Once again, the weight of the world seemed to settle on Zach’s shoulders.
“I just know someone attacked Eddie, and that…oh, God, Zach,” Kat said miserably. “He’s dead. I’m sure of it. I already didn’t like the idea of my father heading across the Atlantic with that woman, and then it seemed like such a bad omen when Eddie didn’t show.”
The two of them were alone in the kitchen, sitting at the round breakfast table overlooking the water with its trail of reflected moonlight.
“Kat, I spoke with his doctors. They found no trace of poison.” Zach sat back, wondering why he was defending Amanda when she had showed up at the hospital, all decked out in her electric underwear, to lure a sick man into a wild romp that she must have known could kill him.
Admit it, he told himself. You just don’t think she’s smart enough to come up with a poison not even the doctors in one of Dublin’s best hospitals could discover.
Kat sat back, staring at him, shaking her head. “She’s even gotten to you,” she said with disgust.
“No, no, no. I promise you, she hasn’t.”
But she was still looking at him doubtfully. “Zach, come on. Eddie disappears and my father winds up in a hospital in Ireland the next day, and you don’t find that suspicious?”
“I find it very suspicious. Particularly because they had barely arrived when he got sick.”
“So you think my father was poisoned here? Before he left?” Kat demanded.
“Kat, I told you. There’s no proof that he was poisoned at all,” he said firmly, then rose. “Look, Kat, it’s nearly midnight. I’d be over seeing Detective Morrissey right now if it weren’t. I’ll get on it first thing in the morning. But if you love your father, don’t go throwing accusations at anyone until you have some kind of proof. Whatever the reason, he chose to marry Amanda, and he is of sound mind.”
Kat sniffed. “Not when it comes to her.”
“Don’t cause friction that will create more tension for him,” Zach said firmly, staring hard at her.
She stood, as well, distracted, picking up the cups they had used for their late-night tea and their private chat. She had seen Cal and Marni off to their own place, and made sure that her father was sleeping, with Caer in the room beside his, that Amanda and Bridey were upstairs in their own bedrooms, and that Clara and Tom had left for the cottage out back, before they had settled down together. She was trying very hard not to flat out rage against Amanda, but she couldn’t keep her antipathy entirely in check.
“All right,” she agreed now.
“I mean it, Kat. He loves you, and he loves Amanda. Don’t make him struggle to keep the peace.”
“I won’t,” she promised. “As long as you promise you won’t stop until you get to the bottom of this.” She laughed suddenly, almost carefree for a moment. “Where did you find Caer?”
“I didn’t find her. She was your father’s nurse when I arrived.”
“I love it, oh, God, I love it!” She giggled and caught his hands. “Did you see Marni’s face when Cal couldn’t stop looking at her? And Amanda’s about to burst! She thinks she’s so hot, but put her next to Caer and she looks like a bleached-out pile of plastic. I must say, I am going to enjoy having her in the house.”
“No tension, Kat,” he reminded her.
“Who, me?” She feigned innocence for a moment, but then the pose dropped away and she suddenly looked very young and hurt and worried. “Zach, I adore my father. I would never hurt him. I’m just afraid that vultures are circling around him. But now that you’re here, I really do feel better.” She flashed him a sudden smile. “My CD is getting great reviews, Zach, and sales are climbing. And I have you to thank for that.”
“Hey, you’re the one with the talent.”
“Aren’t people strange? All these years, there have always been two of you, like a puzzle. The musician who invests in studios and other musicians. And the detective.” She shook her head. “It must have been horrible, the stuff you had to deal with back in forensics.”
“There you go. You just solved the mystery of me. It’s not so strange, really. Death can be ugly. Music is beautiful. The one helps to negate the other.”
“Well, I’m glad. And grateful.” She studied him with her huge hazel eyes, a touch of tears shimmering in them. “As a musician, you’ve given me the life I dreamed of. Now you’re going to save my father’s life. As a cop.”
“Private investigator,” he corrected her. “And, Kat, as an investigator, I’m telling you that despite my own suspicions, it’s possible that the two incidents—Eddie’s disappearance and Sean’s illness—are totally unrelated.”
“Right. And maybe the sun is purple.” She started out of the kitchen, then turned back and said, “If you’re not down by eight, I’ll come get you. Detective Morrissey will be here at nine.”
“I’ll be up,” he promised her.