Read A Secret and Unlawful Killing Online
Authors: Cora Harrison
Tags: #Fiction, #Historical, #Mystery & Detective
A Secret and Unlawful Killing (4 page)
‘Yes, it is Ragnall, the MacNamara steward, and he is definitely dead,’ she said, before he could ask. He took her hand and held it between his own two large warm hands.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ he asked quietly. ‘Do you want me to get Malachy, the physician?’
Mara shook her head. ‘He’s in Galway. In any case I don’t think that there is much that he can tell me. It seems obvious that the blow to the head killed him.’
‘Would you like me to go up to the castle at Carron and let the
taoiseach
know about this? I can easily do it on my way back to Thomond.’
taoiseach
know about this? I can easily do it on my way back to Thomond.’
She shook her head again. ‘You go on with your journey. I’ll have Cumhal and Diarmuid here with me,’ she assured him.
‘You’re not going to prefer to accept help from that
bóaire
instead of from me, are you?’ grumbled Turlough.
bóaire
instead of from me, are you?’ grumbled Turlough.
Mara smiled with amusement. She enjoyed Turlough’s occasional growls of jealousy.
‘It’s more fitting for a farmer to be running errands than for a king,’ she told him demurely. She felt she sounded like a parody of her housekeeper, Brigid, who always had a keen notion of what was or was not fitting for various members of society to do, but Turlough continued to look at her suspiciously. He had not liked finding her alone with Diarmuid in the garden earlier.
‘Go n-éirigh an bothair leath
[may the road rise up with
you],’ she said smiling a farewell, and, despite the presence of the bodyguards, she reached up and kissed him on the lips.
[may the road rise up with
you],’ she said smiling a farewell, and, despite the presence of the bodyguards, she reached up and kissed him on the lips.
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ he said, holding her tightly in his arms for a few minutes. Then he climbed back onto his horse and, followed closely by his bodyguards, made his way down the road towards the east.
Mara stood quietly, her thoughts lingering on Turlough and the complications, as well as the pleasures, that had resulted from his love for her. Her mind strayed back to her first husband; she had sworn never to marry again. Should she remain firm or accept Turlough’s offer of marriage? Then she dismissed the matter from her mind. This was not the time or place for speculations of this nature. Now she had to banish them from her thoughts and put all her energies and intelligence into solving this unexpected death.
Niall was the first to arrive. He was mounted on a heavily built workhorse and he thundered along the road from Rusheen well ahead of Diarmuid on his slow-moving cob. Niall had obviously been told that something was amiss and his young, thin face was drawn and apprehensive as he swung his leg over the broad back of the horse and then came slowly across to her. He did not show any shock at the sight of the dead body of the steward, but his lips tightened. Mara noticed that he did not mutter the customary prayer either. She found that strange.
‘As you can see, Ragnall MacNamara has been killed,’ she said quietly.
Niall moistened his lips and opened them as if he were about to say something and then shut them again.
‘When did you leave him last night?’ Mara asked. She had thought to postpone questioning until after Garrett had been called and the body removed to the church before being decently buried, but often a question when someone is shocked could provoke the truth while time for thought produced only silence. However, she was surprised and puzzled to note how shaken Niall looked. True, he was only in his early twenties, but he must have seen many dead people in his time: the Gaelic custom was to hold night-long wakes after every death and young children were routinely brought to these events.
He raised troubled eyes from the corpse at their feet and looked at her. ‘I didn’t see him after I left him at the market square, Brehon,’ he said. ‘You were there yourself. You probably saw me go. I never saw him after that until this very second.’
She frowned. ‘But what about the cart?’
‘Well, I was a bit late coming back for the cart. A cousin of mine was at my house. He had come all the way from Tuamgréine to see me so I didn’t want to rush away. I thought Ragnall would stay until the end of the market. He always likes to make sure that he gets the last ounce …’ His voice trailed away and his eyes went once more to the silent body on the ground.
‘So what time did you come back?’ asked Mara.
‘The sun was still up … well, I suppose it was setting … but it was before sundown … I remember my shadow being very large on the ground ahead of me as I walked towards
the fair,’ said Niall defensively. ‘There were plenty of people still there. I passed the merchant from Corcomroe, Guaire, on the road when I was leaving Rusheen.’
the fair,’ said Niall defensively. ‘There were plenty of people still there. I passed the merchant from Corcomroe, Guaire, on the road when I was leaving Rusheen.’
‘And Ragnall had already gone?’
‘The cart was there and no one was with it.’
‘And his horse?’
‘That was gone, too.’
‘And what did you do then?’
‘Well, I waited for a while and then I crossed over and had a word with Liam O’Lochlainn, the O‘Lochlainn steward. He was still on that box of his, collecting the Michaelmas tribute from all the O’Lochlainns. He said that Ragnall had gone some time ago. So I took the cart back to my own place at Rusheen. That had been the arrangement: I would keep it overnight, and then drive it over to the tower house this morning.’
‘So it’s in your barn now?’ Mara asked thoughtfully. ‘Did you check it before you stored it?’
Niall shook his head. ‘No, Brehon, I just put it in the barn, locked the door, released the dog and then went back indoors. That dog of mine is a great barker; no one could come near the place without him rousing me.’ He turned his head as the clatter of horse hoofs sounded on the stony road.
‘Here comes Diarmuid,’ said Mara. ‘You go now, Niall. Just knock on the door of the priest’s house and send him over here. Once we have brought Ragnall to the church you must ride as fast as you can and bring your
taoiseach
back here. He will want to make the arrangements.’
taoiseach
back here. He will want to make the arrangements.’
She watched him carefully as he hurried across the churchyard. There seemed to be something always rushed and apprehensive about Niall. His early life as the illegitimate
son of Aengus, a sour, difficult old man, and his servant, Cliodhna, probably accounted for that. Nevertheless, there seemed to be something unusual about the jerky way that his long thin legs crossed the churchyard, and he waited for a moment, standing with his head bowed, before pulling the bell rope.
son of Aengus, a sour, difficult old man, and his servant, Cliodhna, probably accounted for that. Nevertheless, there seemed to be something unusual about the jerky way that his long thin legs crossed the churchyard, and he waited for a moment, standing with his head bowed, before pulling the bell rope.
‘Did you tell Niall that Ragnall was dead?’ she asked Diarmuid quietly as he came down the path to meet her.
He shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t, Brehon. I just said that you wanted to see him and that you were by the church. He didn’t ask anything, but jumped on his horse straight away and was off down the road nearly before I had finished speaking.
Almost as if he knew what I had found, thought Mara. Aloud she said, ‘Diarmuid, would you be able to spare the time to ride over to Carron and tell Garrett MacNamara about this killing? Would that be asking too much of you? I think I need to speak to Niall and I would like to send Cumhal back to the school as soon as possible. You know what Aidan and Moylan are like, and Enda and Shane will be arriving soon. I don’t want to leave Brigid alone with them for too long. I hate to disturb your morning though,’ she added, looking dubiously at him. Diarmuid, she knew, would always hasten to carry out her lightest wish and for that reason she didn’t like taking too much advantage of his affection.
‘No trouble at all,’ said Diarmuid briefly, his freckled face lighting up with pleasure. ‘I’ll enjoy the ride and I’ll be glad to do something to help.’
Mara looked after him fondly as he rode down the path, his red-blond hair glinting in the late September sunlight. He
was a trustworthy man, she thought, a good neighbour, loyal to his clan and kind to his animals. He lived alone on a farm in North Baur, about a mile from Cahermacnaghten, with only his ferocious dog, Wolf, to keep him company. What a shame that he never married and had a wife and family!
was a trustworthy man, she thought, a good neighbour, loyal to his clan and kind to his animals. He lived alone on a farm in North Baur, about a mile from Cahermacnaghten, with only his ferocious dog, Wolf, to keep him company. What a shame that he never married and had a wife and family!
Father O’Connor, the parish priest at Noughaval, was an elderly man. As soon as Mara saw him emerge she went hastily to the churchyard gate to break the news to him.
‘I’m afraid this is a sorry sight, Father,’ she said. ‘Ragnall MacNamara has been killed and his body has been left in the churchyard.’
The priest nodded heavily as if such things were a daily occurrence in his life. Perhaps he was so old that nothing now came as a surprise to him. He put the black stole around his neck, followed her and without hesitation knelt on the damp grass beside the body. Quickly he anointed the five senses: feet and hands, the two ears, the mouth, and the nostrils, and then just above the widely opened sightless eyes, murmuring the ancient Latin words.
Mara crossed herself perfunctorily as the priest rose to his feet, but her mind was already busy with the arrangements for the next stage.
‘I think, Father,’ she said, ‘that it would be best if we took him into your church for the moment. He can repose there until we see what the MacNamara says. And of course there is his daughter, Maeve. We’ll have to see if she wants to have his wake back at the house, or if it will take place in the tower house.’
‘Poor child, poor child,’ said Father O’Connor compassionately.
‘She lost her mother three years ago and now her father. What a sad thing. She has no brothers or sisters either, to help her bear the burden. It was a late marriage between Ragnall and his wife. Just the one child.’
‘She lost her mother three years ago and now her father. What a sad thing. She has no brothers or sisters either, to help her bear the burden. It was a late marriage between Ragnall and his wife. Just the one child.’
And where was Maeve? Mara wondered, following Cumhal and Niall as they bore the body into the church. Her mind was working busily. Why had Maeve not informed anyone that her father was missing? Surely she would have noticed and been concerned when Ragnall had not come home that night.
‘Would you like me to go and see her afterwards and break the news to her?’ asked Father O’Connor, getting out his prayer book as they entered the church.
‘No, Father,’ said Mara thoughtfully. ‘I think I will do that myself.’ She said a brief prayer over the dead man and then walked back out to the graveyard. Niall and Cumhal followed her.
‘Niall,’ she said gently, ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’ve sent Diarmuid to fetch the
taoiseach.
You and I will go back and check on the cart and then I’ll go to Shesmore to see Maeve MacNamara and break the news of her father’s death to her.’
taoiseach.
You and I will go back and check on the cart and then I’ll go to Shesmore to see Maeve MacNamara and break the news of her father’s death to her.’
Niall said nothing, just looked at her apprehensively. She gave him a reassuring smile and then turned to her farm manager. ‘Cumhal, you can go back to the school, all the scholars should have arrived now and Brigid will have her hands full with them.’ Despite the serious and tragic situation, her lips curled in an irresistible smile at the thought of the excitement at the law school as Aidan and Moylan told their dramatic story over and over again.
‘Yes, Brehon,’ said Cumhal obediently. He went towards the cob, and then hesitated, looking questioningly over his
shoulder at her. She joined him instantly. Cumhal said little, but when he spoke it was always worth hearing. As he and Brigid had been her father’s servants from their youth, there was little they didn’t know about the Brehon’s business.
shoulder at her. She joined him instantly. Cumhal said little, but when he spoke it was always worth hearing. As he and Brigid had been her father’s servants from their youth, there was little they didn’t know about the Brehon’s business.
‘Did you notice that Ragnall didn’t have a pouch, Brehon,’ he said in a low tone when she joined him.
‘No,’ said Mara. ‘I didn’t, Cumhal.’
‘His mantle fell back when we were lifting him onto the litter, so that’s why I noticed. It had been cut from his belt,’ Cumhal continued, still in an undertone, with a quick glance over his shoulder to where Niall was standing, waiting at a discreet distance from them. ‘I saw the marks where the leather had been cut. Niall put the mantle back around him before we carried him in. That’s why you wouldn’t have seen it.’
‘Thank you, Cumhal,’ said Mara quietly. She returned to Niall and smiled at him. ‘One minute, Niall, I must just have a quick word with Father O’Connor.’ She went rapidly back into the dim chill of the stone church and knelt beside the priest, her eyes scanning the body lying peacefully on the marble slab.
‘I’ve sent Diarmuid O’Connor for the MacNamara,‘she said. ‘I am sure the
taoiseach
will take charge of all the funeral arrangements.’ She spoke mechanically, deftly disturbing the dead man’s heavy outer garment while the priest’s face turned towards the church door. Now she could see for herself that Cumhal was correct. Ragnall wore a heavy, broad leather belt beneath his mantle. The belt was black with age and usage but the edges of the tags, which would have supported his pouch, showed almost white. They had been cut recently with a sharp knife and the pouch stolen. After
death? Or before death? Impossible to tell, thought Mara, but she was sure of one thing. By late afternoon that pouch would have been crammed full of pieces of silver. It had even begun to bulge by the time she had seen Ragnall in the early morning of Michaelmas. It had been stupid of her to miss the pouch, she thought. It was as well that Cumhal had his wits about him. She looked more closely at the dead body, determined not to miss anything else. The bone of Ragnall’s forehead was splintered, but there was also a dark purple bruise above the left ear. Possibly the man was first stunned, fell to the ground and was then killed. She rose from her knees. The priest was oblivious of her, still muttering prayers, whether for himself or for the dead man she did not know. She did not disturb him, but slipped quietly away and joined Niall outside the church.
taoiseach
will take charge of all the funeral arrangements.’ She spoke mechanically, deftly disturbing the dead man’s heavy outer garment while the priest’s face turned towards the church door. Now she could see for herself that Cumhal was correct. Ragnall wore a heavy, broad leather belt beneath his mantle. The belt was black with age and usage but the edges of the tags, which would have supported his pouch, showed almost white. They had been cut recently with a sharp knife and the pouch stolen. After
death? Or before death? Impossible to tell, thought Mara, but she was sure of one thing. By late afternoon that pouch would have been crammed full of pieces of silver. It had even begun to bulge by the time she had seen Ragnall in the early morning of Michaelmas. It had been stupid of her to miss the pouch, she thought. It was as well that Cumhal had his wits about him. She looked more closely at the dead body, determined not to miss anything else. The bone of Ragnall’s forehead was splintered, but there was also a dark purple bruise above the left ear. Possibly the man was first stunned, fell to the ground and was then killed. She rose from her knees. The priest was oblivious of her, still muttering prayers, whether for himself or for the dead man she did not know. She did not disturb him, but slipped quietly away and joined Niall outside the church.
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