, tell us what you found,” she said.

Kieran flipped open his notebook.

“I’ll text you the pictures I took in the accountant’s room. I don’t know much about spreadsheets, but I do understand enough that I could see he had two sets of books for the O’Sullivans. What was on his computer is different than the printouts. Like, maybe they aren’t having the money troubles they think they are.”

“And maybe he’s embezzling?” Lizzie asked, as she looked over my shoulder. She was great with numbers. She pointed to the printout. “That’s what it looks like to me. He’s skimming, a lot from what I can see.” Then she pointed to a row of numbers on the computer. “Like at least a hundred thousand off this account alone.

“I knew there was something about that guy,” she said. “He has beady eyes, and he’s always glancing around like someone is trying to attack him at any moment.”

“He feels guilty,” Kieran said. “When I was interviewing him, he kept saying he wanted his lawyer. I had to convince him it wasn’t that kind of chat we were having. But you’ve gained access illegally to this proof,” he said. “There is no way I can use it.”

“Yes, but you’re trying to find a killer. What’s adding one more room to your request for a warrant?” I said. “You were going to do that anyway. And if you happened upon this information that you know is there—you could save the O’Sullivans a lot of grief.”

“You make it all sound so easy.”

“Isn’t it, though? You play golf with the judge, and you went to school together. I’m betting since it is pouring down raining, that he’s no longer fishing. I’m sure you can get your warrants soon.”

“How do you know I went to school with him?”

I laughed. “Your very proud grandmother, plus I spend a lot of time in the bookstore. It’s as big a gossip hub as the Crown and Clover pub is some days.”

He chuckled but it wasn’t a happy sound. “Nothing is sacred in Shamrock Cove,” he mumbled. “Sometimes I miss the anonymity of working in a bigger city.”

“Well, you should get a warrant for everyone’s rooms, and that way no one can say anything,” I said. “There is also a suitcase full of stolen items in the Airendales’ room.

“Oh, and while you’re at it, get one for the staff quarters as well. We should go over everything and recheck things.”

“What’s happening in there?” He pointed toward my head.

“Well, we said it before, but it’s making sense. Before the guests arrived, there was someone here who had found out about the treasure, whatever it is the priest and nun came looking for in the castle. If you ask me, it’s a priceless piece of art. Otherwise, why would they have been looking through those logs?”

“We’ve been through them over and over,” Kieran said. “What we see there doesn’t add up with what has been covered by insurance.”

“Which makes Maximillian look more guilty of a financial crime, but why would he kill the priest and nun? Is it possible whoever is doing this knows about the accountant’s duplicity? I mean, if there is a real treasure, or if the artwork is worth more than everyone thinks, then that could be motive to kill as well. Like maybe they were working with the accountant or another insider.”

“What about the diamond necklace?” he asked.

“The theft of that piece of jewelry ties the killer to Sarah at least. Sometimes diamonds have codes imbedded into them so if they are stolen they can be returned to the rightful owners. If it was stolen, it might lead us to the thief. But that is just one small part of this.

“You need to make the O’Sullivans give us access to wherever they store the things that aren’t out in the castle. Every house has a storeroom or an attic. Or they may use an outbuilding. Perhaps whatever it is the killer is looking for may be in there.”

“Us?”

“Yes. Please, Kieran. The storm will be over in the morning, and you’re going to lose all your suspects. We need those warrants, and I need to see the storage room.”

“We’ll see,” he said. “Is that all you discovered during your snooping?”

I grimaced.

“What did you do?”

“I was sort of accidentally in the Airendales room when they came back in,” I said.

My sister gasped. “Did they catch you?”

I cleared my throat. “No. I hid under the bed.”

Lizzie laughed out loud. Even Kieran smiled.

“You’re lucky they didn’t see you,” he said.

“I know. I wasn’t super proud of myself. But I overheard them arguing about her little problem. I think he was giving her some tough love. He was very unhappy with her. But they didn’t say a word about the murders. Everything was focused on her kleptomania. She was in tears, and he was fed up. He said he was tired of paying for her therapy, and that she never gets better.”

Kieran spoke over his SAT phone to Sheila. “I need warrants.”

“Already done, boss. We have them for the castle and the grounds. I called when the internet was working earlier.”

“She’s always thinking ahead.”

“She is a wonder.” I said. “It’s a big place,” I said. “I don’t suppose you need some help?”

He snorted. “Better to keep you by my side rather than let you run around alone.”

“I like the way you think,” I joked.

He shook his head.

“Where do we search first?”

“Well, thanks to you we know that the Airendales and the accountant have something to hide. Maybe they killed to protect themselves if the victims were on to them. I’ll have the team search those rooms first. We’ll focus on whatever storage the O’Sullivans have.”

There was a loud boom of thunder. Lizzie and I jumped, and Mr. Poe barked.

Kieran didn’t even flinch.

“I thought when we moved away from Texas, we wouldn’t have to deal with thunderstorms anymore,” Lizzie said. “It’s just as loud and even wilder here so close to the sea.”

“It can be,” Kieran said. “But there’s nothing to worry about. We are in for some flooding and winds, but you’re safe.” He was always so gentle with my sister. I appreciated him for that, even though he saved all of his cynicism and snark for me.

It was okay, I could take it. In that way, we spoke the same language. The psychiatrist my detective sometimes consulted in my books would have all kinds of things to say about that.

In real life, I tried not to analyze our relationship. My sister believed he had feelings for me. I wasn’t so sure. If I thought too hard about it, it became confusing. We liked spending time together and when he touched me…well, I liked it.

“Well, you’re not leaving me here,” Lizzie said. “I’m coming with you.”

“It might be better if you attend the games they are playing. You can keep an eye on the players and text us if anything goes hinky,” I said.

“So, I’d be undercover?”

“Yes,” I said, knowing that would appeal to her. As much as she complained about my snooping, she couldn’t resist solving a mystery.

“Fine. But you have to promise to be careful.”

“I will. And we’ll walk you down so you won’t be alone.”

A half-hour later, the search began. The guests were all involved in the games. The wording in Kieran’s warrant meant he did not have to announce the search. For now, he felt like it might be best if the guests were unaware. His team split into three and went searching for the evidence I’d already found, and anything else they came across.

Kieran and I headed downstairs to one of the many storage areas the O’Sullivans had. Nora had made Kieran a map. It was much colder and damper down there. I was wishing I’d brought a much warmer sweater.

With the master key Gordon gave Kieran, he was able to open the heavy wooden door. The O’Sullivans were the only ones who knew we were doing a search. Kieran hadn’t told them that Sally and their accountant had both been stealing from them. They thought this was about the deaths of the priest and nun.

He found a round switch on the wall and turned on the lights. The storeroom area went on for as far as the eye could see.

The bad part was there were so many things lying all over the place. Beautiful paintings were stacked against the walls. Unlit chandeliers hung from the ceiling. And there were long wooden tables holding a variety of vases, crystal, statues, and other items.

“There is no way we can go through all of this,” I said. “It’s so much more than I imagined.”

“Well, I have a list of the current inventory that is supposed to be here. It goes from the most expensive item to the least.”

“Where did you get that?”

“Mrs. O’Sullivan compiled it for me. When I asked her about the logs in the study, she said they’d moved everything online years ago. Supposedly, everything has been appraised.”

“Then why were the criminals looking through the logs?”

“Could be they weren’t aware that this existed.”

“From the dust and the lack of footprints, I’d say we’re the first people in here for some time. I mean, it’s a temperature-controlled room, I’m sure to keep the art from fading. But keeping dust out in an old castle like this must be difficult.”

He glanced around the room. “I thought we’d check the pricier items to make certain they’re still here.”

“Okay, Detective Inspector, where do we begin?”

“A Caravaggio,” he said.

“Wow. That’s quite the piece,” I said, glancing at the picture on the paper. “I wonder where it is.”

“This says it is valued at seventy-five thousand,” he said.

“Uh. Are you sure you read that right? More like seventy-five million. And it’s sitting down here where no one can see it. It’s kind of sad.”

“Look.” He showed me the paper. It was listed for seventy-five thousand. I was no expert but I knew enough about art to understand that was woefully underpriced.

“Why would they be so unaware of how much their painting is worth?”

“Because someone told them they are fakes. The accountant must have been working with the appraiser to devalue their collection. Then I bet he planned to sneak down here and steal things one by one.”

“But he would have to show provenance,” Kieran said.

“True, but I think things are more fluid on the black market.”

“So the scheme is to dupe the O’Sullivans into thinking their collection is worth nothing. Meanwhile, he would be selling things on the black market.”

“Yes. And the priest and nun, who weren’t either of those things, found out about it. Maybe they wanted a piece of the action and he bumped them off. Or we have a fourth suspect somewhere.”

“You may be on to something there. But wouldn’t they know from the records that their items were real?”

It was a good question. “Not if some expert hired by Maximillian came in and told them otherwise.”

“If you’re right, they may be sitting on a gold mine.”

“Exactly.”

“I can’t even comprehend that kind of wealth. That’s more your league,” he said.

I laughed hard. “Kieran, I may move in certain circles, but I’m not friends with people like that. I know some, yes. But my friends are down to earth, and most of them are writers. They are usually the only people who understand how my mind works.”

“And how is that?”

“You’ve met me. I am extremely nosy, and I talk to myself.”

“Two things we have in common,” he said.

“The nosy thing is your job,” I said. “But I had no idea you talked to yourself.” I didn’t think I’d ever seen him do that.

“Usually, I’m at home or in my office. Sheila’s caught me a few times. It’s how I work things out.”

“Same, but with me there are a bunch of characters that I’m having conversations with too.”

He laughed. “Well, I’m grateful I don’t have that. I don’t know how you do it.”

“There are lots of memes about how some people get a straitjacket, others are called writers.”

We both chuckled.

“This is going to take forever,” I said as I peeked under another covered painting to see if it was the Caravaggio. At the same time, I kept a running tab of the artists I’d seen so far, including a Turner. While I was no art expert, I’d studied the subject extensively. The brush strokes on the Turner were distinctive. These paintings absolutely looked real. At the very least, they needed a second and third opinion.

“Let me see that sheet, please,” I said.

He handed it to me. The light wasn’t great down here, so I used the app on my phone.

“I wonder who put this list together and the last time they had appraisals done. These are not correct.”

“What do you mean?”

“These are undervalued by millions.”

He’d been looking under one of the sheets hanging over another painting.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, like I said, I’m no expert, but I had to do research when I had an art thief in one of my books. If these paintings are real, and I have no reason to think they aren’t, we’re talking about the appraisals being off by millions.

“You said that Nora put this report together.”

“She printed it off.” He flipped through it. “But it was provided by the accountant.”

“The initials on the spreadsheet are M.H. Maximillian Herbert,” I said. “Not only is he stealing money from them, he undervalued their collection. I bet they have no idea what they are sitting on here.”

“But why would they believe him?”

“I think I have an idea.” I pulled the cover up on another painting. It was by a Dutch artist that I recognized.

“He tells them their stuff isn’t worth much, so they leave it in storage. He has supposed experts who are working with him, probably for a cut of the proceeds. Then he sneaks around and steals it, selling it at an enormous profit.”

“But like I said before, wouldn’t whoever bought it need the provenance?”

I shrugged. “That’s probably what the priest was searching for in the study. But there are all kinds of ways to fake that sort of thing, especially on the black market. This is the treasure the journals refer to and the poor O’Sullivans have absolutely been duped.”

“Do you think Maximillian’s the killer?”

I blew out a breath. “I mean, we’ve had cases where we’ve underestimated killers before. And we know he’s cheating the O’Sullivans by cooking their books and undervaluing their collection. Is it such a stretch to believe he could be a killer?”

“There are no connections between him and the victims, though. I couldn’t find a single trail that led back to Sarah and Carl.”

“I have to admit that I just can’t see him as a killer. Maybe he was an accomplice. The way he’s cheating the poor O’Sullivans makes him a bit smarter than I’d given him credit for. I can’t believe they haven’t discovered him stealing their money.”

“He’s related to the family,” Kieran said. “That came up in our search. He is a distant cousin. That may be why they’ve kept him on. That and they can’t possibly know what he’s been doing.”

“He probably feels like he’s owed an inheritance. Men like him always have some sort of justification. His father worked for them, as well. We know that, and it is possible that Carl and Sarah were his accomplices.”

“Question is: did he kill off his partners?”

I was about to answer when the lights flickered out, and a door slammed.

“What was that?”

Kieran used his flashlight to find the path back to the door. When we got there, it was shut. He tried the handle.

“It’s locked,” he said.

“Who would do that? At least, you have the key.”

“Except it locks from the outside. There’s no keyhole on this side of the door.”

I tried turning the knob that controlled the lights. Nothing happened.

Great .

We were locked in a dark room with no way out.