Scales of Retribution by Cora Harrison Page B

chuckled at his wit.
    ‘And of course, we know that the flask of brandy was on the table beneath the window.’ Mara decided to ignore Moylan, though the joke was in poor taste.
    ‘And the morning was hot,’ said Hugh. ‘The window would definitely have been open.’
    ‘I’ll make a note of that, shall I, Brehon?’ said Enda, writing busily. ‘We can easily find out that for certain once we get to work.’
    Mara smiled. Her scholars were obviously keen to get started on investigations. She had always involved them in the legal work of the kingdom, feeling that practical experience was an essential part of their education.
    ‘Brehon, is Nuala really a suspect? She seems to think that she is,’ asked Fachtnan. Mara gave him her full attention. He had a worried look in his honest brown eyes.
    ‘I think she has to be, Fachtnan,’ she said. ‘After all she did have the means, the knowledge, of course, and also perhaps a motive since her father had rejected her and was doing his best to stop her from becoming a physician.’
    ‘And, of course, he also was trying to take away the Rathborney property that should be hers,’ said Aidan, proving that the boys had been talking over Nuala’s affairs among themselves.
    ‘And she would be a female heir to Malachy – get the land fit to graze seven cows and the house,’ mused Enda.
    ‘So that’s two reasons to suspect her,’ mused Hugh, ‘though I don’t believe that Nuala did it.’
    ‘A lawyer has to weigh all of the evidence,’ reproved Shane. ‘No personal feelings should be allowed to interfere with this.’
    ‘Very true,’ said Mara with a sigh. ‘You remind me of my duty, Shane.’
    ‘So who else disliked Malachy the physician enough to kill him?’ Enda held the quill poised in his hand and looked around the schoolroom.
    ‘And had access to his medicines,’ added Moylan.
    ‘I think we must add to that who had knowledge of the medicines,’ said Mara. ‘You see, a few days ago, I would not have known what aconite is – would not even know what it was made from.’
    ‘I came across a description in Bretha Déin Chécht ,’ said Shane. ‘Just a minute, I have it here somewhere.’ He delved into his satchel and then took out a piece of vellum, covered in his small, well-formed handwriting. Quietly he read it aloud: ‘“Aconitum is a handsome plant with dark green leaves and bright blue flowers which are shaped in a distinctive hooded shape from which it gets one of its many names: monkshood. It is also called wolfsbane as it is very poisonous and often used to rid a land of wolves. The poison is made by pounding the roots of the plant. Great care should be taken in the handling as it is a deadly poison.”’
    ‘And Malachy, according to Nuala, had a large jar on his shelf, labelled aconite,’ commented Mara.
    ‘But most people around here cannot read,’ objected Hugh. ‘And even if they could, would they know that aconite is just another name for wolfsbane?’
    ‘Yes, but you must remember all the farmers who had got it from Malachy,’ said Aidan. ‘I think that wolfsbane is one medicine that many people of the Burren would know about. And would know how deadly it was.’
    ‘This is the next task,’ said Enda, writing busily. ‘We must conduct a door-to-door search of the farms to see who had bought wolfsbane from Malachy.’ He laid down his quill. ‘And, of course, this brings us to the next point. What about Murrough? He lost his favourite wolfhound. You remember how it happened?’ He looked around at his fellow scholars and continued fluently, ‘Malachy had baited his own woodlands with the stuff – had put it into a dead hare. Murrough walked his wolfhounds through those oak trees and his dog Rafferty cleared off – you know what Rafferty was like – anyway, he didn’t come back when Malachy called him, and eventually one of the other dogs found him and he was dead. Had died in agony, too, poor dog. Vomited up his guts! The