Page 24 of Death at Inishmore Castle

“How so?”

“You aren’t involved in those cases and there is no chance a killer might go after you for being nosy. I can’t say that here. There’s a good chance the killer is still on the premises.”

This time I was the one who sighed. “Kieran, you’ve met me, and I want to help the O’Sullivans. They seem like great people and I hate that this has happened to them.”

“You’re going to be nosy no matter what I say.”

“I prefer the wordinterested.”

“Fine. Just don’t ask too many questions. Okay? If you feel like you need to be nosy, come tell me. I’ll ask the questions.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t so sure about that. People weren’t always comfortable speaking to the police. Where I was just a harmless mystery writer with way too much curiosity.

While Kieran wrote his report, I went in search of my sister and Mr. Poe. I found them in the large industrial-sized kitchen at the back of the castle.

Mr. Poe was lying at Lizzie’s feet, while she listened to Nora O’Sullivan.

Nora clapped her hands together. “Oh, good, Mercy. You’ve made it just in time for the lesson in making Irish brown bread. Would you like a set-up?” She pointed to the bowls and ingredients in front of the others.

“That’s okay. I’ll help Lizzie.” By help, I meant I would stand there and hand her things if she asked. No one wanted me anywhere near baking. I burned most everything I touched. If it couldn’t be stuck in a microwave and heated up, it was beyond my talents.

My sister covered her grin with her hand.

“Irish brown bread doesn’t require yeast,” Nora said. “You may add whatever you like to the main recipe. But we’ve kept it to the way our ancestors made it.”

She had a patient and kind way about her, and it was difficult to imagine her having anything to do with murdering a priest. I mean, if he was a priest. Everything Kieran had told me left me with even more questions.

“Hand me the buttermilk,” my sister whispered. “You’re staring at people and you know that makes them uncomfortable.”

I had been staring off into space, but when I blinked, I noticed that Nora was looking at me strangely.

“I’ve never baked bread before,” Fiona, the birder, said beside me. “I’m feeling positively domestic.” She wore thick, black glasses, and her red hair was piled on her head. She wore a khaki vest with lots of pockets over a flannel shirt and jeans.

“You are doing far better than I ever could,” I said.

“When she told us she doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen. I told her you could relate,” Lizzie added.

I smiled. “It’s true, Fiona. I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

“Nora promised this was the easiest bread recipe in the world, and it only has five ingredients. And I must admit I ate a quarter of a loaf this morning. I thought it might be fun to learn how to make it.”

“Did you come here for birding?” I asked innocently.

“Oh, yes. They have over forty different species here, and those are just the ones that have been identified so far. Yesterday morning I saw a long-eared owl. That was a first for me. They are common in Ireland, but not always easy to find. It was a good day.”

She shivered. “Well, except for what happened to that poor priest who is missing. I hope he’s not lost somewhere in this weather. Or, worse, drowned.”

Oh, he wasn’t lost. He’d very much been found. I thought it odd that Kieran didn’t want the rest of them to know what had happened. Then again, keeping them guessing probably wasn’t so bad and helped the O’Sullivans save face.

“Did you have a chance to speak to him? Or did you see him late yesterday afternoon?”

“I tried to talk to him once. I followed him down to one of the ponds yesterday morning. Well, I’d been heading that way anyway since Gordon had told me they had some early sightings of yellow wagtails and whinchats. And he was right, I saw them both. The trip was worth it just for that.” She went off on an explanation of the birds, and I waited patiently for her to finish.

One thing was for certain about Fiona the birder—she was quite passionate about her subject of interest.

“Did he talk to you?”

She shook her head. “I tried. I asked if he was interested in birds since he had binos around his neck.”

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