The Celtic Riddle

So where did this leave me? Nowhere, I thought sadly. Absolutely nowhere. I went out for a walk to think about it some more. Large buses of the touring variety were parked on the edge of town. The music festival was about to begin. Already the streets seemed more crowded as tourists clogged the area. All the shops, thrilled no doubt by the business, had posters in their windows advertising the special events, and canned music blasted from many a store. Despite all the noise and excitement, I continued to noodle the problem around for some time.

Deirdre would have been a good bet for the murders except for two things. The Byrne family, with the exception of Eamon himself, who'd apparently died quite naturally as a result of his illness, were all still alive. As Rob had pointed out, if she was bent on revenge, why kill the staff? Unless, of course, Herlihy and Michael had figured her out. That could be the explanation. Herlihy as the butler couldn't help but notice Deirdre didn't have a clue what she was doing when she arrived. But she'd lasted almost five years there. If he was going to rat on her, it should have been right away. And Michael? Probably much too nice to reveal her as a fraud. Somehow this didn't work.

All that aside, the most compelling reason for eliminating her as a suspect was that she was very dead, and a murder victim at that, a fact that almost automatically disqualified her as a candidate for perpetrator of the other deaths.

I decided to go back to the Inn to see if I could find Jennifer and have a bite to eat with her. Aidan, the proprietor greeted me as I came in. "Miss Jennifer says you're to read this before you go upstairs," he said smiling and handing me an envelope.

I tore it open. Inside was a hastily scribbled note. Aunt Lara-Dad's here. I'm going upstairs to tell him about Paddy. Stand clear! Love, Jen.

Chapter Seventeen. WHO CALLS THE STARS?

YOU, young lady, will go to your room," Rob shouted. "And stay there until I say you can come out. And you will never, ever, see that guy again!"

Do we suppose Jennifer has already told her father about the boyfriend, by any chance? I asked myself.

"But it's the music festival," Jennifer sulked.

"I don't care if it's the Second Coming," Rob said. "You are grounded, confined to barracks, under house arrest. Do you get my drift here?

"As for you," he said, his face flushed with anger, as Jennifer stomped across the hall to our room. "Have you aided and abetted in all of this? Have you set my daughter up with this Gilhooly fellow? I left her in your charge, you know."

"You did not leave her in my charge," I retorted. "And I did not aid and abet. I was as surprised as you are when I found out. Yes, I may have known about it a few days before you did, but that was because I was paying attention. You, on the other hand, have totally abrogated your responsibility as her parent. And furthermore, I do not think that yelling at her about it is going to change anything."

"Well, what is?" he yelled. He was totally out of control. It occurred to me that with this stress and the Irish cooked breakfasts he'd been eating, he might be on the verge of a stroke. However, I couldn't stop.

"She's an intelligent young woman. She'll figure it out for herself."

"What if it's too late?" he said.

Too late? Too late for what? "Oh for heaven's sake, Rob. Don't be such a drip."

I stomped out of the Inn. It was true, I was feeling guilty. But I still thought he was handling this situation all wrong. I wandered around the town for a while, holding imaginary conversations with him and her, and trying to calm down. From time to time, I'd see almost everyone in town I knew: Conail, out of jail and still drinking, Eithne and Fionuala-I took some pleasure in knowing Fionuala had persuaded her older sister to come into town-Paddy Gilhooly, who didn't seem to have allowed the disappearance of his young girlfriend to bother him too much. The only person I didn't see was Breeta. I carefully avoided the rest of them, not in the mood for conversation. I needed to think what to do.

Finally, in a fit of ill humor, I decided I was going to go to the music festival, whether I would enjoy it or not, just to spite Rob. I might even forget all about it, if I tried hard enough, I reasoned. I walked along the streets until I heard music I liked, the traditional Celtic jigs and reels, and went in.