Murder in an Irish Village

by Carlene O'Connor

  She wanted to turn and ask the officer about it, but just then a door at the far end opened, and in walked an officer with her brother. She had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. He’d lost so much weight already, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But he smiled when he saw them and hurried to his seat.

  “How ya?” he said as if he’d just walked into the bistro after sleeping in. How she wished that was the case. He frowned. “Where are the rest of ye?”

  “They only allow three at a time, so we have fifteen minutes, and then they’ll come in.”

  “Right, right. Are ye well?”

  “We’re fair. How are you?” Siobhán instinctively reached to touch him and stubbed her finger on the plexiglass.

  “If you start crying I’m leaving,” James said.

  “Siobhán is on the case,” Eoin said. “We’ve already eliminated John Butler. He was in Cork City the night of the murder.” He leaned forward. “With a woman. And they like to hurt each other.”

  Oh, Jaysus. Siobhán crossed herself and elbowed Eoin. James laughed. “So for once the Butler didn’t do it. Is that what you’re saying?” James grinned. At least he hadn’t lost his wicked sense of humor.

  “I don’t get it,” Eoin said.

  “Ciarán will,” James said. “I’ll use that on him.” James leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Listen. I don’t want you snooping around.”

  Siobhán waved him off. “I’m fine.”

  “She’s not,” Eoin said. “Someone left a threatening note in the bistro.”

  “Eoin!” Siobhán said. She could not believe him.

  James’s smile evaporated. “What did it say?”

  “It’s nothing,” Siobhán said kicking Eoin under the table. “Just told me to stop sticking me nose into everyone else’s business. Hardly a threat.”

  “The first is always the hardest,” Eoin said. Siobhán cussed. Eoin didn’t flinch.

  James shook his head. “Meaning he’ll kill again if she doesn’t stay out of it.”

  “Or she,” Siobhán said. She glared at Eoin. “What are ye trying to do to me?”

  “Protecting you,” James said. “Looks like someone has to.” He and Eoin exchanged a nod.

  “I’m fine.”

  “What did Garda Flannery say about the note?”

  “We don’t have time for this. And since you’re already upset, I might as well tell ye.”

  James folded his arms across his chest. “Tell me what?”

  “I’m meeting with Billy Murphy today as well.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I am.”

  “I won’t allow it.”

  “Hate to say this, but you’re hardly in any position to dictate what I do.”

  “Why?”

  “He has to know who else Niall was coercing for money. One of Niall’s other victims is the killer.” Several heads turned her way. Shite. Siobhán forgot how loud she was when she was stirred up.

  “Drop it,” James said. “I’m pleading guilty.”

  Chapter 31

  Siobhán slammed her fist down on the table.

  A guard was immediately at her side. “Do that again and you’ll be out,” he said.

  “Sorry,” Siobhán said. Geez. You’d think she was the prisoner. She turned back to James and plastered a smile on her face. “Where did you get the scissors?”

  “Pardon?” James looked flustered.

  “You said you might be the murderer, so let’s explore that idea. Where did ye get the scissors?”

  James shifted in his seat. “Didn’t we have a pair lying around?”

  “Everyone in town who didn’t want to face Sheila’s wrath had a pair,” Siobhán said.

  “That means everyone had a pair,” Eoin added.

  “Doesn’t mean I didn’t do it,” James said.

  Siobhán folded her arms across her chest. “Why did you wipe your fingerprints off?”

  “What?”

  “If you killed him in a drunken blackout, how is it that you had the good sense to put on gloves or wipe the fingerprints off the scissors?”

  “Instinct?”

  “Instinct, my arse. You’re not a killer whale.”

  Eoin laughed. The guard looked over and frowned. Apparently only crying was allowed in prisons.

  “The other option isn’t any better,” James said.

  “You mean if Gráinne stabbed Niall?”

  James swallowed, then nodded.

  “Why would Gráinne send her own sister a threatening note?”

  “Maybe because she’s scared. She doesn’t want you to find out.” James was reaching.

  “Why would she kill Niall?” Siobhán demanded.

  “I’d like to say the same reason any of us would have liked to kill Niall, but her reason might have been even more personal.”

  “Niall and Gráinne weren’t seeing each other romantically,” Siobhán said, “if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “How do you know?”

  “She’d been corresponding with both Niall and Billy for the past six months.”

  James jerked back as if he’d been hit with an electric prod-der. “What for?”

  “At first I think she just needed to confront Billy. She thought it would help.”

  “At first?”

  “Now I’m afraid she believes Niall. She thinks there was someone else who caused the accident. Someone besides Billy. Niall told her there was a witness and that he or she had proof that Billy didn’t cause the accident. Some kind of video.”

  James shook his head. “This is absolutely mental.”

  “I know.”

  “Have you seen this video?”

  “No. I don’t think there is a video. Although Niall might have believed there was.”

  “I don’t follow,” James said.

  “Either someone was taking the piss and had Niall believing there was a video that would exonerate his brother—except this ‘witness’ wasn’t going to hand it over unless Niall gave him twenty thousand euro. Or Niall made the witness and the video up to extort money from us.”

  “Well, which is it?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I have to visit Billy. See if he can shed any light on it.”

  “Did you ask Macdara about the accident again?”

  “Yes. He insists no other car was involved. He even checked the shops after the accident, just in case someone brought theirs in around the same time.” James waited for the answer. “And nothing.”

  “I told you I remembered Niall goading me that night about Gráinne.”

  “Right. So?”

  “What if?” James’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t even finish the sentence.

  “What if?”

  “What if he followed me home and I did kill him? What if I did, Siobhán? What if I did?”

  “Shhh. They record every conversation here. Stop talking like that. I told you. You wouldn’t have been so neat. The scissors were plunged in once. So precisely. It took strength. From what Declan and Séamus said you could barely put one foot in front of the other. And you certainly wouldn’t have wiped away fingerprints. And then what? You stumbled back to the pub and passed out behind it? You would have gone right up to bed. It’s obvious you didn’t come home at all. Niall was the one who came to the bistro to see Gráinne. And I think the killer followed him there.”

  “Why would Niall come to the bistro?”

  “Because he wanted to tell her about his argument with you before you did.”

  James folded his arms against his chest. “Again. Why?”

  “He didn’t want her to change her mind.”

  “About what?”

  “I’ll tell you, but you’re going to have to stay calm.” James followed her gaze to the guard and then nodded. “According to Gráinne they had planned to go to Dublin the next day. To see a solicitor.”

  “Why would he take Gráinne with him?”

  “He thought if
a family member of the victims spoke in Billy’s defense it would give him a lot of credibility. That’s the same reason why he was wearing a suit and had his head shaved. He wanted to be taken seriously.”

  James clenched his jaw and curled his fists but kept his promise and didn’t lose his cool in front of the guard. “Doesn’t that suggest that he actually believed that Billy was innocent?”

  “Maybe. Which means someone out there had convinced Niall that he witnessed the accident and had some kind of video proving Billy didn’t do it.”

  “Why? Why would someone make up such a sick thing?” Eoin said.

  “Money,” James said. “Someone, most likely Niall himself, saw an opportunity to make money and stir things up.”

  The guard stepped up to them. “Time’s up,” he said. “If he’s still seeing the other three.”

  “He is,” Siobhán said. She wished she could hug him, kiss him, reassure him. Instead she put her hand on the glass, and he put his hand on the glass over hers.

  “Please,” James said, “be safe.”

  Siobhán bit back tears and nodded. “Slán agat,” she said.

  “Slán leat,” James answered. Good-bye for now.

  After they said their so longs, Siobhán added a parting phrase, one her mother surely would have said. “Nár laga Dia do lámh,” she said softly. James clenched his jaw as if trying to stop tears from forming in his eyes and nodded. Siobhán only hoped the phrase would comfort him.

  May God not weaken your hand.

  The room she met Billy in was identical to the one where she had visited James, but to her relief, it was on the other side of the prison. Unlike James, who had lost weight, Billy looked as if he’d gained weight in prison. He had the same dark hair as Niall, but instead of brown, his eyes were blue. He was definitely not the looker in the family, but he didn’t have the threatening edge that Niall did. He thunked down in the chair and had trouble meeting her eyes. When he finally did, he tried to offer up a little smile, but when she didn’t return any warmth, he became serious. She sat there, watching him, having already decided she was going to make him speak first. He cleared his throat.

  “Did you read my letters?” he said.

  “No,” she said. “But Gráinne did, as you well know.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “If I could go back and change things, I would. If I could give my life for your parents, I would do it in a heartbeat. You have to believe me.”

  “It’s too late,” Siobhán said. “Even if I did believe you.”

  “They were good people. They didn’t deserve that.”

  “It sounds like you’re admitting you caused the accident,” Siobhán said. “So what was this nonsense Niall was spouting about how you didn’t do it, and how he had a video to prove it?”

  “I played a part in the accident, to be sure,” Billy said. “I was drunk too. I admit it.”

  Siobhán wanted to lash out and scream and cry. But she also needed answers, so she bit her tongue. “So Niall made the witness and the video up to get money, is that it?”

  Billy shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “I don’t know whether or not Niall had a video. He said he did, but in all honesty I didn’t believe him either.”

  Siobhán didn’t know what she expected, but it wasn’t this. She thought for sure Billy would know one way or the other. Or was he lying to her too? “Why didn’t you believe him?”

  “Because I know when my brother’s lying. I think he made up the part about the video so that the person who caused the accident would admit he or she was there.”

  “He or she?”

  Billy shook his head. “I’m not going to tell you who it was. What I will tell you is that I was not the cause of the accident. Another person was. He came out of nowhere, speeding, heading straight for me. I swerved.” Billy shut his eyes.

  Macdara swore up and down there were no other vehicles involved in the accident. He was lying. But she was going to swallow her rage and see if she could get any morsel of truth out of him.

  “Who was it?” Despite her best efforts, Siobhán’s voice rose. Luckily the guard at this door wasn’t as gruff as the previous one and didn’t even glance her way.

  “If I told you that your life would be in danger,” Billy said.

  “It already is. So just tell me.”

  “I believe the person who caused the accident is the same person who killed my brother. Which means you’re only alive because you can’t identify this person.”

  “And Niall could?”

  “Of course. I told Niall who really caused the accident. He or she certainly believed Niall had a video. That’s why Niall was killed.”

  Siobhán’s head was swimming. “Why didn’t you tell Garda Flannery at the scene that you didn’t cause the accident?” And then tell him who did? Billy was lying through his teeth.

  “I was really out of it. By the time I remembered all the details, I was worried it was too late. That nobody would believe me.”

  You’ve got that right. “You have to tell me. Or the gardai. Garda Flannery is coming to pick us up—I’ll bring him back here and—”

  “No,” Billy said. He rose from his seat. This time the guard did come over. Billy sat back down.

  “Five minutes left,” the guard said. That couldn’t be right, but Siobhán wouldn’t win an argument with a prison guard. She turned to Billy.

  “Why won’t you tell me who it is?” she pleaded.

  “Because if there is a video, you have to find it first. Otherwise it’s going to be my word against the murderer’s. And who the feck is going to believe me? You don’t even believe me, do you?”

  “You’re not an easy person to believe.”

  “See? If I talk, no one will believe me anyway—no one but the killer, that is—and then what? What if the killer goes after you, or one of the six, or my mam? I can’t take that chance.”

  “Just tell me, and I promise I will do everything I can to check out what you say and find the video.”

  “You’re going to do that anyway. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “If you’re really sorry, if you care about me at all, you’ll tell me who else Niall was trying to extort or blackmail.”

  “You mean the person who really caused the accident.” Billy folded his arms against his chest. “See? You still don’t believe me. Without a video, or a confession from the killer, you never will.”

  “Just tell me who else Niall was extorting.”

  “I don’t have a complete list.”

  So he was extorting multiple people. God, this was so aggravating. “Give me a partial list.”

  “Find the video. Or something that will convince you I’m telling the truth. Then we’ll talk.”

  “Where am I supposed to look?”

  “Ask Mam if you can have a look around his room.”

  “I’m sure the police have done that.”

  “Look again.”

  “What if there isn’t any video?”

  “Then nobody is ever going to believe me anyway.”

  “So just tell me who you think killed your brother.”

  “You aren’t a poker player, Siobhán.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re much safer around the killer if you don’t suspect him or her.”

  “Which is it? A him or a her? At least tell me that.”

  Billy shook his head. “One look at your face and the killer will realize I’ve told you. Then something would happen to you. I guarantee it. But if the killer feels safe, then you’re safe.”

  “Why did you even agree to see me if you weren’t going to be helpful?”

  “Because I wanted to say how sorry I am.”

  “Prove it. Tell me who you think killed Niall.”

  Billy lowered his head. Did he really think he was protecting her?

  “Time’s up.” The guard tapped Siobhán on the shoulder.r />
  “I don’t think there’s any video,” she said to Billy on her way out.

  “I don’t think there is either,” Billy called back. “But the killer thinks there is. Maybe you can figure out how to use that to your advantage.”

  Chapter 32

  It was four days after their visit to the prison, and Friday night in Kilbane. Siobhán tugged on her little black dress as she tried to go down the stairs in heels. She wasn’t used to them, that was for sure. She’d even taken the time to straighten her hair, and she was wearing makeup. She felt like she was dressed for Halloween, although she did have to admit that even she’d been impressed when she looked in the mirror. She was definitely a more glamorous version of her, the kind of girl she always imagined she would have been in Dublin. The kids were still at the table, and every one of them gaped at her.

  “I didn’t know you could look like that,” Gráinne said.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Gráinne said, the sarcasm flying right by her.

  “You look beautiful,” Ann said.

  “Again, thank you.”

  “But why are you dressed like that for O’Rourke’s?”

  “Because she has a date with Garda Flannery,” Eoin teased.

  “It’s not a date,” Siobhán said. “It’s Friday night.” So what if she also had to ask Macdara if he had found anything on the CCTVs, and also fill him in on her awful meeting with Billy. And if she happened to say that Pio, Sheila, and Mike Granger were her top suspects, and he was to start paying them a closer look, no harm done. And if Pio just happened to be playing there tonight—well, what was a lass to do when there were so many birds? Bring a lot of stones. She was getting close to the killer, she could feel it.