Declan's Cross. Carla Neggers

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      5

      JULIANNE LASTED IN the cottage for ten minutes before she had to get out into the Irish air. She couldn’t believe she was finally here. She tightened her sweater around her and walked across the lane to a stone wall. She could hear waves whooshing on the rocks far below her, and the sigh of the wind in the grass and hollows.

      So beautiful, so peaceful.

      She breathed deeply, releasing some of the tension that had built up since she’d strapped herself into her little rented car and hit the Irish roads.

      The lane continued past the cottage, narrowing even more as it turned to dirt and disappeared around a bend. She noticed a man come around the bend, ambling toward her. He wore muddy work clothes and muddy dark green Wellies, as if he’d just come in from the fields. As he approached her, she saw he had thick dark hair and piercing blue eyes, something of a devil-may-care look about him. She guessed he was in his late thirties—Father Bracken’s age, maybe a little younger.

      “You must be Julianne,” he said in a pronounced Irish accent. “I’m Sean Murphy, Fin Bracken’s friend. Welcome to Declan’s Cross.”

      “Thank you. It’s great to meet you, Mr. Murphy.”

      “Sean.”

      She smiled. “The cottage is fantastic. I’m glad it worked out on such short notice.” The wind whipped her hair in her face as she stifled yet another yawn. “Father Bracken sends his best.”

      “He’s been telling me tales of bean-hole suppers.”

      Better than tales of attempted murder, Julianne supposed. “I never got a chance to ask him how you two know each other. He’s not from around here, is he?”

      “He’s from Kerry, but he’s visited Declan’s Cross many times.” Sean glanced at her car, still parked crookedly on the side of the lane. “You drove yourself down from Shannon, did you?”

      “I did. I’m a little wobbly, but I did okay. Necessity forced me out of my comfort zone. Lindsey Hargreaves was supposed to meet me, but—well, she didn’t, for whatever reason. Has she been in touch with you, by any chance?”

      “No, she hasn’t,” the Irishman said. “She’s not here, then?”

      “I don’t know if she’s in Declan’s Cross, but there’s no sign of her at the cottage. You know her, though, right?”

      “We’ve met. A friend of mine has done some diving with her.” Sean glanced toward the sea a moment, then back at her. “Have you heard from Lindsey at all today?”

      Julianne shook her head. “Not since Sunday afternoon. We emailed each other about plans to meet at the airport. She offered. I didn’t ask. I didn’t expect to hear from her again before I arrived this morning. My flight got in so early. I think my phone’s working okay—I’ll check my messages again when I go into the village. I gather there’s no cell service up here.”

      “It’s spotty at best.”

      “That’s fine with me.” She realized she sounded as if she didn’t want to talk to anyone back home, but it was just Andy she didn’t want to talk to. And her brother, since he’d ratted her out to Andy, who’d ratted her out to Colin. She pushed windblown hair out of her face and added, more cheerfully, “I’ll let you know if I hear from Lindsey. I’m sure I will.”

      Sean studied her a moment, as if she wasn’t quite what he’d expected. “Fin says you’re a marine biologist. I see dolphins and porpoises now and again.” He nodded toward the water. “I saw a whale once.”

      “Recently?”

      He smiled. “I was a boy.”

      Julianne didn’t know what she expected an Irish farmer to be like, but Sean Murphy wasn’t it. It was like having a mix of a young Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell up the lane. “I thought I’d get some fresh air while I can. They say sunlight can help jet lag. It’s in short supply right now, but it was sunny on the drive down here. I’d rather crawl in bed and sleep, anyway.”

      “You’ll СКАЧАТЬ