Now she seemed to believe every thing she said.
“Bridey, those birds are just birds.”
“No, they’ve come on account of the evil. I wish Kat understood,” Bridey said, distressed. “The birds only come because of the evil. I’m not evil. I’m where I should be, and it will not be the birds comin’ for me.”
“The birds will go away, Bridey.”
“Aye, just as evil goes away. Always, it is beaten somehow. But the birds have come now because of it. Don’t worry about me. I’m not afraid of the birds.”
He pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down. “It’s all right, Bridey. There are evil people, we all know that. But you’re going to get well, and I won’t let anyone else get hurt.”
“You’ll try, you’ll try hard, and I believe you are the man who can win.”
“Bridey—”
“Eddie…will be there. Eddie will wait for me.”
“Bridey, I—”
“I’m an old woman, Zach. Now, you. You’re young and in love with her, aren’t you?”
Her change of subject threw him.
“Pardon?”
“You’re in love with her. It cannot be. Because she must bide and do her duty, and when her duty is done, she must go.”
“Bridey, don’t you worry about anything now. All right? I’m here, and I’ll protect you and Sean and everyone else.”
“Aye, Zach, what a fine lad ye are, but ye canna protect me from time.” She closed her eyes. “I think we all love her. She has such a goodness about her. Such beauty and sweetness. But she must do as she must do, but it’s from Ireland she sprang, and it’s to Ireland she must return.”
“Bridey, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I am a little bit enchanted. But that’s not something we need to worry about right now.”
“I don’t want to see you hurt,” Bridey said.
“I’m strong, Bridey.”
“No man is ever as strong as he thinks. Sean, my nephew, he’s a strong fellow, too, but strength canna always win out over deceit.”
Her eyes closed.
“Bridey?”
But she had fallen asleep—or she was faking it. Either way, she was done talking to him. He kissed her forehead and tiptoed out.
Despite the late hour, when he returned to his room, he put a call through to his brother Jeremy, who was just a few hours away in Salem, with his new wife, Rowenna. He needed a fresh perspective, and Jeremy was just the one to provide it.
“Hey, bro. What’s up?” Jeremy asked once he was awake enough for conversation.
“Everything all right with you?” Zach asked.
“Everything is great with me. But you wouldn’t be calling so late if you didn’t need something, so spill. Kat okay? Is Sean all right?” A note of worry had crept into Jeremy’s voice.
“Kat’s fine, and Sean is doing extremely well. It’s hard to tell he was ever ill.”
“So Kat was just being paranoid, thinking Amanda was trying to kill her father?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I need you to see what you can find out about arsenic poisoning—and mushrooms.”
“If you think there’s too much arsenic in Sean’s system, he needs a heavy metals test,” Jeremy said.
“I know. I’m leaning toward the mushroom thing, though. There’s at least one kind of poisonous mushroom that causes all the symptoms he had—and they can be delayed. But I’d like you to talk to some medical people who aren’t from around here, keep things quiet. See what you can find out from the experts.” He went on to tell Jeremy about Eddie Ray and his hunt for Nigel Bridgewater’s treasure, and his discovery that Eddie had left a clue on one of Sean’s charts.
And about the crushed glass in the blueberries.
“You think all those things are connected?” Jeremy asked.
“Well, the blueberries came from a local store, but no one else reported having any problems, so I don’t know about them. But the other two things? Yeah, and I’m looking for the answers.”
“All right, you work your end, and I’ll get all the info I can for you on this end. If I can’t get everything I need, I’ll have Aidan ask some of his FBI buddies to snoop around. Anything else?” Jeremy asked.
“Bridey’s ill,” Zach said.
“Damn,” Jeremy said, then fell silent for a moment. “She’s old, Zach,” he said finally. “She’s lived a long life, but we can pray she’ll get well. I’ll head up in a few days, after I talk to some people. Rowenna can see Sean’s place, and she’ll love Newport at Christmas. Anything else you need from me?”
Zach hesitated. “Yeah. Study up on Irish legend for me, will you?”
“What?”
“Banshees, to be specific.”
“Banshees.”
“Yes. See if there’s any legendary association between banshees and birds.”
“Banshees and birds?”
“Yeah. Especially crows or ravens.”
“All right, you got it,” Jeremy told him.
Zach said good-night, and they hung up.