"Neither am I," Fionuala added. "Breeta, I can't speak for, although I don't think she is. She couldn't anyway, come to think about it. Mother took Bree's clue out of the safe in Da's office and tore it up, along with her own. Mother is a very determined woman," Fionuala added.
"Are you telling me there was no robbery?" I asked.
"Of course there wasn't," Fionuala replied. "Mother went off on the most awful tear. She tore the pages out of Da's diary and burned them, along with two of his maps. She was afraid there'd be something in the diary she wouldn't want to know, and the maps might have something on them that would encourage the rest of us to go after the treasure. We didn't call the police, or anything, so it wasn't so terrible a thing to do, was it?"
"No," I replied. As long as you didn't burn one of those rare old maps, I thought. Although, come to think of it, the diary burning could be seen in another light. Perhaps Margaret really was trying to protect herself from painful things her dying husband might have written, or there were things she wouldn't want others, Garda Minogue and Rob, for example, to read.
"Anyway," Fionuala went on, "The only one I can think of who might be still looking is Conail. He's really angry at Sean, and now with this split with me, he might be doing it to spite the family. He told me, yelled at me actually, when I told him to get out, that he'd find the treasure first."
"Someone trashed our room at the Inn," I said. It was a statement, not a question, but I was still hoping for an explanation. "And tried to swamp us in a boat."
The sisters exchanged meaningful glances. "That might be Conail," Fionuala sighed. "Just his style, I'm afraid. Never one to tread lightly in any respect. It was what I liked about him once. Sorry to hear that, though. And he doesn't have a boat, you know."
"But he does know how to handle a boat," Eithne added. "Do you have another question?"
"How about Padraig Gilhooly?"
"Paddy, looking for the treasure? I don't know," Eithne said, misunderstanding my question. "Oh, you mean, how does he fit in the family? Or do we think he'd trash your room and swamp you in a boat?"
I nodded. "All of the above. And where he came from, too."
"I can't imagine he'd do anything like trash your room and swamp you out on the water. He's actually quite nice, despite his rather sullen looks. I'm not sure where he came from, though, do you, Nuala?" Fionuala shook her head.
"Da just kind of adopted Paddy. He did that sort of thing. He liked giving people a chance. He helped him buy his boat and set him up in the charter business. Paddy almost lived at Second Chance for a while. But then he imposed on our hospitality," Eithne giggled. "That's the way Mother put it. He started going out with Breeta, more than going out, if you see what I mean, right in the house, too." She blushed.
Fionuala laughed. "Scandalous!" she said.
"Mother was furious, said Paddy wasn't good enough for Breeta, and threw him out of the house. That made Breeta really angry. She didn't blame Mother for some reason. We're all a little afraid of her. She blamed Da and his money, which was silly, but Breeta saw it to be the root of the problem with Paddy, Mother thinking we were too good for him. They had a fight. I've never seen Da so angry. I think it was in a way because Breeta was his favorite, and she really adored Da. I think it works that way sometimes, themore you love each other, the worse the fight. Anyway, Breeta left. I heard she's not going with Paddy anymore, so it was hardly worth it," she said.
"That's what your father meant then about Paddy being considered a member of the family. He wouldn't have minded if Breeta had married him?"
"Yes, I think so," Eithne said. "That's all he meant. He never said anything about our boyfriends. I don't think he liked either Sean or Conail very much, but he didn't object to our marrying them."
"Your father went on about how the family was always squabbling. How he wanted the treasure hunt to bring you all together. Is this a squabbling family?"
"Not always, in fact, not until recently, do you think, Nuala? We were actually quite close, particularly the three of us sisters. But I suppose near the end of his life it was. The cancer brought out the worst in Da, accentuated his least positive features, in a way. He was difficult to deal with. Sean and Conail started fighting over what was happening to the business, each blaming the other. Breeta, of course, walked out. Paddy blamed the family for what happened with him and Breeta. Nuala and I were always very close, but with our husbands fighting and everything, it was hard. Also, I'm a little like my mother, I'm afraid, and so when things get a little rough, I withdraw, get a little snappy, frankly. It hasn't been too great, lately.
"Was that all the questions?" she said hesitantly.
"Not quite," I replied. "Tell me about Deirdre."
"I don't know what to say. It's terrible, isn't it? She was such a little mouse, and to have something like that happen to her-I can hardly think about it."
"Was she with you long?"
"Five years, I'd say, Nuala?"
"About that," Fionuala agreed. "She came after Kitty had her stroke and had to retire. So, yes, about five years."
"She wasn't the greatest help when she first came," Eithne said. "It took a while for her to learn the ropes, so to speak. And she was always spilling stuff and breaking things, usually Mother's little glass ornaments or the good china. It drove Mother crazy." She giggled a little, and Fionuala joined in with a hearty laugh. "We shouldn't laugh, I know, but it was rather funny. I'll remember her that way, but with fondness. We got used to having her around, breaking china or not, and we were so grateful she came back to us. She felt like family. I told her, a couple of days before she died, that she wasn't to worry, that I'd look after her. I'm the eldest, and I know that I'm going to have to take charge of things: Mother's way too upset. And I will. I'll get this antiques business going somehow, and find us a smaller place to stay, and see about getting Breeta back with us again. She'll have the baby, of course. Do you think it's Michael's? Or Paddy's? It doesn't matter. We'll help her look after it. I would have looked after Deirdre too, and I wanted her to know that."
"Oh, Eithne, aren't you the serious one?" Fionuala sighed. "She's always been like this," she added, turning to me, "even when we were little. I'm taking you to the music festival, Eithne, since that dry stick of a husband of yours probably won't. Maybe Mother will come too. We'll hear some music, have a few drinks, maybe even dance a little and find a new man or two for Mother and me. You too, if you want one."
Eithne laughed out loud. "Rich would be good," she said.
"Essential," Fionuala agreed. "I know what I have to do," she added, twirling a piece of hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes outrageously. The three of us laughed so hard, the tears were running down our cheeks.
But then suddenly, Eithne's tears became real ones. "What do you think happened to us, Nuala?" she sobbed. "We all got along well once, didn't we? I know Da was sick and wasn't himself, but what happened to the rest of us? Especially you and Banba and I: The three of us used to be inseparable."
"You think too much, Eithne," Fionuala said, putting her arm around her sister's shoulder. "Things happen in families, that's all. We will get through this, and you're not going to have to deal with this family business all alone. We're going to stick together in this mess, so don't you fret about it."