Page 28 of Death at Inishmore Castle

“We should probably hurry,” I said to Mr. Poe. He barked as if he understood.

The pond was to the east, so we headed that way. It wasn’t long until I found myself on the hilltop looking out over it. If I had the picture right in my head, I wasn’t far off from where the man had been standing when the photo had been taken.

I searched the area. Since the ground had been trod on by animals, probably one of the hundreds of sheep I’d seen the day before, all I found was churned up mud. If there had been evidence of someone watching the priest and nun, it had long ago been washed away by the rain or destroyed by the animals.

Mr. Poe whined again.

“I have your baggies in my pocket,” I said and tried to wave him away. “Take your pick where you want to finish your business. You have plenty of space.”

He grabbed the hem of my jeans and tugged with his teeth.

“What’s wrong with you?” He tugged again. “Fine, I’ll come with you.” It wasn’t like him to be so anxious. Maybe it was the new place. Or, for a dog, perhaps there was such a thing as too much land, and he was confused.

“Little dude, there is no reason to stress. You can go anywhere you want.”

He continued to whine anxiously, and it was then it hit me. That wasn’t his I-have-to-poo-whine. It was something quite different.

“Oh. No.” My eyes went wide. “Okay, what do you need to show me?”

Even though my wellies were waterproof, the closer we came to the pond, the muddier they became.

“Is there any way you could have chosen a less damp place?” I glanced around, concerned I might see a dead body, but there was nothing but mud and water. Maybe I’d been worrying for nothing and had misinterpreted his signals.

Mr. Poe yipped when he reached the edge of the pond.

“Okay. I’m here. Do your thing.”

He ran back to me, and then headed to the pond again.

“Fine.” I moved a little closer. That’s when the habit came into view. In the dark water, I hadn’t been able to see the black fabric until I was much closer.

“What the…” Bile rose in my throat as I raced to the edge of the water. I blew out a breath. The nun was face down and I froze. Then I forced myself to touch her and pulled at her feet until I’d dragged her onto the land. Then I flipped her over and checked for a pulse. I swallowed down the bile that rose again.

“No.” I tried to breathe, but my chest was tight.

It was evident from the bluish tinge of her skin, and the vacant stare, that Sister Sarah was very dead.

SEVEN

Kieran stood at the edge of the pond, shaking his head. Since my phone had no signal, I’d run back to the castle to find him. He’d tried to make me stay behind, but I wasn’t having it.

“I distinctly remember telling you not to go anywhere alone. What if the killer were still nearby? You could have been hurt.”

After gathering evidence, his team was busy bagging the body to take to the coroner.

“First of all, I wasn’t alone. Mr. Poe was with me. I was just following him,” I said. “I thought he was looking for a spot to do his business. How was I supposed to know he’d found another dead body?”

I shivered. I’d had to wade in almost to the top of my wellies, and water had sloshed inside as I tried to pull the nun from the pond. I was shaking from head to toe, as he put a warm blanket around my shoulders.

A hot bath or shower was definitely in my future.

“And you found her in the water face down?” he asked.

“Yes. Was I supposed to leave her in there? What if she were still alive, or I could have saved her?”

“It’s fine. I just need to know for my report. From the looks of things, she’d been dead for several hours. Difficult to know, given the temperature of the water.”

Mr. Poe yipped again as if he agreed.

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