No Place to Hide (Cook's Cove Women's Fiction Mystery Novels Book 2) by Judy Leslie

Author:Judy Leslie [Leslie, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Judy Leslie
Published: 2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

Jenny

Jenny watched as Aoife opened jars and cans, spooning out different twigs and leaves, a handful of mushrooms, and several pinches of dried flowers, which she added to a large stone mortar and ground into a paste. She then placed the mixture into a strainer, pouring boiling water over it, which drained into a teapot.

“This might help you sleep tonight, my dear.” She handed Jenny a cup of the tea she made.

Jenny sniffed, detecting an aroma of moss and mint. Not wanting to be rude, she took a sip. Honestly, she would try anything to keep the nightmares at bay.

The first sip tasted repulsive with its earthy flavor but quickly gave way to more floral tones, like an exotic wine. There was a depth to Aoife’s healing tea lacking in the concoctions Susan had given her as a child when she had the sniffles or fever.

“Shaun tells me you’ve got a water spirit in your life. A whale.”

“It’s from a fairytale I was told as a child,” Jenny replied. “Supposedly, when my father drowned, he turned into an orca whale. A year ago, I ended up in the water, and I imagined a whale saved me.”

“So, you don’t believe it?”

“I don’t know if what I experienced was real or not.” Once, she was convinced it was true, but that seemed so long ago now.

“My aunt believes in myths and folktales, magic and spirits, much like your mother Susan did,” Shaun said, eyeing the tea in Jenny’s hands.

“Aye. What is wrong with that? You young people think you know everything. But there is more going on in this world than what you assume. Ireland was built on myths. And you, Shaun, should know that, or you were sleeping through your lessons.”

Shaun smiled, shaking his head.

They sat by the peat fire, Jenny sipping her tea, Shaun staring at the flames. Unspoken thoughts drifted in the air. Aoife got up and put some fennel stocks and pods on the fire, sending a crackling sound into the room along with a sweet odor.

Returning to her chair, Aoife grabbed the knitting she had been working on: a sweater for Shaun, Jenny had been told. Picking up her needles, Aoife turned toward Jenny and asked, “Have you heard the tale about the fiddle made of raic, Jenny?”

“Raic?”

“Long ago, there was no money. Everyone was poor, and the tyrants ruled the land. The only thing the people had was music, along with a few crude instruments, to lessen the burden on their souls. Since wood was scarce, they would search the shore for raic from the wreckage of a cargo ship lost at sea so that they could build things. Once, a man found a unique piece of wood that he shaped into a fiddle. That fiddle was thought to express all the voices of the men lost at sea.

“Now, Shaun here isn’t your typical fiddle player. He’s blessed with the ability to translate the voices and stories from the other world to tunes that speak to people’s souls.

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