“Maybe, but it’s still his province, not ours. Especially if it turns out that somehow corruption in New York is involved.”
I frowned, trying to make worrying thoughts that flitted around my brain slow down enough so that I could voice them. My eyes strayed toward the great black shadow cast across the lawn by the castle and I realized what had been worrying me all along. “This may sound silly, but I can’t get it out of my mind that Brian Hannan’s death is somehow linked to the death of his granddaughter.”
“The little girl? How could that be—apart from both of them falling off a cliff.”
“That’s one thing,” I said. “‘Exactly the same spot,’ I heard one of them say.” I turned to face him. “There’s something strange about it, Daniel. Something not right. This refusal to speak about her. I mean if you’d lost a beloved child, wouldn’t you want to remember her fondly sometimes? Wouldn’t you want to look at her picture sometimes? Would you really act as if she never existed?”
“What are you trying to say?” He was frowning at me.
“That there may be a secret this family is keeping from us—”
“Oh, I’d believe that all right,” Daniel cut in. “I’m sure the Hannan brothers have plenty of things they’d like to be kept hidden. What New York politician has not been involved in corruption and graft. And then there are shady business practices…”
“No, not that kind of secret. I meant to do with the death of little Colleen.”
He looked at me suspiciously. “What are you trying to say? You think that maybe it wasn’t an accident? That she was murdered too, and her body dumped like her grandfather’s?”
“I bet they didn’t do an autopsy to show whether she was poisoned.”
“Interesting,” Daniel said, “but a little far-fetched.”
“Then why not speak about her? Why have they all been scared into silence?” I stood up suddenly as a wild thought flashed across my mind. “Or how about this? What if she’s not really dead?”
“But we saw her grave.”
“What if there’s nobody in it? Listen, Daniel. We know how much Brian Hannan liked perfection. All his family had to dress well at all times. He has expensive and beautiful things around him. What if Colleen fell from the cliff and wasn’t killed, but badly disfigured. They could have kept her shut away all this time.”
“Now that is definitely far-fetched.” He smiled.
“What about the face I saw at the window? I know I saw it, Daniel. So it was either a ghost or a real person. Either way there was somebody up in that turret and everyone is denying that there is even a way up to that part of the house.”
“So what are you trying to tell me now—that she came down from her prison and murdered her grandfather because he’d kept her locked up?”
I shrugged. “When you put it like that it does sound a little crazy, I’ll admit.”
Daniel was still smiling, the sort of smile one gives to humor a child. “How old would she be now? Twelve? A twelve-year-old child finds cyanide in a shed, lures her grandfather out to the cliff with alcohol, pops the cyanide into his drink, then pushes him over the cliff. Think about it, Molly.”
“Very well, I agree that doesn’t sound possible. But I have a gut feeling that there’s something strange going on. You’ll see. Something they know about Colleen’s death that they are not telling us. Mrs. McCreedy knows something, and she’s frightened.”
“Then all the more reason for you to stay well away.” His fingers gripped around mine. “Molly, I know you pride yourself on your detective skills and I’m sure you want to show me that you’re as fine a detective as I am. Well, I’m not doubting your skills, but sometimes I doubt your judgment. So I’m telling you now, as my wife, don’t put yourself in harm’s way. Those people have made it quite clear that we are not welcome here and they want us gone as soon as possible. If they know that one of their family members is a murderer, all the more reason for us to respect their wishes and leave them alone.”
“Yes, Daniel,” I said in simpering wifely fashion, making him laugh.
“You can’t fool me with this sudden meekness.” He reached up and ruffled my hair, then took my face in his hands and pulled me down to kiss him. “You’re a good woman, Molly Murphy,” he whispered, as I nestled my head on his shoulder. “And I want to keep you around for a long while.”
I felt his heart beating against mine and gave a little prayer of thanks that he was still alive. My first task now was making sure he recovered quickly and fully, and I’d leave Chief Prescott and his men to pursue this murder investigation, however tempting it was to join in. I closed my eyes and fell asleep against Daniel.