Shamrock Shenanigans (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 19) Read Online Free PDF

headed back outside again so soon. Everyone knows I just came back from a walk, and several people know you just gave Charlie a bath.”
    “True. But we can head back to the cottage when we do go out again, and we might want to swing by the stable as well. In the meantime we should move Liam to the top of the suspect list.”
    “We have a list?”
    “Not yet, but we need one. Did you bring a notepad in your computer bag?”
    Zak unzipped his bag, took out a pad, and handed it to me. The Internet, like the phones, was inoperable, which was too bad because I had a sudden urge to do background checks on everyone on the property.
    I began to make a list of suspects. I put Liam on the top. Then I thought about the other employees. Liza didn’t seem the type to be a killer and Charlie liked her, so I was pretty sure we could eliminate her. The cook had been in the kitchen the entire previous evening, so I doubted she would have had the chance to shoot Brent. Likewise, Byron had moved over to the bar after he’d finished serving the meal, so I didn’t believe it could have been him. Lord Dunphy had left to go upstairs, so in terms of opportunity, it most definitely could have been him. Plus, he’d been in charge of inviting everyone. If he did have a motive to want to kill Brent, the party could very well be nothing more than an opportunity for him to get Brent to visit the castle. He had seemed surprised when he was informed that the body was missing. I put him on the list, but I didn’t consider him a strong suspect. There were easier ways to kill a man than to throw a party for twelve people.
    As for the guests, I knew Zak and I hadn’t done it, so that left ten; nine when you eliminated Brent because I doubted he’d shot himself in the back. Piper had left the group early, as had Armand, Luke, and Susan. I put all four of their names under Liam’s. I furrowed my brow, trying to remember the movement of the other guests. Jessica had been chatting with Sam. I couldn’t remember either of them leaving, at least not while Zak and I were still downstairs. Millie had been chatting with Cassandra and Drew, and she’d left to go to the ladies’ room at one point. I hadn’t noticed she’d been away an inordinate amount of time, but I added her to the list anyway. I was pretty sure Cassandra had never left the room, but I wasn’t so sure about Drew.
    “Do you remember if Drew left the room last night?” I asked Zak.
    “It does seem like she left and then returned. I was tired and not paying that much attention, so I can’t say how long she was gone.”
    I put her on the list just in case. “So this is who I have: Liam, Lord Dunphy, Piper, Armand, Luke, Susan, Millie, and Drew. All of them were out of the room for some period of time. Millie and Drew were only away for a short while, so I sort of doubt it could have been either of them, but Lord Dunphy, Piper, Armand, Luke, and Susan all left us shortly after dinner and never returned, and Liam was never in the room with us. Or at least he shouldn’t have been. That gives us six strong suspects. I suggest we begin there.”
    “Begin how?” Zak asked.
    “I’m not sure. I guess our first step should be to get a look at both the cottage and Brent’s room. If there really is a card game later, maybe we can uncover alibis for some of the others and whittle the list down a bit. The fewer suspects the easier it will be to figure this out.”
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    Zak and I decided to join different tables for the card tournament, which would give us the opportunity to engage in conversation with twice as many people. Our plan was to participate in the tournament until we felt we’d learned all we could and then lose a sufficient number of hands to be eliminated. Losing was going to be easy for me because I’d never played the game they’d chosen; it was going to be staying in long enough to find out what I hoped to discover that was going to be the