Shamrock Shenanigans (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 19) (11 page)

Neither Luke nor Susan admitted to killing Brent. It seemed a foregone conclusion that they were lying, but something about their story seemed to ring true. They both stated that they’d simply met in Luke’s room for the exchange. After the police had finished with her, I asked Susan why she’d made up the flu thing if she hadn’t killed Brent, and she said that once she heard about Brent’s death she’d realized she would need an alibi to avoid closer scrutiny. She saw her opening at dinner and took it.

All in all, this murder mystery weekend had been a lot more exciting than I could ever have imagined.

By the time evening rolled around Luke had been arrested, Lord Dunphy had been taken to the local medical facility, and the rest of us had settled in for our last evening together. Because the original weekend wasn’t supposed to wrap up until Sunday at dinner, no one had flights until the next day.

I suggested to the other guests that we invite the staff to dine with us and they agreed. After everyone except Liam gathered around the table, Zak toasted our health and we all dug into the delicious meal the cook had prepared.

“Do you think we should go out to the stable and invite Liam in?” I wondered.

“There’s no need,” Zak answered. “Liam left after the local law enforcement wrapped things up.”

“Left? Where did he go?”

“He didn’t say.”

I guess it wasn’t all that odd that one of the castle staff would take advantage of some time off and head to the pub, but I never had gotten the chance to thank him for what he’d done to help me diffuse a potentially tragic situation.

Although I’d only known this group of people for four days, I felt that I was really going to miss a few of them. Maybe I’d ask for addresses and try to stay in touch.

Zak’s phone dinged. He looked at the caller ID. “I’m sorry; I really have to take this.”

It was unlike Zak to bring his phone to the table, especially when we were out, so the only thing I could gather from his behavior was that he had an important call that he’d been expecting. After he completed his call he excused himself and headed upstairs.

“Excuse me,” I said to the group. “I think I need to find out what’s going on. Zak isn’t usually one to put work over time with friends.”

“Of course, dear,” Piper answered for the group. “I do hope everything is all right.”

I smiled at Piper and then ran up the stairs to our room. Zak was on the phone again, but he motioned for me to come in and close the door.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“That was my CIA contact. I had a hunch and forwarded Liam’s photo to him before he left.”

“Hunch? What hunch? Liam saved our lives. He turned out to be the good guy, remember?”

“He is the good guy; he’s just not who you think he is. As it turns out, Liam was responsible for having Brent’s body moved.”

I frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“Because Liam is also Interpol. He was here as Brent’s partner. When we told him that Brent was dead he cleaned it up. He figured he couldn’t afford to have Brent’s real identity discovered.”

Okay, I had to admit this was a twist, but I supposed it made sense. The main reason I’d suspected Liam was because he was able to move around so freely; he was the one we happened to first report the death to and he was the one Lord Dunphy had sent to check on the body. It would be easy enough for him to move the body before anyone other than Zak and I even knew Brent was dead.

“There’s still one unanswered question: Who killed Brent? Both Luke and Susan swear it wasn’t either of them.”

“There is one possibility we never really considered.”

“Who?”

“If we go back to our original list we find that Piper left the party early, as did Armand, Luke, and Susan. Jessica was chatting with Sam, and Millie was chatting with Cassandra and Drew. Millie left to go to the ladies’ room at one point. Drew left for a few minutes too, but we know she was in the kitchen. As for the staff, Liam and Liza weren’t around that evening. The cook was in the kitchen the entire evening and Byron moved over to the bar after he finished serving the meal. And Lord Dunphy excused himself early.”

“We’ve already been through this multiple times,” I complained.

“I know, but bear with me. I have a point.”

“Okay, go ahead.

“That leaves us with Piper, Armand, Luke, Susan, Millie, Drew, Liam, Lord Dunphy, and Liza as having opportunity. If Liam is Interpol and we believe Susan and Luke that they didn’t kill Brent, that leaves Piper, Armand, Millie, Liza, and Lord Dunphy.”

“Are you saying one of those five people killed Brent?”

“I believe so.”

I frowned. “Which one?”

“I believe it was Liza. The local police are picking her up now.”

“Liza? Why would Liza kill Brent?”

Zak pulled up a photo on his phone and showed it to me. In it, the man we knew as Brent was standing over the body of a man who looked to be dead. It appeared he had been shot in the back.

“Liza is connected to the dead man?”

“He was her brother.”

“Her brother the soldier?”

“I guess you could say that. My contact at the CIA informed me that Liza’s brother was a member of a still-active splinter group of the IRA. He was killed during a standoff five years ago. Brent, whose name is really Gregory Kline, was charged with shooting him during a demonstration. The incident was reviewed, and it was determined Brent had acted according to protocol.”

“So Liza sees a chance to get her revenge. What are the odds that the man who killed her brother would show up at the castle where she cleans rooms?”

“Pretty astronomical.”

“How did she even know who he was?” I wondered.

“Apparently this photo was all over the news and the Internet at the time of the event. I imagine she’s been studying that photo for five years. Other than changing his clothes Gregory did nothing to disguise himself. Anyone familiar with the photo would have recognized him.”

I felt a sadness wash over me. Liza was such a sweet person. I couldn’t imagine her shooting anyone. Still, if her brother’s death had been a festering wound all these years. I suppose I could see how it might set her off to find one of the guests at the castle was the man who had destroyed not only her brother’s life but the lives of herself and her mother. How incredibly sad that all these years later a senseless act of violence could still destroy lives.

“What do you think will happen to her?”

“I don’t know,” Zak answered. “I guess that’s up to Interpol to sort out, if my theory is indeed correct.”

My last night at the castle turned out to be a sleepless one. The thought of poor Liza wasting her life in jail depressed me more than I was able to deal with. After Zak fell asleep I slipped on my robe and headed down the stairs. Maybe some warm milk would help me sleep. When I entered the kitchen I found Millie sitting at the table sipping a cup of tea.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” I asked.

“Restless spirits.”

“I see. Who’s out and about tonight?”

“Catherine, and she seems quite vexed.”

I frowned. “I found the jewels. They’ve been returned to Lord Dunphy. I would think she would have moved on. Didn’t you say the reason she hadn’t moved on was because there was something she needed someone to find?”

“I did say that, but it seems the jewels were not what she wanted you to find.”

I poured myself a glass of milk and then sat down next to Millie. “Okay, if it wasn’t the jewels keeping her here, what was it?”

Millie sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t know.”

I took a sip of my milk and pondered the situation. “She led me to her secret room,” I began. “Whatever it is she wants me to find must be in the room. I was waylaid when the jewels were found and first Lord Dunphy and then Luke showed up. Perhaps I should go back.”

“I think that would be a good idea. Whatever Catherine’s secret is, I am convinced that you are to be the one to uncover it. Your energy is linked to hers in a very definitive manner.”

I had to admit I could feel Catherine’s presence as I sat talking to Millie. She seemed anxious, almost desperate. I was leaving the following day. I supposed if I was to fulfill the act I seemed destined for, it would have to be tonight.

“Would you like to come with me?” I asked Millie.

She looked to a spot over my head and smiled. “Yes. Catherine is fine with my coming along. We should go now, before it gets any later.”

I retraced the steps I’d taken the previous afternoon. Down the narrow hallways and even narrower stairs. As on the day before, the old part of the castle was drafty and more than just a little bit cold. When we got to the round room I pressed the stone to reveal the secret room. Millie gasped as I stepped inside.

“This is so familiar,” Millie whispered. “I feel as though I’ve been here before.”

I stood in the middle of the room and looked around. I had no idea where to start looking for whatever it was Catherine wanted me to find. My eyes settled on the cradle. “Do you know who Amelia was?”

Millie closed her eyes, as if focusing on my question. I knew Catherine had twelve sons. Perhaps Amelia was a sister?

Millie held her hand to her chest.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I feel such a deep sorrow. It is almost overwhelming. Oh, God.”

I watched as a tear slid down Millie’s cheek.

“The cradle,” Millie said. “The secret is in the cradle.”

I bent down and looked inside the cradle. Other than the blanket with the name Amelia on it, it appeared to be empty. It was made of wood, with a solid bottom. I ran my hand over the wood. Perhaps what had once been in the cradle was long gone. But wouldn’t Catherine know that?

“I don’t see anything.”

“Look beneath the surface.”

Beneath the surface? The room we were standing in was hidden by a secret door; perhaps the cradle had a secret door as well. I ran my hand over the wood again. I felt a slight catch in one corner. I gently pressed the corner and the bottom gave way to another wooden bottom beneath the first. Between the two layers was a very old piece of parchment with writing on it.

“It looks like a letter,” I informed Millie.

“Can you read it?”

“It’s so old. I hate to touch it for fear of destroying it.”

Millie was silent for a moment. “Catherine wants you to try.”

I gently lifted out the centuries’ old message and began to read. Like the journal I’d read earlier in the weekend, the words were faded and difficult to make out.

“It says something about having a daughter,” I began. I squinted to make out the next part. “She was born while her husband was away in battle.”

“She had a child out of wedlock?” Millie asked.

I tried to make out the next part of the passage. There were words I didn’t understand, making it even more difficult to read. “I don’t think so. I think Amelia was conceived before Carrick left for battle but delivered while he was away.” I frowned as I tried to continue. “Catherine believed Garrick would not welcome a female child. She is frightened for her fate when he returns.”

I bit my lip as I tried to make out the rest of the letter. “She wants Amelia to be raised in a family where female children as well as male offspring are cherished and loved. She believes Carrick will dismiss her in favor of her brothers. She believes he will marry her off for political reasons as soon as she is old enough. He sounds like a monster.”

Millie closed her eyes and gently rocked back and forth. “No, I don’t sense that Catherine thought of her husband as a monster. I sense sadness in her heart, but she loves her husband in spite of his quite chauvinistic view of women. It is not anger at her husband that I am picking up but rather love for her daughter, and the yearning that she will be given opportunities most women back then didn’t have. She wants her to be something other than a pawn.”

I continued to decipher the letter one word at a time. “There is a family she knows. A family she feels will give Amelia the love she would most likely not receive as a female child of Carrick’s.”

“She gave her daughter away,” I realized.

I watched as Millie gasped.

“It is true,” Millie confirmed. “I can feel it in my soul. Poor Catherine. Her heart was breaking as she wrote this. What a difficult decision.”

I took Millie’s hand in mine as I tried to make sense of the whole thing. Wouldn’t her husband notice if he came home from battle and his wife was no longer pregnant but there was also no baby?

“The baby she lost. Son number five. Donovan. She didn’t lose a child in childbirth; she had a daughter,” I realized.

Millie squeezed my hand in support. “Yes, I believe that makes sense.”

I handed Millie the parchment. There was more to read, but I found I’d lost the heart for it. “I guess I understand
why
she did it. What I don’t understand is
how
she could do it. To give away your own flesh and blood?”

“Love trumps all.”

I guess Millie had a point. What wouldn’t I do for Alex, and she wasn’t even my flesh and blood. I guess when you decide to love a child you decide to put the needs of that child ahead of all else, even your own happiness. I had to wonder why it was so important to Catherine for me to find this. She’d basically stayed behind so she could lead me to this secret hundreds of years after Amelia had died. If she wanted someone to find out about Amelia it seemed she could have found someone else within the past three hundred years. Why me and why now?

“Oh, my,” Millie said as I stared down at the empty cradle.

“What is it?”

“Look at the name of the couple Catherine gave Amelia away to.”

She handed me back the parchment and pointed to a line toward the bottom of the page. The ink was faded, but it clearly said Amelia would be raised by Conall and Deirdre Donovan.