Peter Tremayne - The Seventh Trumpet

‘We need to know who killed Drón and who killed Étain,’ she returned. ‘We also need to know who killed Bran Finn of the Déisi — and why. It is the enemy within that we must identify.’

‘Are you blaming Dúnliath for these deaths? Come now.’ Colgú’s voice was tense. ‘I am beginning to think that your dislike of the girl has led you astray in this matter, Fidelma. You surely can’t believe that because she was the daughter of Étain she-’

‘You have never done me an injustice before, brother,’ Fidelma interrupted. ‘Nor me, you. Last night I promised that today I would reveal everything before your Chief Brehon. I trust that you will allow him to judge what I say before you condemn me?’

Colgú’s face coloured a little as he said, ‘True. You have never let me down before, sister. Very well — you must do what you must.’ He then left the chamber with Caol. It was clear that he was angry, but was making a conscious effort to control himself. Enda and Tormeid appeared discomfited, but Fidelma did not bother to enlighten them. Instead, she turned to Gelgéis, who also appeared uncomfortable at the King’s departure.

‘Last night I sought your permission to use your Great Hall, lady. Can we call all the relevant parties together there at the time of the midday bell?’

Gelgéis inclined her head. ‘I have already made the arrangement.’

‘Then you will excuse us until then.’ Fidelma rose and went to the door, followed by Eadulf and Enda. Gelgéis and Tormeid watched them go with troubled expressions.

The Great Hall of Gelgéis of Durlus, Princess of the Éile, was abuzz with excitement. It had never been so crowded. There was, however, only a small proportion of the inhabitants of Durlus present, compared with the warriors of both the Éile and Cashel. At one end of the hall was a raised platform on which stood a central chair, occupied by Colgú. Next to him sat Gelgéis, while on the other side of the Princess of Éile sat her Brehon, Brocc. Bishop Daig of Durlus sat alongside him. By the King’s other side sat the Chief Brehon Áedo and Abbot Ségdae, as senior bishop of Muman. Spealáin, as steward of the fortress, stood ready behind Gelgéis. To one side of the platform, Tormeid was stationed with half-a-dozen warriors of Éile; at the other side were Caol, Gormán and Enda, with several Cashel warriors.

Fidelma and Eadulf had already taken their places facing the King, having made sure that Dúnliath was present in the hall. Ailill, commander of what was now her bodyguard, stood close by. Fidelma noticed that even their erstwhile host, the smith Gobán, had deserted his forge to become an interested spectator at the back of the hall. It was apparent that Colgú’s mood was restless, a sign of his irritability. The Chief Brehon of Muman opened the proceedings by asking Fidelma to speak.

‘I do not wish to take up much of your time,’ she said. ‘Much of what has happened in these few days has already been explained. But I must reiterate some matters so that we may come to a better understanding of them.’

She paused and waited for a signal from her brother for permission to proceed in her own way.

‘Some days ago, the body of a noble was found not far from Cashel, and it was on that matter I was sent to investigate. At first it was thought that the dead man was a Laigin envoy. Eventually, he was revealed to be Bran Finn of the Déisi Muman. The discovery of his body began to unravel a conspiracy against this kingdom. To make it simple, there were four leading conspirators. These were Étain of An Dún, Cronán of Gleann an Ghuail, and the King of Laigin, although we can only infer his participation by his actions rather than be able to prove it with the evidence which was destroyed by the murderer of Bran Finn. That murderer was the fourth conspirator.’

Colgú heaved a tired sigh. ‘And you will of course name that conspirator?’

‘Of course.’

‘And you will prove to us beyond doubt that person’s participation in this conspiracy?’

Fidelma was aware of a suppressed sob from Dúnliath.

‘That I shall,’ she answered determinedly. ‘Everyone knows that Étain was declared a dásachach , having been found guilty of murdering her own son as well as others. She was removed to the Glen of Lunatics. It was there that her cousin Cronán manipulated her religious madness to his own ends and was able to persuade her that she should embark on a religious crusade. In his pretence to be Abbot of Liath Mór, he told her that she had been summoned by “the seventh angel” to drive the “impure of faith” from the land. He provided her with money to gather a small band of mercenaries to attack clergy and churches in the west. She did so with relish.

‘As I said, Brother Ailgesach, who was from Durlus, was one of those who attended the unfortunates of the Glen of Lunatics, and his work among the insane had driven him to alcohol as a means of compensating for the traumatic effect of that experience. He had discovered what Étain was planning, but was unable to get information about the extent of the conspiracy. He knew she was being visited by emissaries from Cronán dressed as religious, so he contacted Bran Finn of the Déisi Muman. As you know, Étain was of the Déisi and had been married to a member of Bran Finn’s family, and so it was his family that were responsible for her. Therefore, according to law, it was up to Bran Finn to ensure that she was cared for, after having her property confiscated when she was declared insane. Bran Finn agreed that he would visit her in the Glen of Lunatics, ostensibly to see that she was lacking nothing in her care, but also to try to find out more about the conspiracy and bring the facts to Brother Ailgesach.

‘Brother Ailgesach told Gelgéis about the arrangement. Gelgéis, knowing that Cronán had recently built a fortress less than a day away across the Suir, was worried. She also knew that Brother Ailgesach in his condition would scarcely be a credible witness if anything developed, so she arranged that she and Tormeid would go to see him. He failed to turn up. He had been murdered before he could bring the evidence to Ailgesach’s cabin. When Eadulf and I searched the place, we found a note signed by the initial B . The writer said he had evidence of the conspiracy and would arrive with it to show Ailgesach about the time of the third quarter of the moon.

‘As I say, he was the young noble whose body had been found in the stream near Cashel. Bran Finn had said in his note that the best place to hide something was in full sight. The connection was therefore simple.

‘A brooch bearing the emblem of the Uí Máil of Laigin was pinned on his cloak. This had a hollow niche inside it where a message could have been hidden. I do not doubt it contained the proof of the conspiracy. The killer removed the incriminating message but left the brooch, probably not realising it could be identified as belonging to the Royal House of Laigin. That was also evidence that Bran Finn carried in full sight. However, the killer did know that the wand of office that Bran Finn carried had the emblem of the Déisi on it, which would identify Bran Finn. That evidence was snapped off at the top and the telltale emblem discarded.’

She took up her marsupium and from it she removed the brooch with the emblem of the Uí Máil on it, then the piece of paper with Bran Finn’s note and, finally, the broken bottom half of the wand of office and gave them to Brehon Áedo.

‘Sometimes in these matters, not all details can be discovered. We know that warnings about Brother Ailgesach were sent to Cronán. Who sent them, whether Étain or the person I shall call “the chief conspirator”, we will probably never know. We do know that Cronán sent Biasta to kill Ailgesach. And we know that Cronán’s own son Sillán was sent to Durlus disguised as a religieux. Perhaps some word of Ailgesach having visited there had reached Cronán.