Peter Tremayne - Whispers of the Dead

Fidelma leant forward quickly.

“Is that so? Who did not like him?”

“Lennán, for example. He hated Ruisín.”

“Why?”

“Because of his sister.”

“Explain.”

“He once told me that his sister was having an affair with Ruisín. He disliked that.”

“Who is his sister and who is Lennán?” asked Fidelma.

“He has been mentioned before as being Crónán’s witness.”

“Lennán is a farmer. His farm straddles the borders of Osraige and the lands of the Fidh Gabhla. His sister is Uainiunn. Lennán hated Ruisín but, to be honest, I think Lennán was trying to find an excuse for his hate. I have seen Uainiunn and Muirgel together and they were close friends.”

Fidelma sat back thoughtfully.

“And Lennán was Crónán’s witness today?”

Cobha nodded.

“Let us go back to the jugs. How did you decide which jug to give to whom?”

“Easy enough. One jug had a yellow band on it, the color for Osraige. The other jug had a red band for the Fidh Gabhla.”

“Who put the color bands on them?”

“I did.”

“Before the contest?”

“About half an hour before.”

“And where did the jugs stand while the contestants readied themselves and you finally took up the jugs to fill?”

“On the table by the cask.”

“I want you to think clearly. Did you examine the jugs before you began to fill them?”

This time Cobha thought more carefully.

“I looked into them to make sure that they were still clean and no creature had crept in, a fly or some such creature.”

“And they were clean?”

Cobha nodded emphatically.

“I would not serve ale, even in such circumstances as this contest, in dirty vessels. I have my license to consider. My alehouse has always been dligtech for it has passed the three tests according to law.”

Fidelma was looking puzzled.

“The contestants were standing with the table between them. Is that so?”

“It is.”

“How near were the onlookers?”

Cobha rubbed his jaw thoughtfully.

“Gathered around,” he said with a shrug.

“Such as? Who was, say, near Crónán? I presume this witness, Lennán?”

“Lennán was next to him.” Cobha agreed and added. “Lennán would not miss an opportunity to see Ruisín worsted.”

“That he certainly saw,” commented Fidelma dryly.

Cobha suddenly looked nervous.

“I did not mean to imply that. . I only meant to say. . You asked me where Lennán was.”

“And you told me,” agreed Fidelma. “Who else was there?” Cobha compressed his lips for a moment then shrugged.

“Uainiunn was with her brother.”

“I thought Rumann said that there were no women present?” frowned Fidelma. Cobha shrugged indifferently.

“She was the only woman present apart from Muirgel. Perhaps that is what Rumann meant?”

Fidelma’s eyebrows shot up.

“Muirgel as well? Where was she standing? You say that Uainiunn stood by her brother, Lennán? So they were close to Crónán?”

“That is so. Rumann and Muirgel were standing at the opposite end of the table, on either side of Ruisín.”

“And you were the only person to pour the ale and place the jugs on the table?”

“True enough.”

She gestured for him to withdraw and turned with a fretful expression to Abbot Laisran.

“So, as far as I can see, there are only two possibilities. One possibility is that the poison was introduced into the jug destined for Ruisín between the time of it being poured and the time of his drinking it.”

“That surely means that Cobha is chief suspect, for if anyone else had introduced the poison then they would surely be seen.” replied Laisran.

“But I fail to see the second possibility.”

“That would involve introducing the poison to Ruisín before the contest so that it would affect him later.”

Laisran immediately shook his head.

“I know of no such poison that could have such a long-term effect as has been described. By all accounts Ruisín was well until the second jug was placed before him.”

“Importantly, we are told that he did not drink from it. So the poison must have been in the first jug.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“It seems an impossible crime, for it was carried out in front of so many witnesses,” Laisran sighed.

“We don’t even know how the crime was committed let alone who committed it. Although a young dálaigh I knew would say, solve the one and find the other.”

Fidelma shook her head with a wry smile.

“That young dálaigh was being a little glib,” she confessed.

“You were correct then. The principle is also correct now.”

“Let us see what Lennán has to say,” she sighed. “At least he is the only person who seems to have had some dislike for Ruisín.”

She called to Lígach to bring in the man.

Lennán was another of those people that she felt should be distrusted on sight. Shifty weak eyes, light and flickering here and there but never focusing on the person he was addressing. His was not thin but wiry; the mouth seemed malleable and he had a weak jaw. Nothing seemed firm about him. A vivid white line curved across his forehead, the scar of some terrible wound. The aura he gave out was intangible; that was the word Fidelma came up with. There seemed nothing substantial about the man that would even give a reason for her feeling of distrust.

“Well, Lennán,” she began sharply. “We understand that you did not like Ruisín.”

The man actually cringed before her. It was not a pleasant sight.

“With good reason, Sister. With good reason,” he whined.

“And what good reason?”

“He was having an affair with my sister, and he being married to Muirgel. It is a matter of her honor.”

“How did you know Ruisín was having an affair with your sister?”

“How do I know the midday sun is bright?” retorted the man.

“Sometimes the midday sun is obscured by gray cloud,” Fidelma pointed out dryly. “I ask again, how did you know this?”

“She was always going to Ruisín’s house.”

“But isn’t that naturally explained? Ruisín’s wife was her friend.”

Lennán sniffed in annoyance, the closest gesture he came in defiance of her.

“Ruisín’s wife was an excuse. It was not Muirgel that she was going to see.”

“I still cannot see how you can be so sure. I presume you asked her?”

“She denied it.”

“Did you ask Ruisín?”

“He also denied it.”

“So did you kill Ruisín?”

The question was put in the same tone and without pause so that Lennán was about to answer before he realized what he was being asked. He frowned in annoyance.

“I would have done so if I had had the chance,” he replied in surly tone.

“That seems honest enough,” admitted Fidelma.

“You take your sister’s honor seriously. I think you take it more seriously than she does. I wonder why?”

The man said nothing.

“You can offer no facts about this affair between your sister and Ruisín?”

“I don’t need facts. I base my knowledge on logic.”

“Ah, logic. My mentor, Brehon Morann, once said that anything could be demonstrated by logic. By logic we can prove whatever we wish to. Very well. During this contest, I am told you were standing at the table next to Crónán?”

“I was. My sister was beside me, mooning across the table at that oaf, Ruisín.”

“And you saw no one interfere with the drinking vessels?”

“I would not stoop to poison, Sister. If I reached the point where I wished to kill Ruisín, my weapon would be a sword or axe.”

Abbot Laisran was smiling in satisfaction when Lennán left the tent.