"What do you think they are?" asked Phoebe taking out one of the coins and looking at it. "They appear to be real gold."
"They are," said Cole. "I recognize them. When I was a district attorney we once had a case that involved the theft of some rare ancient coins. These look remarkably similar although I'm not sure exactly where they come from."
"Well this is a Celtic cross," said Paige pointing out a cross inscribed in the rough round coin. "They appear to be hand made. See, they aren't perfectly round. Each one is slightly different as if they were made by hand. I'm not sure what this language is, though."
"I think it's Gaelic," said Leo.
"Gaelic?" questioned Piper.
"Yes," said Leo, "the native language of Ireland. I served with an Irishman during the war. I recognize some of the characters although I can't read the language."
"I thought they spoke English in Ireland?" asked Phoebe.
"They do," said Leo. "But like a lot of countries, they have a native language of their own. In Ireland they speak Gaelic."
"Okay," said Piper. "So why does grams have a chest full of ancient Irish gold coins hidden in the basement? I mean just the amount of gold in here alone must make it worth thousands of dollars."
"Probably hundreds of thousands," said Cole. "And it's possible that these particular coins could be worth even more than that. Some coins are worth a great deal of money because of their rarity or historical value."
Suddenly the front door bell rang.
"I'll get it," said Phoebe, jumping up from her chair.
As the others continued to talk about the chest of gold coins, Phoebe answered the front door. She was surprised to find a man, about fifty years old, wearing a dark green suit, square lensed glasses, and a small beard only on his chin. But the most surprising thing was that the man stood only about two feet tall.
"Can I help you?" asked Phoebe.
"Sure and you can, darlin'," said the man with a thick Irish brogue. "Me name is Patrick O'Shaughnessy, of the Dublin O'Shaughnessy's. I'm here to complete our transaction, then I'll be on me way."
"Transaction?" asked Phoebe.
"Certainly," said the man, pushing his way into the manor. He stepped into the living room and turned to face Phoebe. "And I must say, it's about time. I was beginning to think we never would clear this matter up."
"Phoebe who's at the . . . door?" asked Piper, coming out of the kitchen followed by Leo. "Who's this?"
"Me name is Patrick O'Shaughnessy," said the man again, "of the Dublin O'Shaughnessy's. Just as I told the lovely lass at the door, I'm here about our transaction. It really is time we be completin' it so I can be about me business."
"What transaction?" asked Piper.
"I have no idea," said Phoebe. "He just said something about a transaction and barged right in."
"Now, and don't ya' think it's been long enough?" asked Patrick. "Now that everything is out in the open, so to speak, we can conclude our business."
"What's going on?" asked Paige, coming out of the kitchen followed by Cole.
"Who are you?" Cole asked Patrick.
"Darlin'," said Patrick, looking at Phoebe, "would there be anyone else in the house at the moment? It's become a bit tedious reintroducing meself every two minutes."
"No," said Phoebe, "no, that's everyone."
"Good," said the man, taking a pipe out of his coat and puffing on it. As if by magic, the pipe seemed to light itself. "As I was saying, me name is Patrick O'Shaughnessy, of the Dublin O'Shaughnessy's. I'm here about our transaction so I can be about me business."
"What transaction?" asked Paige. "What's he talking about?"
"I haven't the foggiest idea," said Piper. "Listen, whoever you are..."
"Patrick," repeated Patrick. "Patrick O'Shaughnessy, of the Dublin O'Shaughnessy's."
"Yeah, whatever," said Piper. "I don't know who you are what sort of transaction you think we have, but you obviously have the wrong house. And I'll thank you to put that out in here. There's no smoking in this house."
"Aye, 'tis a sad state of affairs when a man can't enjoy the simple pleasure of a good pipe," said Patrick, simply putting the pipe into coat without extinguishing it. "As for our transaction, I do have the right house. Now, if you'll just be telling me what you want, I'll take care of it for you, collect me gold, and be about me business."
At the mention of the gold, everyone became acutely attentive. They had only found it five minutes ago. Now this man had barged into the manor claiming it was his. And that he wanted it back.
"You want the gold back?" asked Cole. "You're Irish, aren't you?"
"Sure and what gave me away?" asked Patrick, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Certainly I'm Irish. And a grander people there never were. Now, about our transaction."
"Wait a minute," said Piper. "I want to know just what the heck is going on here. We find this chest of gold in the basement and less than five minutes later you show up claiming it's yours. If you're some kind of demon, you're the strangest demon I've ever seen."
"Demon?" said Patrick. He began to laugh. "I'm no demon, colleen. Which is more than I can say for the tall fellow over there. At least, he used to be a demon. It would appear he's not any more. Interestin' turn of events. Can't say as I've ever known that to happen."
"My name isn't Colleen," said Piper. "It's Piper."
"Well now," said Patrick, "colleen isn't used as a name in that sense. It's more of a term. Like the Scottish using lassy or the Australians using sheila. Or you Americans using missy. No offense is intended, I can assure you."
"He's no demon," said Cole.
"He's not?" asked Leo.
"No, Leo, he's not," said Cole. "Think about it for a minute. Two feet tall, Irish, wants his gold back."
"Oh," said Leo after a moments thought. There was a note of recognition in his voice. "No, he's no demon."
"If he's not a demon, what is he?" demanded Piper.
"Patrick," said Leo, "I think you'd better tell them who you are."
"I've only introduced meself three times," said Patrick. "Are ya' all daft?"
"No," said Cole, "a full introduction. The girls don't know who; or what; you are."
"Ah, I see," said Patrick. "Now I'm beginning to understand. You weren't expectin' me then?"
"No, we weren't," said Piper. "And if I don't get some answers soon, demon or no demon I'm going to . . ."
"Simmer down, lass," said Patrick. "There's no call for all the theatrics. Allow me to introduce meself properly. As I said, me name is Patrick O'Shaughnessy, of the Dublin O'Shaughnessy's."
He paused for a moment.
"And I'm a Leprechaun."