Page 36 of Death at Inishmore Castle

“Maybe we should ask Rob and Scott to come with us when we walk Mr. Poe. You know, safety in numbers,” Lizzie said.

“It’s not a bad idea. Promise me that you’ll always have me, or one of our group, with you, inside and outside the castle.”The rain started up again, as the clouds covered the moon. We’d walked all the way down the hill toward the distillery.

“I promise. Unlike you, I’m afraid of trouble. I don’t run toward it.”

There was a weird squeaking sound as we neared the distillery. We stopped and looked at one another.

“You heard it, too?” I whispered.

Even in the darkness, I could see her eyes widen and the frown lines cross her brow.

“We should check it out.”

“No,” she said. “We should not. We should go back to the castle and tell Kieran that we heard a strange noise. Did you not just hear what I said about running toward trouble?”

Sensing our anxiety, Mr. Poe ran back to Lizzie and put a paw on her foot. It was his signal for her to pick him up.

She did it, I’m sure without thinking. Those two were so emotionally tied it was as if he was human sometimes. He was there to comfort her before she even realized she needed him. We’d both bonded with him, but he was definitely her dog.

I headed toward the doorway of the distillery, which I was certain had been the source of the sound. Why would anyone be out here this late at night?

That is, unless they were up to no good.

“Mercy, stop,” my sister called out. “I mean it. Let’s go back and get Kieran. There is no need for us to become part of some horror film where the heroine walks toward the danger.”

“There are two of us, and I just want to take a quick look inside. Then we can go tell Kieran. For all we know, it could have been the wind that blew the door open to the distillery, and I don’t want to trouble him for that.”

But my gut, which I trusted, was telling me something else.

“Mercy, I don’t like this.”

“I promise we’ll stay right by the door. I just want to peek in.”

“I’m going on the record that I protest.”

“It’s fine. Everything will be okay. I’m going to open the door a bit more, look inside, and then we’ll head back to the castle. Probably whoever was in there last didn’t shut it properly. It’s starting to rain sideways again. All of that water is going straight into the distillery. The least we can do is shut the door for them.”

She sighed, and I didn’t wait for her to agree. I headed for the door. It did squeak, which had definitely been the sound we heard.

But when I opened it, I very much wished I hadn’t.

NINE

The glow from my flashlight fell onto a body not far from the door. It was a man. I raced in to see if he was alive. He was face down, but I could tell it was Gordon O’Sullivan. There was blood on the floor next to his head, but he had a pulse.

“Is he alive?” Lizzie asked nervously from the doorway.

“Yes. Do you have your cell? Can you call Kieran?”

She pulled it out of her pocket. “No bars.”

“Okay. I’m going to stay here to see if I can help Gordon. I need you to be brave and run back to the castle and get Kieran.”

“It isn’t about being brave. I don’t want to leave you alone,” she said. “What if the person who hurt him is still here?” She whispered the last bit as if she realized we might not be alone.

“Whoever did this is long gone. I promise you that.” I had no way of knowing for certain, but her voice trembled. I was worried about her. “Take Mr. Poe with you. I’ll be fine.” There was a broken whiskey bottle on the floor near his head. “I need you to hurry. He’s lost a lot of blood. I think someone hit him on the head with one of the whiskey bottles. Run, Lizzie.”

“Are you sure?”

---