Darcy put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s a kind gesture, but I don’t think anyone needs to go over there. I’m going to telephone a certain chap in London and I think he’ll know who to contact in the States so that we have someone on our side over there.”

“You’re such a spoilsport, Darcy,” the princess said. “I was looking forward to braving the elements and flying in to the rescue and earning your undying gratitude.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic, Zou Zou,” Darcy said.

“Just doing my bit to help a chum, as I told the horrid policeman,” she said. “So what do you propose doing next? We can’t just sit back and leave it to other people. If this man was here under an assumed name, then he had to be up to no good. He was probably hiding from someone, and that person found him, crept into the castle and finished him off.”

“I don’t think you’ve taken a good look at the castle yet,” Darcy said. “It’s not that easy to gain entry. The gates are locked. There’s a high wall. Besides, the manservant was there.”

“And claimed he heard nothing. And he has already said that your father came in and out without being noticed,” I pointed out.

“That’s a fact that hardly helps my father’s case,” Darcy said dryly.

“What I am saying is that if anyone was keeping an eye on the castle and observed your father, they could see how he got into the castle and emulate it.”

“I presume my father still had a key to the servants’ entrance or the wine cellar.”

“Which someone could have taken and borrowed or copied if your father fell into a drunken sleep,” I went on. I saw him wince at the word “drunken” and wished I had been more tactful.

“This implies that someone was in the neighborhood long enough to have studied my father’s comings and goings, to have had a key cut. Kilhenny is a small community. A stranger who lingered would be noticed.”

“We should consider the strangers we know about,” I said. “The American professor who didn’t seem to know much about archeology. And the young priest who Kevin the Garda didn’t know.” I waved my hands. “And the ghost. Don’t forget Mrs. McNalley saw a ghost.”

“A ghost? How divine,” Zou Zou said. “I adore haunted houses.”

“I was suggesting that this ghost might have been an intruder she observed,” I said.

“Ah. I see.” She nodded.

“We could make use of the embassy while we’re here,” I said to Darcy. “Could they not check up for us on a Professor Peabody from the University of . . . Southern Nebraska, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right,” Darcy said. “Wait here. I’ll go back inside and ask.”