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The next day I sat in Kieran’s office extremely disappointed. He had let me watch on a video link, but I wasn’t allowed in the room itself. As soon as they started questioning him, Chef Patrick, whose head was bandaged, told them everything. His solicitor had encouraged him to come clean since there had been so many witnesses to his confession in the kitchen.

Word for word it was what I’d given in my statement the night before.

Then Kieran asked the question that hadn’t been answered.

“You said you still loved Sebrena,” Kieran said. “Then why did you poison her like you did James?”

“She’d seen me at the cottage the night before,” he said. “Or at least, she thought it was me on the motorcycle. She confronted me. I told her she was nuts, but I couldn’t have her talking to you. It would have ruined everything.”

“But when did you poison her?”

“We had a banquet service for breakfast that day. I slipped it into her tea. It took a while to work. I made sure I was the one who cleared the service and disposed of the cup. I thought it would kill her there.

“No one was more surprised than me when she got up and walked away. Constitution of a horse, that one. I’d found the poison while researching herbs for one of my dishes more than a year ago. I couldn’t believe my luck when the literary committee accepted my catering bid. Everything fell into place after that.”

“And did you cause the blackout at the time of James Brandt’s murder?”

“No. Had nothing to do with it. I was already leaving the cottage. He had no idea I’d poisoned him. He was angry with me for bringing Keeley’s manuscript that she’d left with me when she went to America, especially when I told him she’d just published it in the States. He then threw me out.”

“I think I know what happened,” I said to my sister, who was sitting next to me in Kieran’s office.

“What?”

“It never made sense why James pulled the bookcase down on himself. But he must have been stumbling around in the dark as he was dying. When he tried to steady himself, he pulled the bookcase down.”

“That’s awful,” she said.

“It is. Especially if he didn’t die right away.”

We shivered.

“Did you help cover up the death of Doctor Hughes’s wife?” Kieran asked.

That had come out of the blue, and I wondered if he’d found some tie to her death and what had been going on the past week.

“No,” he said. “Finn loved his wife. He wouldn’t have hurt her.”

“Well, I guess that’s it,” I said to Lizzie.

My sister laughed. “You seem disappointed. Aren’t you glad he confessed?”

“It really isn’t like on television or the movies.”

“Well, you heard what Kieran said. The cards were already stacked against him. The court will consider his willingness to confess when his sentence is decided. Do they have the death penalty in Ireland?” she asked.

“No. Not for a couple of decades.”

“Oh. I was just curious about what he might be facing.”

“Kieran said at least one lifetime in prison, possibly two. He said we had no worries of him ever getting out.”

Her phone buzzed, and she smiled.

“Who is it?”

“Rob and Scott. They want to know what’s happening. They’re making us lunch. Lolly and Brenna will be there as well.”

I wasn’t surprised. Our neighbors on the court looked out for one another. Actually, all of Shamrock Cove did. It was one of the reasons we loved our new town so much. The people genuinely cared for one another.

“I can’t imagine this will go on much longer,” I said. “I’ve heard enough.”

She appeared surprised.

“What?” I asked.

“I figured you’d want to sit here to the very end.”

“Tell them we will be there shortly.”

A half-hour later, I’d told them everything about what we’d heard over plates of what Rob called Irish comfort food: corned beef, delightfully light mashed potatoes, and several other sides. Mom would have called it stick-to-your-ribs kind of food.

“Thank goodness for your instincts,” Lolly said. “My grandson says your quick thinking saved the day.”

I shrugged. “I guess all that researching and martial arts training pays off when it counts.”

“It does,” Lizzie said.

There was a small yip from under the table.

“And Mr. Poe’s quick biting,” I added.

Mr. Poe was snuggled between Lizzie and me. Though he never begged, she would feed him the occasional morsel of meat. After all, he had saved me from a killer.

I loved this place and our friends. Life in Shamrock Cove was good and I would never again take it for granted.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Carrie.

Okay, big hero. That book better be on time. And thank God you are alive. Stop scaring me like that.

I laughed. Lizzie asked who it was and I told them.

Everyone around the table smiled.

Yes, life was good. And I was more than grateful to be surrounded by our new friends.

But now that I had the crime-solving bug, I wondered when the next mystery might come to Shamrock Cove.

* * *