Night of the Dark Horse (An Allegra Fairweather Mystery) (3 page)

“You were the third person who was visited by the pooka, right?”

“Maybe. I haven’t kept count. Siobhan was the first, I know that.”

“She’d been tidying up some graves. You know anything about that?”

“I’ve got too much to do in my garden without potterin’ around old graves. Siobhan needs a husband and family to keep her out of mischief.”

“Where are the graves?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Ask Siobhan. More wine?”

Reluctantly, I declined. I had to keep my wits about me until I’d concluded the interviews. When I was convinced Derry had nothing more to reveal, we headed back to Siobhan’s place. Our knock remained unanswered.

“We’ll call back later,” I said to Casper.

After returning to Ronan’s, I changed clothes and went for a run. Casper wasn’t thrilled about me going off alone, but in his present condition he had no chance of matching my pace. To keep him happy, I suggested we meet up later for dinner. The evening temperature was perfect for jogging. Lots of people were taking advantage of what in this part of the world was a balmy evening. They worked in their gardens, and chatted on street corners. There were even a couple of kids shrieking with delight as they played under a sprinkler.

An old Chinese guy, neatly dressed in black jeans and a dark sweatshirt, caught sight of me and melted into the shadow of a building. I did a double take. Definitely out of place in this village. A tourist, I guessed.

Farther down the road a pretty, dark-haired woman was trying to get rid of the unwelcome advances of a guy who had spent too much time building muscles and not enough learning to read women’s body language. Even from a distance, it was clear she wanted him gone. Like yesterday.

I heard her yell, “Feck off, Colum,” right before she stalked away.

Apparently Colum didn’t know the meaning of
feck
off
because he followed her. Not right away. He watched, waiting until she took a detour away from the road and into a wooded area. Then he set off after her.

I changed direction and set off after
him
.

Now, it was just possible this was a lovers’ tiff that would soon be over, but I didn’t think so. I followed them until I heard voices raised above the bubbling of a creek. I ignored my first instinct, which was to rush right over to Colum and explain the meaning of feck off. Instead, I crept closer and hid behind some bushes. Any investigator worthy of the name doesn’t draw the line at eavesdropping. I kept very quiet and did just that.

“Come on, darlin’.” Colum’s hair was shorn close to his head. Muscles Popeyed threateningly against his sleeves. “Just one kiss.”

“Bugger off.” The woman tried to sound tough, but I detected an undercurrent of fear.

“Just one kiss,” Colum wheedled.

“I’ve told you before,” said the young woman, “I’m not interested in you.”

“So who are ya interested in?”

“No one.”

“There must be someone. Go on tell me.” He leaned in closer and she crinkled her nose as though his breath smelled bad. He didn’t notice and leaned even closer. “I need to know the kind of men ya like so I can study ‘em, be more like ‘em.”

She gave him a look that said,
Sure
you
do
. Out loud, she said firmly, “I know how you operate. Even if there were someone else, I wouldn’t give you an excuse to beat him up.”

“Niamh, darlin’, would I do that?” When she didn’t answer, he went on, “I didn’t come down in the last shower. I know there’s someone. Who is he?”

“I have to get to work.” She tried to walk away, but he moved quickly blocking her path. She said wearily, “You have to believe me. I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t even fancy anyone.”

“Why? You a lezbo?”

She hesitated as though tempted to tell him she
was
gay, but in the end she just said, “There’s no one else. Really. I’m just not ready for a boyfriend.”

“You’re twenty-one. You’ll be an old maid soon if you don’t get started.”

Old
maid
?
Who
says
that
anymore
?

“Let me go, I’ll be late for work.”

His arms snaked around her. “Give me a kiss first.”

Right, I’d waited long enough. Making a lot of noise, I emerged from the bushes and jogged toward them. Distracted, Colum loosened his hold on Niamh. Seizing her opportunity, she pulled away from him and escaped toward the village.

Colum stared at me. “Who the feck are you?”

“Your worst nightmare, if you don’t leave that woman alone.”

He took a step toward me, aggressive. I stood my ground. He snapped his fingers right under my nose. “I know who ya are. You were hired by that dancin’ fag. Yer the paranormal investigator.” He all but fell about laughing. Soon he got tired of faking humor and eyeballed me. “You mind yer own business and I’ll mind mine. We clear on that.”

“Um—no. If I see you hassling that woman again, I promise I
will
be your worst nightmare.”

“Yeah? For how long? You’ll be gone as soon as yer feckin’ case is solved.” His lips drew back exposing yellow teeth.

I hated that he was right. I had no intention of staying here forever, and we both knew I couldn’t exactly put the-fear-of-Allegra into him from my home in Hawaii. We stared each other down for a few more minutes before he turned his back on me and walked away. I didn’t follow, but I knew his name now. While I was in Dingaleen, I’d be keeping my eye on him.

I hurried back to Ronan’s, showered and changed into jeans, a long-sleeved top and flats. There were two pubs in Dingaleen. According to Ronan, the Black Shamrock served the best food. I invited him to join us, but he claimed he wasn’t hungry so I set off alone to meet Casper.

The exterior of The Black Shamrock, established 1790, was painted black and white. There was a beer garden filled with happy families, but I preferred the quieter atmosphere inside even if the fireplace was black and cold. Maroon walls looked down on gray-upholstered booths along one wall of the main bar. Wooden tables and chairs filled the center of the room. I chose a table—easier for Casper than sliding into a booth. When he was comfortably settled I headed for the bar. On the way I clocked a kid sitting alone in one of the booths. Red hair, freckles, skinny. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a sign on his back reading Kick Me. He chewed on his thumbnail and shot longing glances at the female bartender. I recognized her immediately as Niamh, the girl who had narrowly escaped Colum. I now had a chance to take a better look at her.

She was—well, a raven-haired beauty was the only description that did her justice. She had luminous sapphire eyes and skin so creamy you could’ve put it on strawberries. The kid in the corner had as much chance of attracting her as Colum did. Even if he did seem a lot nicer.

Niamh shot me a smile. Friendly, welcoming. The kind that bartenders specialize in. “What can I get you? Oh—you were in the wood. Thanks for helpin’ with that arsehole Colum. First drink’s on me.” A Guinness for Casper and a soda for me. I also ordered two servings of Irish stew, and insisted on paying for the food.

Casper usually enjoyed food, even though technically angels didn’t have to eat, but when our meals arrived, he picked listlessly at the chunks of meat and vegetables. Shame, because it really was delicious.

Resisting the urge to encourage him to eat, I focused on the case. “My gut is telling me those graves are the key.” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “What do you think?”

I didn’t really expect an answer. Casper had told me often enough that his job was to protect me, not help solve cases. He surprised me by saying, “Don’t discount Nola and Derry. The pooka targeted them for a reason.”

“Are you helping me with this case?” I teased. “You’ll get in trouble with the Powers-That-Be.”

“No more trouble than I’m already in.”

I leaned closer. “Have you been a bad boy?”

“This is no joking matter.”

“What’s going on? You can tell me. Is this about your current health problems?” I picked his cane up from the floor where it had fallen and propped it against the table. “Have the Powers-That-Be decided you can help me in other ways now that you’re not so good at the physical stuff?”

He winced at the mention of physical weakness.

“Sorry,” I said, “but that’s the reality. At least for now.”

“It’s okay. I know I’m not...the angel I was.”

“You’ll get better.” When he refused to meet my eyes, I whispered, “Won’t you?”

In place of an answer, he said, “Derry and Nola both had encounters with a bird before the pooka attacked.”

“Yeah, I got that. Even made a note of it. You think the birds are a clue?”

“Bird. Singular. Eagle specifically.”

“Nola didn’t say the bird was an eagle.”

“I think you’ll find that it was.”

I made a note to check. Then, since Casper was in an unusually helpful mood, I asked, “Anything else you’d like to share with me?”

Suddenly his eyes glistened with unshed tears. He pushed himself away from the table, grabbed his cane and headed for the restroom.

You didn’t have to be an investigator to know something was very wrong. I had a feeling this was much worse than Casper being pissed off with his current lack of physical shape. If my suspicions were correct, he wouldn’t be my angel for much longer.

I was wishing I’d ordered something stronger than soda when Niamh approached my table. “More drinks?” she asked.

What did I do to deserve table service? Oh yeah, that whole Colum thing. “It’s okay, you bought drinks. No more thanks needed.”

“That’s grand but, well, I’m a bit curious. We’ve never had a paranormal investigator in the village before. What’s it like? Do you know any vampires? I’d love to meet one. I’m madly in lust with Eric and Bill from
True
Blood
.”

As far as I was concerned the jury was still out on whether vampires existed at all, so, no, I didn’t know any. But since I didn’t want to destroy her bedtime fantasies, I kept that to myself. Avoiding the question, I said, “Right now I’m more interested in pookas. Have you been called to ride?”

“I haven’t.” She shrugged. “But I wouldn’t mind. Sure, it’s just a big horse.”

A
big
horse
with
homicidal
tendencies
.

I felt the kid in the corner watching us. Well, watching Niamh. “Who’s he?” I whispered.

“Aedan. Heart of gold, but he has the worst luck. Some people say he was cursed by the Fae, but I guess you’d know more about that than me.”

I did, and he wasn’t. Not by the Fae anyway. They wouldn’t waste energy cursing a human. “Aedan’s kind of cute,” I said, hoping to raise his status in her eyes. Nothing like a bit of healthy competition to arouse another woman’s interest. “Do you think he’d go on a date with me?”

Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “Isn’t he a bit young for you?”

“How old is he?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Gee and I’m almost twenty-six. Just call me a cougar.”

“You look older.”

“Thanks.” Must be all that worrying about Casper.

“No offense. You’re quite—um—handsome in your own way. I’m sure Aedan would be interested.” She didn’t say it, but there was the distinct implication that Aedan would be interested in anyone. “You sure you want to date someone they call Unlucky Aedan?”

I grinned. “If it’s up to me, he’ll get lucky real quick.”

She flicked a glance at Casper, who was returning from the restroom. “The one you’re with is way better.”

“He’s just a business partner. I need a real man.”

“A real man like Aedan?” I could almost hear her thinking,
Americans
are
crazy
.

The door of the pub slammed open and three men entered. Two of them were clearly hangers-on, too dumb to do anything but follow the guy who marched ahead of them. Colum. He pounded his fist on the bar. “Oi, Niamh, how about a drink?”

She tensed. When I started to get up, she whispered, “He won’t try anything in here. Not if he wants a drink anyway.” Raising her voice she said, “Keep your shirt on, Colum, I’m coming.”

“Move your arse, Niamh. And what a lovely arse it is.” He came up behind her and cupped her butt in both hands.

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp. He hung on tight. I pushed back my chair at the same time as Unlucky Aedan. We both stood up. Aedan had fire in his eyes and a death wish in his heart. He yelled across the pub, “Leave her alone. Show some respect.”

“Who’s goin’ to make me?”

Niamh said, “Sit down, Aedan, it’s okay.” To Colum she said, “You’ll have to let me go if you want that drink.”

He shot a challenging glance at Aedan. Then he released Niamh. “Go get my drink.”

She escaped behind the bar, but Aedan couldn’t let it go. He marched up to Colum.

“You want to take this outside?”

Colum roared with laughter at the prospect of fighting the scrawny young man. “Ease up, Aedan, this is just a bit o’ fun. Niamh doesn’t mind, do ya darlin’?” Aedan’s eyes blazed with passion. He swung his fist, wild and random. Pure chance that it connected with Colum’s jaw. The bigger man barely flinched.

“Was I hit?” he asked his mates. “Or did Niamh blow me a kiss?”

One of his mates joked, “Unlucky Aedan packs a mean punch.”

Colum faked confusion. “Was that a
man
hit me? You sure of that?”

Aedan swung again. This time Colum was ready for him. His hand snaked out, catching hold of Aedan’s wrist stopping the blow before it connected.

Colum bared his teeth. “Piss off.” He shoved Aedan away so hard the smaller man stumbled over a chair and fell. On the way down he cracked his head on a table.

Colum turned back to the bar. “Niamh, where’s my drink?”

Aedan tried to get up, groggy, swaying on his feet. I rushed to help him. Soon Casper joined me. “Take Aedan outside,” I whispered, hoping the two of them would keep each other upright. I followed more slowly. As I passed Colum, I leaned in and whispered, “I don’t like bullies. Leave Aedan alone.”