Deadly Gift (10 page)

“A pleasure to meet you,” Tom said, and he clearly meant it.

“It’s my pleasure to meet
you,
Tom,” Caer said.

A few moments later they were in the hall, surrounded by noise and confusion. Clara, Tom’s wife, the housekeeper and cook, was going on about how glad she was that Mr. O’Riley had come home, Bridey was hugging Sean as warmly as Kat had hugged him earlier and exclaiming over the fact that he was alive and well. Cal, the junior partner, and Marni, his wife, were there, as well, welcoming the O’Rileys home and congratulating Sean on his narrow escape. Bridey was particularly happy to see Zach, her eyes widening with pleasure when she broke away from Sean and realized he was there. After a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, she said how glad she was, more than he would ever know, to see him.

“All will be well now that you’re here,” she assured him.

He suddenly felt the massive weight of responsibility, but he told himself that it was no different from the responsibility he’d laid on himself to get to the bottom of Eddie’s disappearance.

Then Bridey noticed Caer, and her hand fluttered to her throat as she just stared.

Caer stepped forward, offering her own hand. “How do you do? I’m Caer Cavannaugh. I’m Mr. O’Riley’s nurse.”

Bridey was still staring. Then, as if operating purely on instinct, she accepted the handshake. “I know who you are,” she said.

Was he the only one who found Bridey’s tone to be strange? Bridey was actually staring at Caer as if she were a ghost.

“Has there been any sign of Eddie?” Sean asked Cal anxiously. “Have you talked to the cops?”

“Nothing,” Cal said. “And yes.”

“Maybe Eddie’s off on a secret adventure,” Marni offered. “Sean, you have to worry about yourself right now.”

“And…Zach is here to look into things now,” Cal said. He was lanky, with a wiry strength and a pleasant face. He was handsome in a washed-out way, or maybe it was just that Marni had the look of a playful kitten. Her hair was a sable brown, long and lustrous, and her eyes were a deep matching brown. She was pretty, and so delicately built that she appeared smaller than her actual five-ten.

Kat spoke up with concern in her voice. “Dad, you need to go right to bed. That was a long flight.”

“Kat O’Riley, I’ve sense and a mind of my own,” Sean told his daughter, laughing.

“And
I
can take care of getting my husband up to bed,” Amanda said.

“Up? Oh, no,” Kat said firmly. “Clara and I set up a room down here for Dad until he’s feeling better.” She turned to Caer. “We’ve got you in a room on the first floor, too. It’s right by my father’s room, so you’ll be close if he needs you.”

“I would prefer to take the room down here,” Amanda said.

“Sweetheart, you keep our room warm and lived-in. I’ll be back up there before long,” Sean said. “I promise.”

“Sean,” Amanda began.

But Sean interrupted her firmly. “Amanda, I am feeling a bit tired. And I’m not sleeping well. I toss and turn at night, and you need your sleep. It will just be for a little while.”

Marni breezed through the awkward moment, striding over to Caer and introducing herself and Cal.

Marni was saying the right words, and she was smiling, but Zach could see that her eyes, as she scanned the newest member of the household, were not so welcoming.

Cal, on the other hand, had genuine appreciation written all over his features as he stepped forward. “Welcome to the States. We’d heard Sean was bringing a nurse, but we never expected anyone quite so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Caer said.

“I need to know what’s being done about Eddie,” Sean said firmly.

“Detective Morrissey will be over in the morning to fill you in, Dad,” Kat said. “Now please, go to bed and try not to worry.”

Sean started to speak, but Caer stepped in. “Your daughter’s right, Mr. O’Riley. You should lie down for a bit. And you have pills to take.”

“Sean, do what she says. The business can’t afford for you to be laid up for long,” Cal said.

“Cal!” Marni chastised. “Stop worrying the man. Sean will be just fine.”

“Of course he will,” Bridey said. “Zach is here.” Then she turned to stare at Caer again.

Once again, the weight of the world seemed to settle on Zach’s shoulders.

“I just know someone attacked Eddie, and that…oh, God, Zach,” Kat said miserably. “He’s dead. I’m sure of it. I already didn’t like the idea of my father heading across the Atlantic with that woman, and then it seemed like such a bad omen when Eddie didn’t show.”

The two of them were alone in the kitchen, sitting at the round breakfast table overlooking the water with its trail of reflected moonlight.

“Kat, I spoke with his doctors. They found no trace of poison.” Zach sat back, wondering why he was defending Amanda when she had showed up at the hospital, all decked out in her electric underwear, to lure a sick man into a wild romp that she must have known could kill him.

Admit it, he told himself. You just don’t think she’s smart enough to come up with a poison not even the doctors in one of Dublin’s best hospitals could discover.

Kat sat back, staring at him, shaking her head. “She’s even gotten to you,” she said with disgust.

“No, no, no. I promise you, she hasn’t.”

But she was still looking at him doubtfully. “Zach, come on. Eddie disappears and my father winds up in a hospital in Ireland the next day, and you don’t find that suspicious?”

“I find it very suspicious. Particularly because they had barely arrived when he got sick.”

“So you think my father was poisoned here? Before he left?” Kat demanded.

“Kat, I told you. There’s no proof that he was poisoned at all,” he said firmly, then rose. “Look, Kat, it’s nearly midnight. I’d be over seeing Detective Morrissey right now if it weren’t. I’ll get on it first thing in the morning. But if you love your father, don’t go throwing accusations at anyone until you have some kind of proof. Whatever the reason, he chose to marry Amanda, and he
is
of sound mind.”

Kat sniffed. “Not when it comes to her.”

“Don’t cause friction that will create more tension for him,” Zach said firmly, staring hard at her.

She stood, as well, distracted, picking up the cups they had used for their late-night tea and their private chat. She had seen Cal and Marni off to their own place, and made sure that her father was sleeping, with Caer in the room beside his, that Amanda and Bridey were upstairs in their own bedrooms, and that Clara and Tom had left for the cottage out back, before they had settled down together. She was trying very hard not to flat out rage against Amanda, but she couldn’t keep her antipathy entirely in check.

“All right,” she agreed now.

“I mean it, Kat. He loves you, and he loves Amanda. Don’t make him struggle to keep the peace.”

“I won’t,” she promised. “As long as you promise you won’t stop until you get to the bottom of this.” She laughed suddenly, almost carefree for a moment. “Where did you find Caer?”

“I didn’t find her. She was your father’s nurse when I arrived.”

“I love it, oh, God, I love it!” She giggled and caught his hands. “Did you see Marni’s face when Cal couldn’t stop looking at her? And Amanda’s about to burst! She thinks she’s so hot, but put her next to Caer and she looks like a bleached-out pile of plastic. I must say, I am going to enjoy having her in the house.”

“No tension, Kat,” he reminded her.

“Who, me?” She feigned innocence for a moment, but then the pose dropped away and she suddenly looked very young and hurt and worried. “Zach, I adore my father. I would never hurt him. I’m just afraid that vultures are circling around him. But now that you’re here, I really do feel better.” She flashed him a sudden smile. “My CD is getting great reviews, Zach, and sales are climbing. And I have you to thank for that.”

“Hey, you’re the one with the talent.”

“Aren’t people strange? All these years, there have always been two of you, like a puzzle. The musician who invests in studios and other musicians. And the detective.” She shook her head. “It must have been horrible, the stuff you had to deal with back in forensics.”

“There you go. You just solved the mystery of me. It’s not so strange, really. Death can be ugly. Music is beautiful. The one helps to negate the other.”

“Well, I’m glad. And grateful.” She studied him with her huge hazel eyes, a touch of tears shimmering in them. “As a musician, you’ve given me the life I dreamed of. Now you’re going to save my father’s life. As a cop.”

“Private investigator,” he corrected her. “And, Kat, as an investigator, I’m telling you that despite my own suspicions, it’s possible that the two incidents—Eddie’s disappearance and Sean’s illness—are totally unrelated.”

“Right. And maybe the sun is purple.” She started out of the kitchen, then turned back and said, “If you’re not down by eight, I’ll come get you. Detective Morrissey will be here at nine.”

“I’ll be up,” he promised her.

He watched her leave and wished that he were going to see Morrissey alone. He would have to make that happen later in the day.

He hesitated, then went to Sean’s room and opened the door a crack. He watched Sean sleep, watched him breathe. Satisfied that his old friend was safe for the night, he almost closed the door. Then he looked across to the door to the adjoining room. They’d put Caer in there. He could hear her moving, and he found himself thinking of the strange way Bridey had looked at her earlier.

Talk about a puzzle…

But there was one thing he definitely believed about her. She was there for Sean, and she meant to see that he got well.

He closed the door silently and headed up to his room, the same one he had stayed in as a boy, whenever he came to visit. The one he thought of as home.

It was quite a household, Caer thought, unpacking her few belongings in the room that had been assigned to her.

It was perfect. There was actually a connecting door to Sean’s room, so she would easily be able to keep an eye on him. He was a proud man, and he had insisted on getting himself ready for bed, but when he had lain down and dutifully taken his pills, she had seen how exhausted he really was. He would see his own doctor in the morning, but she was ready for any questions the man might ask about Sean’s care. She had been studying the book Michael had insisted she read, and she had checked out every pill the man was taking. One, taken only at night, was a mild sedative so that he could sleep. Another was to prevent further stomach difficulties, and a third was for blood pressure, with a fourth for his heart. There were vitamins, as well, but she wasn’t worried about those, only about seeing that his prescriptions weren’t misused. She had managed to politely insist that his medications stay in her room and under her control. Kat and Clara had both been perfectly willing to trust her, and Amanda had retired to her own room to freshen up after the journey, so she hadn’t been around to object.

With her belongings all in drawers or the huge closet, she explored her small but elegant space. The room was beautiful, with an old-fashioned sleigh bed, soft beige and blue Persian carpets, and a massive dresser and matching nightstands of gleaming hardwood. There was also an entertainment center; should she feel the urge, she could watch TV on a massive screen that was as thin as a mint.

The bathroom had been stocked with everything she could imagine: a choice of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, bath salts, moisturizers and more.

She quietly opened the door between the two rooms and saw that Sean was resting easily. She stood in the muted light and watched his chest rise and fall.

She closed the door, sat on the foot of the bed and closed her eyes, envisioning the household. There was Amanda, of course. Sean—and Zach, who she was coming to know perhaps too well. And then Bridey. She had sensed a bit of danger there, in the way the woman had looked at her. She was suspicious. Well, there was nothing for Bridey to worry about. Kat…Caer had to smile at how obviously Kat doted on her father and loathed Amanda. As far as she could tell on first look, Tom and Clara were exactly what they seemed to be: honest employees who loved their employer. That left Cal and Marni. Cal, who looked honest. Marni—who honestly wasn’t pleased that Caer was here. What dangerous dynamics were at work in this house. So much hatred, and all of it barely bottled up.

She almost laughed, thinking back to the chaotic scene when they had arrived. Sean seemed certain that he could make those around him love one another. Not an easy task, maybe not even a possible one.

She sobered.

Someone was threatening Sean’s life, and the only two people she could take off her list of suspects were Bridey and Zach, and Zach only because he hadn’t been in Rhode Island when Eddie had disappeared nor in Ireland when Sean had gotten sick.

Zach Flynn was everything he purported to be, she thought. Strong, confident and, she was certain, well-versed in the investigative techniques that would help him figure out what was going on here.

And that would be to her benefit, having someone else there with the ability to investigate.

But he also seemed to be the type of man who wanted to know the truth about everything.