Peter Tremayne - Badger's Moon

‘How did you know that?’ demanded Eadulf.

Liag looked pityingly at him. ‘The body grows cold after a while.’

‘Why did you advise Bébháil to wash the body and prepare it for burial?’ demanded Fidelma abruptly.

Liag replied immediately. ‘It seemed to me that in her emotional state she needed something to do which would awake her to the finality of the situation. It would be wrong to allow her to think that her husband might be somehow resuscitated. It was an act of charity to get her to concentrate her mind…’

‘An act of charity that probably destroyed all the clues to Lesren’s killers,’ pointed out Fidelma.

Liag stared at her thoughtfully and then shook his head. ‘I doubt it. There was nothing I could see that would have constituted a clue.’

‘Ah, as well as hearing lizards in flight, I presume that you are also a trained dálaigh ?’ Eadulf sneered.

Liag looked at him. A spasm of anger distorted his features for a moment and then he seemed to relax and smiled broadly.

‘You have a right to be angry, my Saxon friend. I have been unkind to you and that is unworthy of me. You have been unworthy in return. Let us make an end to it. I am competent enough as an apothecary to say that there was nothing about the corpse that could lead to the killer.’

Eadulf swallowed in annoyance at the condescension in the other’s tone, but he could not think of a suitable response.

‘Tell me, Liag, having now observed all four deaths in this place, have you discerned any similarities between them?’ queried Fidelma.

‘Only in as much as all met their deaths by a knife — and a knife that was jagged and blunt.’

‘If that was the only similarity, what were the dissimilarities?’ Fidelma pressed.

Liag shot her an appreciative glance. ‘I would say that there was a distinct difference between the way the first three victims came by their deaths and the way that Lesren came by his.’

‘How so?’

‘The first three victims were, of course, young girls. They were savagely attacked and mutilated. The fourth, Lesren, was a male. While there was savagery in the number of wounds he sustained, being stabbed several times in the neck and chest, there was no mutilation. Indeed, Tómma told me that Lesren was still alive when he reached him and was able to breathe a few words that did not make sense.’

Fidelma nodded slightly.

‘He was able to breathe a name,’ she conceded.

‘A name that makes little sense, if Tómma has reported it correctly. It may well be that the wounds inspired some delirium. Who knows what passed through his mind in the last moments before death?’

‘You are a man of knowledge, Liag,’ Fidelma said. She spoke simply, without sounding as if she was paying the apothecary any compliments. ‘You must know about the old days when gold and silver were worked in this area.’

Liag inclined his head a little, although he was clearly puzzled by her apparent change of subject. ‘I have some knowledge. The ore raised here was rich and excellent and was once produced in abundance. Now, alas, gold of such quality is only found in the eastern mountains of Laighin.’

‘Did Lesren ever work in the mines?’

Liag shook his head quickly. ‘Never. What makes you ask that?’

‘Do you recall who, according to the ancients, first brought gold to Ireland?’

The apothecary looked surprised. ‘Is this to be a discussion on our ancient lore and history? Well, it was Tigernmas, the twenty-sixth High King of Éireann, after the coming of the children of the Gael. He first smelted gold in this land. During his reign it is said that golden goblets and brooches were plentiful and that his chief artificer was Uchadan.’

Eadulf was also regarding Fidelma with a bewildered frown at her seeming irrelevant line of questioning. She seemed momentarily disappointed at Liag’s answer.

‘I have heard it said that the mines here are all in disuse now.’

‘You have heard it said correctly, lady,’ agreed Liag. ‘There are some lead workings not far from here but the old wealth is gone.’

‘I suppose things would greatly change if the precious metals were found again?’

Liag grimaced distastefully. ‘They would indeed change, but probably not for the better. For myself, I prefer the quiet and peace that solitude and a degree of indigence brings. Wealth brings greed, greed brings hate, and crime spreads-’

‘Crime such as murder?’ snapped Eadulf, losing patience with the conversation. ‘Have not such crimes already been visited on your idyll, master apothecary?’

Liag’s mouth tightened as he turned on Eadulf. ‘You are direct, Brother Saxon. There is no denying that you come to the point with a directness that others might not use. Yet I prefer my idyll, as you call it. The place is not responsible for the evil in men’s hearts. There is an old saying that wealth does not improve character but always changes it for the worse.’

Eadulf was about to open his mouth to retort when Fidelma moved forward to her horse, unloosening the reins.

‘Thank you for your time, Liag. We have much to do and must now return to the rath. But one question more. When was it that you were asked to examine the body of Beccnat?’

The apothecary looked surprised. ‘On the morning after the full moon. I thought that was understood.’

‘And both Escrach and Ballgel were also examined on the morning after the full moon?’

Liag confirmed it.

‘Thank you once again, Liag. You have been most helpful.’

Liag did not respond but stood motionless as they mounted their horses and rode away. Once out of earshot and sight of the old apothecary, Eadulf learned forward to Fidelma.

‘Why are you so interested in the mines? What has gold to do with this case?’ he demanded, perplexed.

‘Perhaps I should have mentioned to you earlier that it is interesting that the subject of gold often appears in this case. Now, if the name that was on Lesren’s lips really was Biobhal, then it becomes of particular interest.’

‘How so?’ demanded Eadulf.

‘Because there has been only one Biobhal that I know of. It is the name of a character out of our ancient times. The ancients say that long, long ago, before even the children of the Gael came to these shores, there were many invaders of our land. Partholón, the son of Sera, who had killed his father in the hope of obtaining his kingdom, led one of the invasions. But he was driven into exile and he and his followers came to this very kingdom of Muman. Partholón is said to have introduced ploughing into the kingdom and cleared plains and established agriculture and built hostels. Then a plague descended on the land and he and all his people were wiped out.’

Eadulf was looking baffled. ‘So what of this Biobhal?’

‘Biobhal was one of Partholón’s followers. He it was who is claimed as having discovered the first gold in the kingdom.’

Eadulf smiled in amusement. ‘That is a story for old folks and young children told before a blazing hearth on a winter’s night. I see nothing relevant.’

Fidelma gave a patient sigh. ‘I am not arguing the relevance of it, Eadulf. To anyone who is blessed with knowledge of the legends of the old ones, the name of Biobhal is synonymous with gold in this kingdom. I just wonder why Lesren would die with that name on his lips?’

Eadulf shrugged indifferently. ‘Well, now I know why you asked Liag your question, but he did not seem to know who Biobhal is. He mentioned someone called Tigernmas.’

Fidelma nodded with a frown.

‘Indeed, that is curious,’ she agreed. ‘He would surely know the name Biobhal but he chose to name Tigernmas. Tigernmas was certainly the High King in whose reign it is said that smelting of gold began in Ireland. But the ancient story tells that Biobhal discovered gold in the land. Yet Liag claimed not to recognise the name which Tómma said Lesren had on his dying breath.’