The Celtic Riddle

Partway along the street I found myself in front of Bewley's Oriental Cafe, a landmark three-story building, and an establishment famous for its coffees and teas for almost a century and a half, apparently. I stood back to admire the facade and noted through the reflection on the glass, a couple seated at a table in the window up on the second floor. It was kind of sweet, the way they had their heads together, holding hands on the table. As I watched he leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips, and for a second or two I could see them both clearly.

Rob is going to kill me, was all I could think.

"Not you too," Jennifer wailed. "I'm eighteen! Lots of girls my age are married already. With kids," she added.

"How old is he?" I demanded. "Thirty-five? Thirty-six?"

Jennifer bit her lip. "That's twice as old as you are," I huffed. "Padraig Gilhooly is way, way too old for you."

"He's sophisticated," she argued. "Not like those stupid boys at school." Sophisticated was not a word I would have associated with Padraig Gilhooly, but I suppose it's all relative. Certainly, he would have to be more worldly than the boys her age at home, which was a real worry. Also, I didn't think his relative sophistication was the issue here. While age eighteen was a dim memory for me, I remembered enough to know that Gilhooly's dark hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, to say nothing of his brooding manner, would be powerful attractions. How far had this gone?

"I hope you haven't done something you will regret, Jennifer," I said. My, I sounded like an old prune, but I couldn't stop myself. Maybe I shouldn't have called Rob a poop.

"Paddy's a gentleman," she sniffed. I hoped that meant what I thought it did. That had been some kiss he'd planted on her in the upstairs window of Bew-ley's, and she hadn't appeared even remotely reluctant. I wasn't sure gentlemanly was going to last for long.

"Don't tell Dad, okay?" she said beseechingly. It was tempting to agree, I'll admit, but I knew I couldn't.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, that I lied about going on the walking tour and everything. It's just that Dad is so weird about the guys who ask me out." She snuffled. I sighed. Neither of us, when it came right down to it, had been honest with the other when it came to our motives for the trip to Dublin. And, let's face it, it was true what she said about her father. He was really nuts where his daughter and boys were concerned. She was a very sensible young woman, and was being more truthful than I was prepared to be. But Paddy Gilhooly! Twice her age!

The Celtic Riddle "I asked Paddy about Lost Causes," she said. "I didn't want to date someone who drove his boat like that. He left his boat in for repairs while he went into Cork to see his lawyer. They, the boatworks people, left it outside their place with the keys in it, so that Paddy could pick it up after hours when he got back, because he'd need it really early the next day. Someone had chartered his boat to go fishing for an hour or two right about dawn. The boatworks closes at four. So anyone could have taken it and then just put it back where they'd found it."

"That's reassuring," I said. "Did he tell you why he's feuding with the Byrne family and why they kept him out of the Will?"

"He hasn't told me yet," she replied. "I asked him about the family, but he just got mad, so I dropped it. I told him about the treasure hunt, though," she said after a pause. "And how well we're doing with the clues and everything."

Bad idea, I thought, but predictable, I suppose, under the circumstances.

"Anyway," she said triumphantly. "He told me his clue. A salmon in a pool. He says that now that I've explained to him how the clues work, he thinks he can find the one that goes with his clue when we get back. He'll bring it to us to decipher the ogham because he doesn't know how to do it. I knew I could convince him to help."

You'd think after my performance not even an hour earlier, I'd consider Jennifer a woman after my own heart. I didn't. In fact, I was aghast. "You mean to tell me you held his hand and let him kiss you to get his clue!"

Jennifer looked wounded. "That's disgusting!" she exclaimed. At least she and I agreed on something in this conversation.

"The thing is," she went on. "I think I'm in love with him."

Yes, Rob was going to kill me. But he'd torture me first.

Chapter Ten. A LAKE IN A PLAIN