Page 21

TWENTY-ONE

When we hit Main Street, Kieran’s phone went off. He paused to answer, and I stood a few feet away to give him privacy. The street was crowded with festival attendees. I pulled the schedule out of my pocket to see what was happening over the next few hours. It was non-fiction day for the festival. Several readings were happening at the bookstore.

“I need to head back to the station. Promise me you will not visit the professor until I can get away.”

I shrugged. “I’m headed to the bookstore to see what’s happening there,” I said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. It wasn’t my fault there was a hundred percent chance I’d run into the professor before his reading.

And being the friendly person I was, I’d probably strike up a conversation.

The sunshine from earlier in the morning had disappeared. A soft rain fell, and I pulled the hood up on my coat. Walking down Main Street, I caught someone watching me.

I turned to see who it was across the street, but there was no one there. Well, there were people strolling down the sidewalk, but no one indicated they had even noticed me under the awning of Linda’s old store.

Great. Now I’m losing my mind and becoming paranoid.

At the bookshop, the readings took place on the second floor, and I helped straighten the chairs for the professor’s reading, which was scheduled for twenty minutes later.

When he came up the stairs, he seemed flustered.

“Is everything okay?” Lizzie asked.

He was pale and out of breath.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Someone tried to run me over.”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped.

“What?” I asked.

“I was on the road by the cliff, and a motorbike nearly did me in. I could have fallen to my death.” His hands were covered in mud, as were the knees of his slacks. He’d definitely taken a tumble.

“Lizzie, call Kieran,” I said.

“On it.” She pulled out her cell.

“Did you recognize who it was on the motorcycle?”

He shook his head.

“They wore a helmet with a face shield. Everything happened so quickly. The bike was black, and everything the driver wore was the same color. It was all a blur.”

I motioned for him to sit down in one of the chairs meant for the audience.

“Was anyone else around?” The streets had been packed when I’d come into the bookstore. There had to be witnesses.

“No,” he said. “No one but me near the cliffs.”

“Okay. Maybe someone saw them come through town. Did you maybe see a license plate?”

He shook his head. “I was in my head. I always am when I walk. By the time I registered there was a motor close by— I’d been shoved to the ground, so close to the edge of the cliff I thought I was a goner.”

He grew paler by the second.

“Take a deep breath,” I said. “You may be in shock.”

He did as I asked, and I sat down opposite him.

“Is there anyone who might want to cause you harm?”

He shook his head and then stared down at his shoes. “In the past, I had many students who were not happy with me. Since my wife died, I keep to myself,” he said. “I tend my plants and write my books.”

“What about someone from your past?”

He frowned and glanced up at me. “What do you mean? I just told you I don’t teach anymore.”

“I meant further back. Like when you were in school here. I heard rumors about the group you hung out with in secondary. You all were kind of wild. Maybe someone who lives here has a long memory.”

“We were all kids back then. No one cares about that now.” He stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

I wasn’t so sure about his past. “You say that, but then someone killed James and his agent. And then they just tried to shove you off a cliff.”

“I—you think it has something to do with James?”

“Yes,” I said honestly. “Is there anything from your days back then that might have made someone want to kill him? Or knock you off a cliff?”

“No. Yes, we were all friends. And we got up to trouble now and then. Most boys do at that age. But there was nothing we did that would warrant murder years later.”

“And yet, someone is after you. What about your recent past?”

“I told you, since leaving the university, I live quietly.”

“Okay, what about the mayor or Chef Patrick?”

He scoffed. “Two friends I’ve had for most of my life?” He stared down at his hands. “You know the mayor would put you in jail for throwing that sort of aspersion his way.”

“You probably aren’t wrong about that. Please know I’m just trying to help you. There is no telling what the detective inspector will think, but I believe your troubles are tied to James’s death. The problem is figuring out how. I don’t know that you and the others from your group have been exactly honest with the authorities. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

There, I’d said it out loud. He could think what he wanted.

“You have to be wrong. It was probably some kid up on the cliff.”

I sighed. “But what if it wasn’t, Professor? Think about it. One of your friends is dead. By your own admission, had the culprit pushed you harder, you would have gone over the cliff. You have to know something.”

“What makes you think that? Have you discovered a clue?”

Yes . But I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“Kieran’s on his way,” Lizzie interrupted. “I’m going to get you a cup of tea.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I need to clean up.”

His hands shook, and he grabbed the back of the chair when he stood.

“Right. Follow me,” Lizzie said. She crooked his arm in hers and guided him to the restroom that was on this level. We were lucky enough to have two in the bookstore.

“Would you like me to cancel your reading?” she asked as they walked away. “Everyone will understand if you need us to.”

“That is kind of you. Can you give me a moment to sort myself out?”

“Of course. You let me know what you want to do. We still have plenty of time.”

After he’d gone through the door, I turned on my sister. “I was trying to get him to talk.”

“The poor guy is in shock,” she whispered. “He was growing paler by the moment.”

I pursed my lips. “I saw that, but he has to know something. His friend was murdered, and someone just tried to shove him off a cliff.”

“Which is why you should leave the questioning of the victim to me,” Kieran said behind me.

Oops .

Later that evening, I helped my sister and Caro straighten the shop. We were exhausted when we headed to the pub for a poetry slam. I was curious if it meant the same thing in Ireland as in the States.

The pub was crowded, but the owner, Matt, had reserved our table for us with a sign. “I feel so special,” I said as he led us through the crowd.

“Well, you are my favorite writer, and your sister gives me a major discount at her store. So, only the best for you two.”

We laughed.

“Black and tans?” he asked.

Lizzie and I nodded.

“How about you, Caro?”

“I’ll take a Sullivan’s Irish Gold,” she said.

“Coming up. Chips will be coming out hot soon. Do you want some?”

We nodded.

“So, have you figured out who killed the author and his agent?” Caro said bluntly.

I’d just taken a swig of water and nearly sputtered it across the table.

“Why would you say that?” Lizzie asked.

“Oh, it’s all around town that you two are helping the police with their inquiries. And Kieran was in the bookstore today. Did you find out who tried to kill the professor?”

We hadn’t said a word.

“Again, who told you that?”

She smiled. “You two don’t seem to understand how small a village Shamrock Cove is. We have a town full of gossips. It’s the favorite pastime among our residents.”

“Did you know that group of friends?” I asked her.

“I’m a little bit older,” she said. “But I knew of them. They spent a great deal of time at your grandfather’s bookstore. And while they had a reputation for being rude, they weren’t with him. He demanded respect but in a quiet sort of way.”

We never knew him, and we were always looking for more information that would help us get to understand him better. So far, we’d learned that he was kind, generous, and at the same time, had a strained relationship with our father. Another man we knew little about.

“Were they as big of troublemakers as people say?” I asked.

She laughed. “Yes. Though they covered their tracks well, especially the mayor.”

“Oh?” Lizzie seemed surprised.

I wasn’t. He had that politician’s demeanor. He was as fake as they came. On the surface he seemed affable, but behind the scenes I’d seen the trouble he’d caused for Kieran with the investigation.

He refused to talk about his friends. And he probably had the best insight to all of them. But he still played that game of covering their backs, even though one of them might have killed James and his agent.

“Can I ask you something completely off the record?”

Caro shrugged. “I’ll answer if I can.”

“You know that gang fairly well,” I whispered. “If you had to pick one to commit murder, which one would it be?”

Her eyes went wide. “Do you really think it was one of that crew?”

“As a mystery writer, I’m keeping my options open.”

“She has trouble keeping her nose out of ongoing cases,” Lizzie said.

I made a face at her.

“I try to help if I can. It’s not like I mean to make a nuisance of myself.”

“And yet…” she said.

“Mean,” I countered.

She giggled.

“I’ve never trusted the mayor,” she said. “I certainly didn’t vote for him. He’s always given off a certain attitude like he’s entitled to the world. I’m sure that comes from having parents who own a fair amount of Shamrock Cove, but I’ve never cared for him.”

“Do you think he’s capable of murder, though?” Lizzie whispered.

I had the same question.

“Yes, but he’d probably hire someone. I know that is awful to say. But I can’t see him getting his hands dirty. And he was great friends with James, at least from the outside looking in. He was always talking about how the author had come from our wee village. He was quite proud of the fact.”

“What about the others?” I asked. “The caterer, Patrick, or the professor.”

“I hadn’t seen Patrick for years,” she said. “From what his ma says, his business in Dublin has been doing quite well. There were even write-ups in magazines about him. Though, he had some trouble a few years ago with the law. I can’t quite remember.”

I was still waiting for the articles the librarian Mrs. Gallagher was getting me. I could probably find them on one of the databases I used. I made a mental note to look later.

“I don’t know much about the professor,” Caro said. “He’s one who keeps himself to himself. He ordered a great many books through the store, though.”

I’d heard that he was a hermit more than once. He didn’t seem the type to commit murder, but he was the only one who would know exactly how to use the poison.

“He did enjoy chatting with your grandfather,” Caro said. “He used to come into the store about once a month. And we always kept a selection of the books he wrote in the store. He’s quieter than the rest of them, though. What happened to him this afternoon? Did someone really try to kill him?”

“Kieran’s on the case,” I said. “Someone definitely ran Professor Hughes off the road.”

“He might have died by falling off the cliff if he hadn’t caught himself,” Lizzie added.

“That is frightening,” Caro said. “To think we have another murderer in our wee town.”

“Do you remember back in the day? Maybe there was someone they offended that might want to get back at them?” I asked.

She grimaced. “They weren’t exactly well-liked. And most of what I heard back then were rumors. Like I said, they were quite adept at covering for one another. That way they couldn’t be blamed for their misdeeds. There are any number of young women who might have wanted to kill James. But I don’t know why they would kill his agent.”

I had been so focused on the set of friends, that I hadn’t thought much about those they’d caused problems for in the past. But Caro was right. It would make sense for someone on the outside of the group to want them dead.

Probably more so than one of them knocking each other off.

Darn . The festival would be over in a few days, and we were no closer to finding the killer.

There was a commotion at the door and people waved at the person coming in. It was the mayor.

He wore a fake smile as he shook hands.

My thoughts tumbled through my brain. There was just something about the guy that rubbed me the wrong way.

Maybe he wasn’t responsible for the deaths, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew who might be capable of murdering his friend.

I just had to figure out a way to ask him without ending up in a jail cell.