Page 77 of Death at Inishmore Castle

The mudroom door to the outside was open, and rain pelted through onto the stone floor. I grabbed one of the jackets by the door and pulled the hood up over my head. Then I slipped my feet into some wellies that were a good size too big. I didn’t care.

The wind was crazy, and I could barely walk against it. The rain pelted down so hard that it hurt through the jacket and my jeans. This wasn’t the normally soft rain we’d grown used to in Shamrock Cove.

When I reached the pond, a black blur became visible. Mr. Poe ran toward me, barking his head off. He seldom barked unless something was wrong.

“Where is she?”

He was running with his leash attached but my sister was very much missing. I picked up the muddy leash and he pulled me forward.

For several minutes we fought the weather, and I was beginning to wonder if our dog had any idea where he was going.

“We need to find Lizzie,” I said, in case he’d misunderstood our mission.

He barked and continued to pull me forward. What had she been doing out here and why had she screamed?

I didn’t want to think the worst, but the truth was inevitable. Someone had her.

Dread curdled my stomach. We had to find her.

He pulled me toward a glass building that looked like a nursery. At the entrance, Mr. Poe barked again. It took all my strength to open the glass door against the wind, but I did it. The place was pitch-black, though.

At least the rain wasn’t slicing through my skin.

“Lizzie, are you in here?”

Nothing, except for the rain pounding on the glass and the howl of the wind.

But Mr. Poe kept pulling on the leash. There was a rake by the door, and I grabbed it. I had no idea what was going on, but I might need a weapon.

Our dog slunk forward, growling menacingly. If I let go of the leash, I had a feeling he would attack whoever was in the darkness. I was not about to let him get hurt.

We’d gone about halfway through the building when he stopped, and his growl became a worried bark.

“If you take one more step, I’ll kill her,” a deep, gravelly voice said in the darkness. I couldn’t see anyone. I reached for my phone, but it must have fallen out of my pocket as I ran.

“I’m not moving,” I said.

Mr. Poe barked, and I shushed him.

“Mercy, don’t let him hurt you or Mr. Poe,” my sister begged. “Just do what he wants.”

“Please, don’t hurt her,” I said. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“If you hadn’t been snooping, none of this would be necessary,” the man growled. It took me a minute, but I recognized his voice. It was Jim, the gardener. He’d seemed like such a kind and knowledgeable man.

I cleared my throat. “The police already know it was the accountant who murdered the priest and the nun. I’m not sure why you’ve taken my sister,” I lied. “We’re good at keeping secrets. If you want the treasure for yourself, you can just let her go, and we won’t say a word.”

“I’m not stupid,” he said.

“Of course you aren’t.” Why hadn’t I listened to Kieran and stayed put? I could have really used his help.

“Okay. Are you saying you killed them? Did they do something terrible? You seem like a nice man. I’m sure you have your reasons for doing what you did.”

“Why would I tell you anything?”

“You make a good point, but there just might be a possibility that I can help you find a way out of this, and you don’t have to hurt my sister or me. I just need to know why. Were you working with Maximillian and the others and they tried to cheat you?”

“You have it all wrong.”

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