Later that day we assembled together at Mountjoy with Mr. Lennox and Chief Inspector Callahan. Mr. Lennox informed us that a team was being sent over from Washington and Chicago to take charge of the stolen goods found at the castle. Lola Martinez had been taken into custody but was not talking. Mr. Lennox suggested that if she was charged with the murder of Bugsy Barker she might well want to confess to lesser charges, like attempted murder or being an accessory to a robbery. I now suspected it was she who’d killed the taxi driver, Barney. He had obviously remembered that she came to the area before Bugsy/Roach was killed and was foolish enough to mention this to her. But that crime, I’m afraid, could never be proven when it was all too easy to skid off an icy road in the dead of night. It seemed that Mickey and Lofty had been seen crossing into Northern Ireland and had taken the ferry from Belfast to Liverpool two days back. Since they couldn’t leave England without taking a boat or an aeroplane, Lennox was confident that they would soon be caught.

Princess Zamanska turned to Inspector Callahan. “In the light of all this evidence, Chief Inspector, I think that you have to agree that Lord Kilhenny did not commit the crime with which you charged him.”

Callahan coughed. I could tell it pained him to say what he had to. “It would appear so,” he said. “Of course, I personally need to speak with the purported gang members and with the law enforcement officers who can identify them before I can make a final decision.”

“So my father is free to come and go as he pleases?” Darcy asked.

“He will need to stay in touch as he is certain to be called to give evidence at a trial,” Callahan said.

When the Garda had departed, Oona invited Mr. Lennox to stay to dinner. “We’re all very grateful,” she said.

“It wasn’t me, ma’am. It was your family and friends here who did the hard work,” he said. “You should be thanking them.”

“So what will happen to the castle and stables now?” Dooley asked. “Surely they won’t pass to his next of kin if they were purchased with stolen money?”

“I believe they will become the property of the United States government,” Lennox said. “And the government will put the property up for auction, to recoup some of the money.”

“Then you must bid on it, Thaddy,” Oona said. “Buy back the family home.”

Darcy’s father gave a sharp laugh. “With what?” he said. “I’m still as poor as a church mouse, Aunt Oona.”

“I could ride Sultan in the Boxing Day stakes—it has a handsome purse for the winner, doesn’t it?” Darcy said, his face lighting up with enthusiasm.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lord Kilhenny said, making Darcy flush with embarrassed anger.