Murder in an Irish Village

by Carlene O'Connor

  Siobhán felt horrid. They were definitely having marital strife. Could they also be killers?

  Chapter 19

  Siobhán turned back to the crowded room. Father Kearney was still leading the prayer. Gráinne and Ann were nowhere to be seen. Ciarán and Eoin were making the rounds, and so was James, although Siobhán could tell he wanted nothing more than to flee. When the prayer was finished, she looked up to find Courtney Kirby beside her.

  “Can you spare a minute?” Courtney said, flicking her fake eyelashes about the room. Her tone didn’t have the usual excitement.

  “Of course,” Siobhán said. “How are you keeping?”

  “Grand, grand. But I need your ear for a minute.”

  “Certainly,” Siobhán said. “But if it’s about whittling for the store, I’m not ready.”

  Courtney put her hand on Siobhán’s shoulder. “Take your time, pet. It’s not that at all.”

  “What is it?”

  Courtney glanced around once more. “I can’t tell ye here. Too many eyes and ears, if you know what I mean.” That was ironic coming from gossip-loving Courtney, but Siobhán kept her gob shut. “Can you meet me in my shop? In about an hour?”

  “I should be able to sneak away,” Siobhán said.

  “I’ll see you there. The sign will say CLOSED. Just knock three times, will ye?”

  “Three times,” Siobhán repeated. “No bother.”

  Courtney’s eyes darted around the room again. Who was she looking for? Why was she so nervous? Siobhán would make sure she asked her when they were alone. Macdara stepped up behind them, and Courtney slipped away.

  “What was that about?” Macdara said, watching as Courtney took her leave.

  “You noticed it too,” Siobhán said.

  “She looked as if she’d just had the fright of her life,” Macdara confirmed.

  “Everyone’s on edge,” Siobhán said. “There’s a killer among us.”

  “I’m working on that,” Macdara said. “Question is, Are you?”

  “Whatever do you mean?” Siobhán kept her eyes wide, hoping it would make her look like an innocent lamb.

  “Have you let it go, like I asked?”

  “Yes,” Siobhán said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. It wasn’t her fault if people were coming to her with information, was it? She’d better steer this ship in a different direction. “What have you found out?”

  “A garda gathers information; he doesn’t give it,” Macdara said. Siobhán batted her eyelashes. “Do you have something stuck in your eye?” he asked politely.

  She put her hand on his arm. He cocked his head and looked suspicious. She dropped her arm. “Please,” she said. “If I can’t investigate, I have to hear how it’s going. It will help calm my nerves.”

  Macdara sighed. “Just this once,” he said. “After this you’re cut off. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Sheila and Pio seem to be having domestic problems alright. But I don’t think it has anything to do with Niall.”

  “I thought the same. Anything else?”

  “What?” His eyes flicked to hers and remained steady. “Nerves not calm yet?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “Getting there.”

  “You could’ve charmed the snake out of Eden,” Macdara said with a shake of his head.

  “I won’t say a word to anyone. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

  “I do not need you saying that,” Macdara said, putting his hand up as if to stop her. He moved even closer and dropped his voice to a whisper. “You were also right about Mike Granger. He did find Niall’s passport behind the shop.”

  “He admitted it?”

  “First thing. Said he’d be meaning to call me about it, but then it got buried on his desk, and he had forgotten about it until you came in and knocked over his papers.”

  Siobhán didn’t buy that for a second. Did Macdara? She didn’t want to antagonize him, so she tucked that one away. “Did you find out why Niall was running around with his passport?”

  “I had a word with Declan. He said Niall liked having it on him. Said it was a reminder that he wasn’t going to stay in this country a second longer than he had to.”

  “Where was he going to go?”

  “It was just talk. But Australia, it seems.”

  “Billy always talked about going to Australia,” Siobhán said.

  “It seems to fit. Niall carrying it around for motivation. A little hope that he would get his brother out of jail and they’d take off for down under.”

  Instead he was really down under. Siobhán shivered at the thought. “Does Mike know I saw the passport?”

  “If he did, he didn’t mention it.”

  “Doesn’t it seem odd? That he would forget he had a murder victim’s passport?”

  “I can’t arrest someone for odd behavior,” Macdara said. “If I could, there would barely be anyone left in town.”

  Siobhán let it drop for now. “So someone was chasing Niall that night. It must have been the killer.”

  “Declan couldn’t say who the lads were. In coats and caps on a dark night, it could have been anyone.”

  “What about footprints?”

  “Too much time has gone by. Too many people walk around the back of that shop.”

  “Declan said there was a Yank in town,” Siobhán said. Why wasn’t she telling him she ran into Chris Gorden that morning? Because she was afraid Macdara would pick up on the fact that she’d found him very attractive. Not that there was anything wrong with that at all.

  “Chris Gorden?” Macdara’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you were done snooping.”

  “I happened to run into Declan, and he happened to mention that the new Yank got into an argument with Niall in the pub that night.”

  Macdara sighed. “He seems like a decent fellow. He’s renting a room across from the gardai station. That doesn’t strike me as something a killer would do.”

  “That’s exactly what a killer would do. Hide in plain sight.”

  “I’ll talk to him. I take it you’ve never seen him in here?”

  Siobhán shook her head. “That’s odd too, don’t you think? A man who doesn’t like an Irish breakfast? Why come to a little town like ours if you don’t want to get to know the locals? What is he doing here anyway?”

  “I think he’s some kind of writer.”

  “Writer?” Siobhán said.

  “He’s here writing a book. That’s what I heard.”

  “What kind of book?”

  “I don’t think it’s a murder mystery, if that’s where you’re going. Some kind of history book.”

  “Irish history?”

  “Celtic myths, or so they say.”

  Celtic myths. One of her passions too. Now she really wanted to see this Yank again. “He’s here alone?”

  “Are ye asking me if the lad is single?”

  From his tone, Macdara was obviously browned off with her. But she couldn’t let that distract her. “Maybe we should go talk to him now. While everyone else is distracted.”

  “We? There’s no we.”

  “You, then.”

  “I’m here to pay my respect to Niall.” And to my brown bread, Siobhán thought. But some things were better left unsaid. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She had thirty minutes before she had to meet Courtney. She could use a little fresh air.

  “I’d better slip into the kitchen,” Siobhán said. “Wouldn’t want to run out of brown bread.” Macdara put his hand on her arm. A bit of a shiver ran through her.

  “I’m getting the blood results in tomorrow,” he said.

  “Declan said Niall left the pub before James. He wasn’t wearing a suit. He didn’t look like he had been in a fight. And James was in no condition to be chasing Niall through town. So even if James has a bit of Niall’s blood on him, so what? It just means the killer put it there. To frame him. The same reason they brought his body to the
bistro.”

  Macdara shifted, then looked away.

  “Tell me,” Siobhán said.

  “I have preliminary results from the pathologist. She said the blood coagulated around the blades of the scissors. That’s the reason there wasn’t much blood. He could have been killed in the bistro.”

  “And if he even has a drop of Niall’s blood on him, they’re going to arrest James, is that it?”

  “Yes,” Macdara said, making sure he kept eye contact. “That’s precisely it.”

  Chapter 20

  Siobhán stood outside Courtney Kirby’s gift shop. Some people said the only reason she kept her shop open was to get the goods on everyone else. Often she’d been spotted with binoculars around her neck, checking out the street. “Just trying out the product,” she’d say if anyone dared confront her about the peeping. Siobhán wondered if she had seen something suspicious the night Niall was murdered. Was that why she’d wanted to talk to her? Siobhán took a deep breath and knocked three times.

  The curtain twitched, and Courtney’s face came into view. Definitely acting strange. Who else would be knocking three times at the exact time she’d told Siobhán to knock three times?

  Courtney disappeared from the curtain, and a second later Siobhán heard the sound of locks being unbolted. Three of them, to be exact. The door opened and Courtney stepped back to let Siobhán in. A little bell tinkled as she entered. The shop was tiny, the smallest one in town. But Courtney had done a good job arranging the space, and so it didn’t feel as claustrophobic as one might think. The walls were painted a lovely pale green, and every inch of space was taken up by cheerful items, many homemade. Jewelry, and scarves, and lotions, and handbags, and picture frames—a ladies’ shop, to be sure.

  “Can I get you a cup of tea?” Courtney offered straightaway.

  “That would be lovely, thanks,” Siobhán said. It would give her another minute to peek around the shop, see if anything looked amiss. But the shop was tidy, and if anything was wrong with Courtney, it wasn’t reflected in the décor; the place was as bright and cheerful as ever. Siobhán could spend hours in here, touching the fabrics, smelling the perfumed soaps. Even now, with an investigation going on, she was drawn to a row of ladies’ scarves in the middle of the aisle. They were handknit, colorful, soft things, more decorative than for warmth. They looked like items one might find in a shop in Dublin. Siobhán ran her fingers through a black one with little streaks of silver.

  “Those are Bridie’s,” Courtney said coming into the room carrying a silver tray with their cups of tea and a package of biscuits.

  “They’re gorgeous,” Siobhán said.

  “It would suit you, alright, with your new haircut, missus.”

  “I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it.”

  “Nonsense.” Courtney set the tea down on the counter next to the register and swooped in. Before Siobhán knew what was happening, the scarf was around her neck. “You’re a proprietor now. Why don’t you wear it in the bistro? I can see ye making your fancy cappuccinos in this, I can.”

  Siobhán laughed, then peeked at the price tag. Seventy-five euro. Oh, my. They were so dear.

  “They would be double that in Dublin,” Courtney said.

  “I’m sure they would.” Siobhán took the scarf off and gently put it back on the stand.

  “I’d hate to see it gone by the time you change your mind,” Courtney said.

  “You wanted to see me?” Siobhán said.

  “I hear you’re looking into the murder,” Courtney said. “Do you have any leads?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t,” Siobhán said. Really, what kind of sleuth did Courtney take her for? She was here to get information, not give it. “Did you hear anything or see anything the night of the murder?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want that scarf? She won’t be making more when they’re gone. Not with the black and silver bits.” Courtney batted her eyes as if she wasn’t trying to exchange commerce for information.

  Siobhán couldn’t believe it. If every shop owner tricked her into buying something or getting something done before they talked, she’d be broke in no time. She sighed and took out her credit card.

  “Lovely,” Courtney said, swiping it out of her hands. “Will you be wearing it out?”

  “No thanks,” Siobhán said.

  “I’ll just wrap it up then.” Courtney snatched the scarf from the stands and expertly folded it into pink tissue paper. She talked as she wrapped. “Such a shock, finding Niall like that, I’m sure,” Courtney said with a shudder.

  She’d already come out and asked Courtney why she’d called her here, and that didn’t work. Maybe Courtney needed a little coaxing to start talking. “Did you hear anything that night? Or see anyone?” Siobhán asked, trying to keep her voice light and chatty.

  Courtney shook her head. “I might have me eyes peeled during the day, but I sleep as heavy as they come. I was dead to the world.” Too late, Courtney heard what she said, then gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.

  “Relax,” Siobhán said. “We all say things like that.”

  Courtney crossed herself and handed Siobhán the scarf. “But there is something. And I wanted you to hear it from me first.”

  Finally, she was going to get to the point. However, Siobhán didn’t like the sound of it already, nor did she like the pitying look in Courtney’s hazel eyes. “Hear what?”

  “The day before Niall was killed, he was in the shop. I caught him trying to lift a necklace.”

  “Trying to steal it?”

  “Stuck it in his pocket and headed for the door.”

  “Which one?”

  Courtney went over to the wall where the necklaces were hung. She pointed to one with a dazzling pink gem.

  “He tried to lift that necklace?” Siobhán couldn’t make sense of it.

  “Got all the way to the door when I confronted him.”

  “You were at the counter, and he just stuck it in his pocket with you standing there, like?”

  “No, I was coming from the back, just having me afternoon tea. Bridie had just gone to lunch, but she left without telling me first. Niall thought he was free and clear.”

  “What did he say when you stopped him?”

  “What could he say? Caught red-handed. He tried to say that he thought no one was here to pay, but when I put out my hand, he didn’t have the money on him.”

  “Did you report it to Garda Flannery?”

  “No. I just told him never to come back into the shop.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said, ‘It would be my pleasure,’ and then he called me a name I will not repeat.”

  “He did not.”

  “He did. Turned nasty straightaway.”

  “Who do you think he meant to give it to?” Not, Gráinne. Don’t say Gráinne. Was it Gráinne? Is that why Courtney thought she wasn’t going to like it? “Maybe it was for his mam,” Siobhán suggested lamely.

  Courtney blinked her fake eyelashes. “It’s definitely not the kind of thing you give your mammy.”

  “Probably not.”

  Courtney sighed. “Should I tell Garda Flannery? Do you think it’s important?”

  “Tell him what? You said you don’t know who he was going to give it to.”

  He had his hair cut. He was in a suit. He was stealing a necklace. There was definitely a woman involved. Please don’t let it be Gráinne. Maybe he just thought it was something he could sell. Siobhán would accept any explanation, no matter how implausible, just so her sister wasn’t involved. She glanced around the store. “Do you think he took anything else? Is anything else missing?”

  Courtney gasped. “I didn’t even think of that.” She grabbed a sheet from underneath the counter, along with a pen, and began examining items and checking them off. Courtney was still avoiding whatever it was she had to say. Siobhán tried another approach.

  “What did Bridie say when you told her what Niall had done?” />
  “What makes you think I told Bridie?” Courtney opened her eyes wide.

  “She’s your employee, and Niall had been working at the cycle shop. Surely you told her?”

  Courtney’s eyes remained wide, and she stared at Siobhán without blinking. If she was trying to pull the innocent lamb routine as well, Siobhán was going to lead her to the slaughter. Luckily, Courtney was more than willing to keep talking. She leaned in close to Siobhán and lowered her voice.

  “That’s the strangest bit,” Courtney said. “When I told Bridie she didn’t believe me.”

  “Surely she did.”

  Courtney shook her head. “She might as well have called me a dirty liar. Said I must have misunderstood. Said Niall was a good lad. Why, if I didn’t know better, it almost sounded like she fancied him.”

  “You told her that you caught him red-handed and that he didn’t have the money on him?”

  “I did, of course. It gets even stranger.” Excitement was evident in Courtney’s voice.

  “Go on.”

  “Bridie said she told Niall he could take it. That she’d take the cost of it out of his next paycheck and pay me back, like.”

  This time Siobhán gasped. It wasn’t like Bridie to encourage someone to steal. “Wouldn’t she have told you that before Niall took the necklace? And if it was true, why didn’t Niall explain that when you caught him?”

  “Exactly,” Courtney said. She walked up and clasped Siobhán’s hands. “So I’m not crazy. That doesn’t make a lick of sense, does it?”

  “No. Bridie was obviously covering for Niall.”

  “Thank the lord. I truly thought I was losing me mind.”

  “And Niall never did take the necklace again?”

  “He didn’t have the chance. I told Bridie she could take it, of course, but she didn’t. She was red in the face and shortly after said she wasn’t feeling well and would I mind if she went home.”