“So what is the purpose of the new grave being dug behind the tomb of Tigernmas?”
The question was asked so softly that it took a moment or two for its implication to sink in. Fidelma’s fiery green eyes were fixed on the keeper of the cemetery.
Garbh’s mouth dropped open and he began to stutter. Then he hung his head in silence.
“Hold him,” instructed Fidelma calmly. “He is to be held for premeditated murder and grave robbery.”
With astonished expressions, Irél and Tressach moved close to the side of the keeper of the cemetery.
Fidelma now rose languidly to her feet and gazed sorrowfully at Garbh. “There has been no death of a High King or any member of his family during the last three years. Sechnasach is still young and healthy. Why, then, dig a new grave in the cemetery of the High Kings? Will you explain, Garbh, or shall I?”
Garbh remained silent.
“You started digging the grave in order to construct a small passage into the tomb of Tigernmas, didn’t you, Garbh?”
“For what purpose would one want to enter an ancient tomb?” demanded Colmán, chagrined that he had not spotted such an obvious matter as the new grave.
“To rob the tomb, of course,” replied Fidelma. “Where were all the gold, silver and jewels that would have been buried with Tig-ernmas? Only a single bar and some gold jewelry lay discarded on the floor of the burial chamber. Tigernmas was a king of many legends. But it was well known that he ruled a rich court. Following the custom of our ancestors, rich grave goods would have been placed there to serve him in the Otherworld.”
Irél was looking shamefaced. Fidelma had pointed out this very fact to him and it had not registered.
“But there is much to be explained,” he pointed out. “How did the judge, Fiacc, come to be there? Had he spotted Garbh’s intention and tried to catch him?”
Fidelma shook her head. “It was Fiacc’s idea to rob the tomb in the first place. Fiacc had married a mercenary young woman. Fiacc had also made several mistakes in judgment and had become destitute through the payment of compensation. He was desperately in debt. He needed money badly. He needed money prior to his hearing before the Chief Brehon tomorrow. Money to cover his debts and money to keep his capricious young wife. It was Fiacc’s idea to rob the tomb of Tigernmas, which, according to the chroniclers, contained great riches. But how was he to do it on his own?”
“Do you have the explanation?” Colmán asked.
“When he arrived at Tara, Fiacc spent a day or so in the cemetery examining the tomb. He realized there was only one way to get access without attracting any attention. He enlisted the aid of Garbh, the keeper of the graves. Once Garbh saw the simplicity of the plan, greed took over. Money is always a great incentive.
“Garbh was always in the cemetery, repairing tombs. It was Garbh’s job to dig the graves when a High King or his family died. No one was bothered when Garbh started to dig a grave near the sepulcher of Tigernmas. No one even thought to ask why he was digging a grave. Everyone saw Garbh at what was presumed to be his usual lawful task.
“Garbh and Fiacc broke into the tomb of Tigernmas this evening. When you come to examine the new grave which Garbh has dug, and which he meant to fill in tomorrow, you will find traces of a short tunnel into the tomb. It will come up under the floor, under one of the granite slabs. One of those slabs, Irél, with the scratch marks on it which you so rightly observed had been made by ropes used to reset it into its proper place in the floor. The plan was that Garbh and Fiacc would extract the riches and reseal the passage so that no one would know that the tomb had even been entered. A few items were overlooked in the haste to extract everything. A bar of silver and some jewelry were left behind. But that was all.”
“How did Fiacc die?” demanded Irél, trying to follow the story.
“Was it the curse of Tigernmas that struck him down?” Tressach asked fearfully.
“Fiacc died,” replied Fidelma coldly, “because Garbh decided that he did not want to share the easy money that had come his way. Having been shown the almost effortless way to gain riches, Garbh wanted those riches for himself. He waited until he and Fiacc had removed all the loot from the tomb and were cleaning up. Fiacc you see, being a judge, was very meticulous about his planning. In case, some accident caused the tomb to be opened, he had decided that the dust on the floor, which would show evidence of their activity and might provide a clue to their identity, should be swept away.”
Irél groaned. Again Fidelma had pointed this out to him and it had not registered as important.
“Go on,” he urged. “You have told us why Fiacc died. Now tell us how exactly he died.”
“It was after the spoils had been removed and the cleaning finished that Garbh, using a fé, the measuring stick for graves, stabbed Fiacc in the back and thought he had killed him. He then left the tomb, resealed the entrance, and went back to the grave he was digging, perhaps filling in the tunnel after him. We shall see that later. I would imagine that he has stored his spoils in or near his cabin.”
Garbh shifted uneasily at this and Fidelma smiled in satisfaction.
“Yes, Irél, I think you will find the treasure of Tigernmas hidden at Garbh’s cabin.”
“But Fiacc was not killed immediately,” Tressach interrupted. “Garbh left him wounded in the tomb when he resealed it.”
“Garbh did not realize this. He thought he had killed Fiacc. The wound made Fiacc pass out. He was badly hurt. He was dying. But he came to consciousness and realized that he was sealed in the darkened tomb. He realized, in terror, that he himself was entombed. He gave a scream of dread, which you, Tressach, in passing the tomb, heard. He began to drag himself to the wooden doors, crying in desperation. Not knowing that Tressach had heard his scream, he began to scrabble at the doors until, in that fearful moment of horror, death overtook him.”
“I did not mean to kill him. It was an argument,” Garbh said slowly, speaking now for the first time and admitting guilt. “It was Fiacc who wanted the greater part of the wealth for himself. He said that he would only give me a small portion of the spoils. When I demanded a fair and equal share, he attacked me. He picked up the old grave measure and attacked me and I defended myself. In the struggle, he was stabbed. I was not responsible for murder. You cannot punish me for that.”
Fidelma shook her head.
“Oh no, Garbh. You plotted to kill Fiacc from the very beginning. As soon as Fiacc had explained the plan to you, you decided that you wanted all the spoils from the tomb. You kept Fiacc alive long enough for him to be of help in gaining entrance to the tomb and taking out the treasure. You planned to kill him and leave him in the tomb, hoping that no one would ever open the tomb again. Your mistake was twofold: firstly, not ensuring that he was dead when you left him, and secondly, vanity.”
“You cannot prove I set out to kill Fiacc!” cried Garbh. “If I had meant to kill him I would have taken a weapon into the tomb. Fiacc was killed by an old grave measurement left lying in the tomb. Even Irél will bear witness to that.”
Irél reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“That seems so, Sister. It was a fé that killed Fiacc. You know that. And there was Ogham carved on it. I know the ancient script. It read, ‘May the gods protect us.’ The reference to the gods and not God shows that it belonged to the pagan tomb. It must have been lying in the burial chamber.”
“Not so. The grave measure was made by Garbh,” insisted Fi-delma. She pointed to the table in the Abbot’s room on which she had already laid the fé taken from the tomb.
“That was not the fé that measured the tomb of Tigernmas. Look at it closely. The wood is new. The Ogham notches are clean-cut. Examine the cuts. There are traces of sap still drying. Who ever cut this cut it within the last twenty-four hours.”