Grendel's Labyrinth by Anthony M. Strong

Author:Anthony M. Strong [Strong, Anthony M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: West Street Publishing
Published: 2020-10-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 34

When Decker entered the Claddagh Arms parking lot, he found Hunt and the others standing in a loose semicircle around Colum, who was on his knees next to the vehicle’s rear wheel.

“What’s going on?” He asked, approaching the group.

“Flat tire,” Colum growled as he struggled to remove the wheel nuts with a lug wrench. “I can’t imagine how this happened. It was fine when we parked yesterday, and now there’s a cut in the tire. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was done on purpose.”

Decker exchanged a glance with Hunt. It was just one more strange occurrence to add to a growing list. He glanced around the parking lot. “What about the rental car Robert and Astrid were using? Can’t we take that?”

“It’s gone,” Hunt replied. “It was in Robert’s name. Our European Field Office had the rental company pick it up earlier this morning.”

“That’s too bad,” Decker said. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you know how to patch a tire,” Colum said. “Have no fear, I’ll be finished before you know it.”

Despite Colum’s proclamation, it took an additional thirty minutes to mount the spare wheel, at which point they piled into the Land Rover with Hunt in the front passenger seat, and Decker sandwiched between Astrid and Rory in the back. As soon as they were settled, Colum started the engine and pulled out onto Winslow Street, glowering at the thought of finding somewhere to replace the damaged tire, which he claimed would be easier said than done in the village. He would have to drive to Kilkenny, he grumbled, to find a mechanic with the correct radius in stock.

As they left the village behind it started to rain, a steady drizzle too heavy for the intermittent wipers, but not heavy enough to keep the wipers on continuously. This was why they were almost upon it by the time they saw Clareconnell’s only Garda cruiser speeding in the other direction toward the village. At the wheel was Sergeant Byrne. Next to him in the passenger seat Decker saw another man, but he could not make out his features through the rain.

“I wonder what the sergeant was up to?” Hunt said. “It looks like he was coming from the direction of the monastery.”

“Do you think he was looking for Robert’s body?” Astrid asked, turning to look through the rear window as the police car receded into the distance. “Do you think he found it?”

“I doubt it,” Decker said. “There’s no sign of a vehicle to transport the body, and Sergeant Byrne was reluctant to even step foot in the caves yesterday. Whatever he was doing, I’m sure it had nothing to do with Robert.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Colum said as they turned onto the trail leading to the monastery and pulled up next to the ruin.

They piled out, bowing their heads against the rain, and hurried towards the dig site and the steps leading beneath the monastery. When they arrived Astrid noticed that something was awry immediately.

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