Peter Tremayne - The Dove of Death

He peered cautiously down to the sea. There was no sign of the small sailing boat nor of Iarnbud.

His next thought was to warn Fidelma, and he was about to get to his feet when he heard a movement through the door of the herb garden.

Fidelma returned slowly to the villa with Trifina, the watchful warrior following them at a distance. Trifina left her at the gates of the villa with a curt farewell; her bodyguard remained at the gates.

Frustrated, Fidelma had no alternative but to enter the main courtyard. As she did so, she caught sight of a man moving quickly through the far door. In that split second, she recognised the figure of Iarnbud. Then the door slammed. She paused only a second before she almost ran to the door and tried the handle — but it had been bolted from the other side.

Iarnbud! He was here in Trifina’s villa, yet the daughter of the mac’htiern had denied any knowledge of Iuna or the pagan bretat .

She turned from the door and her frustration increased. But she had realised two things. One, that Trifina was a liar. And two, that there was a sinister mystery here in these beautiful islands of Morbihan.

Eadulf found himself once again looking into the eyes of Heraclius, who was staring at him in amazement.

He came forward immediately and held out a hand to raise Eadulf to his feet.

‘Why, what has happened? Did you fall and hit your head?’ he asked with concern.

Eadulf forced a grim smile, saying, ‘It seems that my destiny is either to drown or be bludgeoned to death.’

‘Bludgeoned?’ queried the young man in astonishment.

‘Someone hit me from behind.’

Heraclius looked around. ‘There is no one around here. You have not long left me. Are you sure you did not fall and hit your head?’

Eadulf groaned, reaching out and touching the back of his head again.

‘It does not take long to strike a blow,’ he said.

Heraclius was examining the wound.

‘However you came by this, I must dress it. There is a small gash where the skin has opened and is bleeding, but it will heal swiftly. However, you will have bruising, and coming on top of the immersion in the sea, you should rest to prevent yourself from further harm. It is not wise to take a blow to the head so soon after the previous one.’

‘I did not intentionally seek a further blow to the head,’ Eadulf said bitterly. ‘I don’t suppose you saw anyone follow me out through the herb garden?’

The young man shook his head with a smile. ‘I have only just come from there.’

‘Why?’ Eadulf asked.

‘Why?’ Heraclius repeated, not understanding.

‘What brought you here?’

‘I was looking for a herb, and when I entered the garden I saw this door open. I came out here and found you sitting on the ground. Why do you ask?’

Eadulf instinctively felt that the young apothecary was lying.

‘And you saw no one else? You did not see any sign of a small sailboat down there?’ He indicated the seashore below them.

‘A sailboat? I have seen nothing, I assure you.’

‘Very well, give me a hand back to your rooms and let us get this wound dressed. Then I must find Fidelma.’

‘Where have you been?’ was Fidelma’s first question when Eadulf returned to the guest chamber. Her second question, on seeing his bandaged forehead, was: ‘What has happened to you now?’

She had returned to the room and, having found it empty, was about to set out in search of him. Eadulf told her briefly of his adventure.

‘So you saw Iarnbud too,’ she breathed softly when he had finished.

He was surprised. ‘You saw him as well?’

‘Only for a second. He was in the villa and I just caught sight of him vanishing through a door. But when I tried to follow, the bolt had been secured on the other side.’

‘If Iarnbud is here, that means Iuna is here.’

‘That is logical. But Trifina does not want us to know that. Why?’

Eadulf grimaced. ‘I would wager it has something to do with that stone building outside the wall of the villa. There was a strange smell hanging over that place, a smell that I can’t quite identify.’

‘You suspect that this apothecary, Heraclius, was the one who knocked you out?’

‘I can’t see who else it could have been.’

‘Why would he do so?’

‘To prevent me examining the interior of the hut or challenging Iarnbud.’

‘You say that the door was closed. He could have simply asked you to leave, without knocking you out.’

‘Perhaps.’

Fidelma hesitated a moment or two and then said: ‘Well, let us both go and examine this place to satisfy our curiosity.’

‘Heraclius might now be on his guard against me returning to the hut,’ Eadulf said doubtfully.

‘Or perhaps, having dealt with you — if it was he who knocked you out — he might be complacent that you would never return so quickly. Anyway, you say that the building is outside the villa on the eastern side of the wall?’

Eadulf nodded.

‘Then if we leave the villa in some other spot and follow the walls round, we might approach it unseen rather than attempt to go through the kitchen area and the herb garden.’

They left the room and went down to the lower floor. It seemed deserted, but it was no use going through the main door, for there were bound to be guards outside. Fidelma strode determinedly along the lower corridor until she found a door that opened onto a veranda overlooking a garden with a surrounding high wall. The couple stood for a moment examining what must be the outer wall of the villa complex.

Eadulf touched her arm and silently pointed.

There was a small door in the wall.

She nodded and they forced themselves to stroll casually across the garden towards it, pretending to be deep in conversation. If they were seen, then they would not arouse immediate suspicion. The door proved to be so small, they had to bend to it. It was barred on the inner side and Eadulf found it easy to slide the wooden bar back and push the door outward. They slipped through it without trouble and Eadulf pushed the door back into place again.

For a moment or two they stood breathing quickly, waiting for some shout which would have announced they had been observed.

Keeping close to the wall, they moved within its shadow to the corner that marked the north-eastern end. There was still no one in sight and no one to challenge them. The sea before them was empty, apart from a few distant sails, faint outlines on the sparkling waters.

Once more they hurried along, towards the stone cabin that Eadulf had identified.

‘This is it.’ Eadulf felt relief as they came to the mysterious building. At least no one had spotted them so far.

The stone building seemed isolated.

The odour reached their nostrils at the same time.

‘It seems like sulphur, but there is something different about it,’ Fidelma mused thoughtfully.

Eadulf went forward and tried the handle.

‘It’s locked,’ he announced, glancing downwards and finding an iron lock on the wooden door.

‘Why are you surprised?’ Fidelma muttered in vexation. ‘If there is something in here which no one is permitted to see, then it would scarcely be left open.’

There was no sign of a key anywhere. Then Eadulf suddenly remembered the key hanging inside the door where Heraclius had his dispensary. An idea occurred to him.

‘There was a key hanging in the apothecary’s room. That might be the one to this door.’

Fidelma gestured impatiently. ‘Then go and get it. You’ll have to chance being seen in the kitchen area, after all.’

Eadulf hurried to the door of the walled herb garden. He was surprised to find that it had been left unsecured. He crossed the garden swiftly and slowly tried the handle of the inner door. Glancing into the courtyard beyond, he found it just as deserted as it was before. He shrugged at his luck. So he and Fidelma had made their circumnavigation of the villa for nothing. They could have come this quicker way.