“Be right back.” Hugh slid out of the SUV and ambled toward the building.
He returned in a few minutes. Eva rolled down her window as he approached the driver’s side. “The guy’s scent is definitely inside, but the museum’s all clear.”
Pia unbuckled the straps on Liam’s car seat and lifted him out. “Let’s take a look around.”
Chapter Seven
Inside, the museum took the entire ground floor. Aged wooden floors, colorful posters and display cases lured the eye. One section of shelves, lined with books, was roped off and someone had taped a computer-printed closed sign to the rope.
Normally Pia would have been interested in looking around, but at the moment, she was too focused. Flanked by a watchful Eva, she walked through the museum and looked for a curator or attendant while Hugh strolled through the displays.
After some searching, she finally located a dwarf sitting at a desk in a back office, and she paused. The dwarf was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with the museum’s logo, and had a beard, but that was no indication of gender.
The office also carried a distinct male scent, with a whiff of cigarette smoke. Pia told Eva telepathically, The man from outside has been in here very recently, within the last couple of hours.
The plot thickens. Eva looked happy, but then Eva loved a challenge, and she usually looked happy when something got complicated or went wrong. I didn’t even know we had a plot on this trip.
Pia said aloud, “Excuse me, could you answer a few questions for us?”
The dwarf jumped, knocked a sheaf of papers and exclaimed in a clearly feminine voice, “Gods! You startled me.”
“I’m sorry.” Pia started forward. “Let me help.”
“No, no, never mind.” The dwarf waved Pia away without looking at her. She slid out of her chair and onto her knees to gather up the papers. “Whatever you want, you’ll have to make it quick. I’m very busy today.”
Pia said, “I just wanted to know if the museum might have any historical records or information about an old Light Fae ship named the Sebille from the early fifteenth century.”
“No,” the dwarf replied, her voice flat. She still hadn’t raised her head. She stacked the papers together. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. We don’t have anything.”
Something about other woman’s demeanor seemed off, but her instincts had gone into hyper drive, so for the moment she reserved judgment. “Can you recommend anywhere else in Bermuda where we might research the Sebille?”
“None of the other island museums have anything.” The dwarf’s tone had turned short to the point of rudeness. She rose to her feet and slapped the papers on the desk.
Pia exchanged a glance with Eva and shook her head. That wasn’t just her imagination. Something definitely wasn’t right. “You sound very sure of that.”
“I am very sure,” said the dwarf. “This is the only museum of Elder history in Bermuda.”
“But you’ve heard of the Sebille,” Eva pressed. “You know what ship we’re talking about.”
“Of course I’ve heard of it,” the dwarf replied irritably. “Every couple of years some fool comes through, itching to learn everything they can about the Sebille, and they want to scour the records here for any mention of the ship. I’m going to tell you the same thing I tell all the others.” She finally looked at Pia, and her small, dark eyes were anxious. “Don’t waste your time. Go enjoy your vacation, and play with that cute baby. Stop searching for the ship.”
Pia’s gaze narrowed. She said softly, “Talking about it seems to bother you for some reason. Are you all right? You’re not afraid of someone, are you? Because if you are, we can help you.”
The dwarf drew in a quick breath and lowered her voice. “Wait a minute, I know who you are. Look, there are some men who have been looking for that ship for a very long time—since before I came to Bermuda and took over the museum. I’m not sure how many men, and I don’t know where they live. I don’t want to know. All I know is they spend time at the dockyards a lot, and they frequent bars, and their leader…he’s not a nice man.”
Eva and Pia exchanged another glance. Pia asked, “The leader wouldn’t happen to be a big Light Fae male, would he? Long hair pulled back in a ponytail?”
The dwarf rubbed her chin nervously with the back of one hand and nodded.
“And one of his men was in here earlier to talk to you.” Pia didn’t ask it as a question.
The dwarf nodded again. “Years ago, I used to have a few records that mentioned the Sebille. There was nothing substantial, mind you, just mainly some stuff that has been retold so much it’s turned into legend. A massive storm and strange lights in the sky, that sort of thing.”
“Strange lights.” Eva’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of strange lights?”