She hesitated. “Don’t you sometimes believe in something that you can’t see or feel? Don’t you adhere to some kind of faith?”
“Are you asking me if I believe in God? Yes, I do. Probably a legacy of my Irish mother,” he told her.
He was surprised that she seemed to be watching him with such intent passion in her beautiful blue eyes. “If you believe in God, then why not believe in ghosts, in miracles, and even in the devil?” she asked quietly.
“Because I believe that God expects us to go through life with common sense. And common sense says birds are just birds,” he told her flatly.
She laughed suddenly.
“What?” he demanded.
“All right, granted I haven’t seen much of Cow Cay and it’s not a large island. But you’re just going to buy two shovels and in the course of this afternoon we’re going to solve a centuries-old mystery?”
“I’d say you’re forgetting the birds,” he said, “but I didn’t fully explain.”
“So please do.”
“There’s a border around the chart with pictures of various landmarks in the area. One of them is rather interestingly named.”
“What is it?”
“Banshee Rock.”
“What?”
“Banshee Rock. It’s an outcrop of granite that just happens to sit on—”
“Cow Cay?”
“You guessed it, gorgeous,” he said lightly.
She blushed, and he found himself wishing desperately that they weren’t going out looking for buried treasure, that they were heading out to a remote ski cabin that boasted a whirlpool and a fireplace, where they could sit and bask in the glow of the fire, and make love without inhibitions.
He returned his attention to the matter at hand and drove into the parking lot of the little strip mall where he could purchase what they would need.
He hadn’t come to a major chain store but a smaller, mom-and-pop place run by Slim and Sally Jenkins, a couple he had gotten to know during his trips up this way as a kid.
He sent Caer to look for the shovels while he went to get a pick and a couple sieves to sift the sand. Even having a fair idea of what Eddie had been up to, he knew they would be looking for a needle in a haystack.
He recognized the young man behind the counter as Slim’s son.
“Hey, Jorey, how are you?”
“I’m fine—going to college down in New York now. How are you? Haven’t seen you in a long time.” He looked at Zach with a sad expression then. “I know you’re close to the O’Rileys. Will you tell them I’m really sorry about Eddie? I don’t know what he was thinking, taking out that weird dude.”
“You saw him?” Zach asked, startled.
“I saw Eddie at the coffee shop that day.” Jorey went pale. “Wow, the way you’re looking at me…is something wrong with that?”
“No, no, it’s just—you never said anything to the cops?”
“No. I—I guess I should’ve, huh? I only got a glimpse of the guy when I was buying coffee for the drive back to New York, so I never really thought about it. I saw Eddie meet the guy after he left the coffee shop. I’d never recognize him. He was wearing a heavy coat and carrying a duffel bag. And he had on a hat, like a fedora. Who the hell wears a fedora on a boat? Have I done something wrong?”
“No, of course not. I was just curious. The cops have been asking for any kind of help, though, so you ought to give them a call.”
“I will. I’m really sorry—I wouldn’t keep back information on purpose.”
“Jorey, do you think the bag was big enough to hold scuba gear?”
Jorey’s eyes widened. “Yeah, maybe. It was a big bag. The dude was kinda short, too. The bag seemed heavy for him.”
“What did he look like?”
“I didn’t really see his face. The hat was pulled down, and he had a big ugly mustache.”
Caer returned with the shovels just then and Jorey looked at her, then kept looking.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she returned pleasantly.
“Can I help you?” Jorey asked.
“We’re together,” Caer told Jorey, indicating Zach.
“Irish?” Jorey asked her, still staring and smiling. Smitten.
“Yes, I am.”
“Jorey, is there anything else you can tell me?” Zach asked.
“What?” Jorey sounded as if he’d completely forgotten Zach existed, then collected himself.
“Oh, yeah. Let me think….” After a minute, he said, “He was out of place, know what I mean? Eddie was making fun of him in the coffee shop, asking who the hell went around with that much cash these days. Oh, and Eddie said he’d insisted on the Sea Maiden.” He paused. “You think this guy killed him, huh?”
Zach nodded grimly.
“I wish I had paid more attention,” Jorey said. “Tried to stop him, even.”
“Hey, you didn’t know,” Zach reassured him. “Eddie was a grown man, I doubt if you could have talked him out of taking a paying customer.”
“I guess not.”