Cozy Mystery ● 310 pages ● Cover art by Pat Evans
Irish ghosts come in many forms. The murderous one that has
haunted Danny Egan from childhood may not even be dead. Constancy knows they
can’t avoid Danny’s past while they’re in Ireland. She prays the encounter will
bring healing, because if it goes bad, the result could forever silence Danny’s
tune.
Excerpt:
We pushed on through the bushes and
vines right up to the stone wall, and began to make our way around the ruins.
I suddenly caught a snatch of sound
that stopped me in my tracks. “Danny, what’s that?” I couldn’t get my voice
above a whisper.
“What?” Instantly on alert, he
lowered his voice to match mine.
“A sound. I heard a sound, like a
far-off wail. Not quite... Well, it didn’t sound quite human.”
He listened for a moment. Of course,
while he was listening, I heard nothing.
“Ghosts, is it?” he asked, with a
smile.
“Shhh. Danny, I was joking about
ghosts, but something’s making that noise. Listen a minute longer.”
Once more I heard it. Irish human or
ghost or banshee. After hearing it, I could have believed in any of them. The
eeriness of the cry made the hair stand up on my arms. “Danny, can’t you hear
it?”
“I do now. It’s very odd.”
I started to speak but he held up a
hand for silence, and mouthed the word, “Wait!”
So I waited, while the thin, distant
wail came again and again.
I clutched Danny’s arm.
“Come on,” he whispered. “As quietly
as we can.”
He led me on around a ragged corner
of wall until we could see down into what must have been the cellars of the
manor house. The light shone in only dimly. Roots and vines had invaded the
space. It did not look inviting. We walked farther around. The wail came again.
“Almost there,” Danny said.
“Somebody must be trapped down there. I think I remember a staircase a bit
farther on.... Yes, it looks solid enough.”
“We’re going d-down?”
“I’m going down and you’re to stay
exactly here.”
“Okay. Danny…”
