‘But it is the truth. You were all misled by Sister Síomha’s denial that it was her friend. Almu had undoubtedly told Torcan that her friend Síomha was a party to the secret. When he knew that Síomha had failed to identify Almu then he began to suspect that Síomha was involved in obtaining the treasure for herself.’
‘Are you saying that Sister Síomha killed Almu?’ Abbess Draigen was once more on her feet, a tone of querulous amazement in her voice, forgetting the censure of the Brehon.
‘If she did not do the actual deed, then she was a partner to it. I began to suspect Síomha’s involvement because of these facts: firstly, she was a good friend of Almu but said that the body was definitely not that of her friend. It is just possible she did not recognise the corpse but so unlikely as to be discounted. Secondly, Síomha clearly lied when she toldSister Brónach that she had drawn water from the well shortly before they found the corpse. The body of Almu had to have been placed down the well by Síomha and her companion before daylight otherwise the risks would have been too great. A third matter made me realise Síomha’s involvement and that was her miscalculations that night with the water-clock.’
‘Miscalculations?’ queried Draigen sharply.
‘Síomha was said to be very meticulous. On the night of Almu’s murder, she made several miscalculations which Sister Brónach mentioned to me in passing. In other words, at some point, Síomha had to leave the water-clock and the tower to go to the help of her companion in dealing with Almu. You see, Almu went, or was lured, down to the excavated cave for she had red mud under her fingernails. The same mud, I was told, was on her body before it was washed for burial. Sister Síomha had missed the essential time sequences and had to fudge them later. Errors that were picked up by Sister Brónach when she took over the watch early the next morning.’
‘Why didn’t Torcán come to the abbey to search for the gold calf immediately?’ asked Beccan.
‘Torcán had to return to the copper mines for a few days due to his involvement in the conspiracy. When he returned to Adnar’s fortress and contacted Sister Siomha, he thought he was dealing only with her and demanded that she bring him a copy of the book which had the references he needed. He did not know which book it was. Siomha, taking advantage of this, sent him a copy of the annals of Clonmacnoise. In addition, suspecting that Torcán was likely to betray her, she decided to send the book by Sister Lerben. As a further precaution, Síomha cut the two essential pages from the real book, the Teagasg Rí, which was still in the library, and gave them to her companion.
‘By chance I happened to be going to Adnar’s fortress a short time before Torcán was expecting Síomha to travel thatpath through the wood bearing the copy of the book. I was mistaken for Síomha and shot at. I barely escaped the arrow meant for Síomha. When Torcán and his men realised their mistake they tried to cover it up by claiming they were hunting and had mistaken me for a deer. It was a weak story. And my suspicion was confirmed when a short while later, Sister Lerben appeared along that woodland path bearing a book to deliver to Torcan.’
Sister Lerben was sitting with her face almost the colour of snow.
‘I could have been killed!’ she blurted.
Fidelma ignored her and added: ‘It did not take too long for Torcán to realise that he had been duped. He went to find Siomha.’
‘And slew her?’ Beccan demanded.
‘No. Síomha’s companion in this intrigue had now realised that Síomha was a liability.’
‘Ah, the companion,’ breathed Beccan. ‘I was losing sight of this mysterious companion.’
‘Síomha was now Torcan’s open link to that companion. So Síomha had to be killed to prevent Torcán discovering the truth.’
‘And who was this companion?’ demanded Draigen. ‘You have spoken much about this companion but you have not identified who the companion was.’
‘The companion was Síomha’s lover. The person responsible for both the murders of Almu and Siomha.’
The excitement in the chapel was full of tension.
‘In both murders it had been the idea of this person to present the corpses in such a way that a two-fold purpose would be achieved. Some symbolism would be placed on the bodies in order to throw any investigator off the scent and would, at the same time, put fear into the abbey community; perhaps even in the hope that such fear would drive members of the community away from the abbey because they might believe it was under a pagan curse. So the victims weredecapitated and a fé bound on one arm and a crucifix placed in the opposite hand.
‘By now, of course, Torcán was not so much concerned with his father’s insurrection against Cashel. Perhaps he never was. He was concerned with obtaining a personal fortune which would make him rich and with those riches he would have power. His greed overcame his good sense. He knew that I was on the trail of this mystery and he used young Olcan as a decoy, sending him to the abbey and to the Gaulish ship to ask certain questions which would place suspicion on Olcán.
‘Torcán kept a close watch on me. I confess that I did not know how close. He followed Eadulf and me into the cave when we discovered the entrance to the so-called treasure cave. He followed us in and knocked Eadulf momentarily unconscious. I suspect that he thought that we had already discovered the gold calf and was about to attempt frightening me into revealing to him what he thought I knew.’
‘Adnár says Torcán was about to kill you when he intervened to save your life,’ Beccan pointed out.
‘Adnár was wrong. No deaths can be laid at the feet of Torcan in this matter. Only one attempted killing when he thought I was Síomha. Torcán would not have killed me in the cave until he had obtained the information which he believed that I could give him about the gold calf.’
‘You have spoken about Síomha’s mysterious companion as her lover. It seems to be that you are pointing the finger at Adnar.’
‘Síomha’s lover!’ The Abbess Draigen had half-turned angrily to regard her brother with a look of disgust. ‘I might have suspected.’
‘That is not so!’ shouted Adnár. ‘I was never Síomha’s lover.’
‘Yet Síomha spent enough time at your fortress, especially during these last three weeks,’ replied Sister Lerben. ‘I told Sister Fidelma so.’
There was a restless murmur from the community.
‘You are wrong,’ Fidelma said. ‘Adnár was not Síomha’s lover.’
A tense silence fell.
‘You have lost me, Sister Fidelma,’ Beccan said slowly. ‘Of whom, then, are you speaking?’
‘As chance would have it, Sister Berrach actually saw him just after he had killed Síomha. In fact, he was probably in the very act of carrying Síomha’s mutilated head down to the subterraneus. Berrach saw a cowled figure. Consider. There was only one person who had fed Adnár with lies about Draigen; only one person who tried to feed me with those same lies; only one person who has been the subtle serpent whispering here and there and guiding people in this tragedy; only one person who was not of this community yet who could wear a cowl.’
Brother Febal had leapt to his feet and was pushing his way towards the window of the duirthech.
The warrior Mail and his men were there before him, dragging Febal back as he attempted to clamber through it.
There were gasps of astonishment and horror.
Adnár was sitting pale and shaking as he saw them binding Febal.
‘Brother Febal told you that it was Torcán who was behind everything, didn’t he?’ Fidelma asked Adnár. ‘Febal was good at spreading stories. He gave you the two pages which had been removed from the Teagasg Rí …’