James nodded. “Yes. Probably so he could hide the treasure from his last raid, the booty he was talking about to that drunk Scovy. The one that would buy him Arutha’s pardon.”
“Do you think he stole the key from Lucas?” asked Jazhara.
“No, they must be in this together. Knute’s murderer wanted to know where ‘it’ was; I wager ‘it’ is the treasure.”
William said, “So Lucas must have escaped into the sewers when Bear attacked. But then why hasn’t he contacted you or the Prince?”
Jazhara said, “Perhaps he can’t.”
James shook his head. “Lucas is the only man who is not a member of the Mockers who knows the sewers as well as I. He’ll have several places to lie low.” James’s voice got lower as he thought about it. “He must know what sort of man Bear is. And he must know that if he’s been involved in piracy, even just fencing stolen goods, Arutha would be unlikely to afford him significant protection. Lucas has spent his life walking a fine line between lawlessness and legitimate business, but this time he’s crossed that line.”
William spoke bitterly, “And his daughter paid the price.”
James put his hand on William’s arm. “And Lucas will have to live with that for the rest of his life.”
Jazhara said, “Which will not be long if Bear finds him. Our task is clear; we must find Lucas - and quickly.”
James nodded agreement. “Pray we get to him before Bear does.”
“Where do we start?” asked William.
James gave his friend a wry smile and pointed downward. “The sewers.”
Blood still stained the floors of the Rainbow Parrot Inn, but the bodies had been removed. A soldier stood beside the door as James, William, and Jazhara approached.
“Simon!” said William as he recognized the soldier. “How goes it?”
“Quiet, here, Lieutenant. Got the bodies out and taken to the Temple of Lims-Kragma, so’s they can be properly sent on their way.”
“Where are the other guards?” asked James.
“Well, Jack’s at the back door, and that’s it, Squire. Sergeant Tagart had the rest of the lads take the bodies to the temple. I guess the sergeant didn’t think much of anyone trying to rob an inn that was already ransacked. A couple of lads will relieve us at the end of our shift, then we can go down with the others.”
“Down where?” asked James.
“Why, the sewers. Ain’t you heard, Squire?”
James said, “Heard what?”
“Some bloke was cut loose from the jail a few hours ago. He got someone to stand for drinks at an alehouse in exchange for telling why the jail was attacked.”
James winced. “Scovy.”
“Could be that’s the fellow,” said the soldier. “Anyway, there’s been rumors aplenty. Pirate treasure in the sewers. Mountains of jewels and gold. Says a pirate named Bear hit the jail because someone there knew where the treasure was.”
“So the sewers are now crawling with treasure hunters,” said William.
“That’s a fact, Lieutenant,” said Simon. “Heard from one of the city watch who passed by a few minutes before you got here that a band of blokes came hobbling out of the big grate near Five Points, all cut up and bleeding. Word is the Mockers are trying to keep everyone else out of the sewers so they can find the treasure themselves.”
James sighed. “Well, I wonder what else could happen to make finding Lucas more difficult.”
“Well, someone said there’s a monster down there, too, Squire.”
James looked at Simon and said, “You’re joking, right?”
“On my honor, Squire,” said the soldier. “Seems two nights ago they found a body floating in the bay, all chewed up the way a cat does a mouse. Then they heard some fellow over at Ye Bitten Dog heard from another bloke that a band of smugglers was attacked by something that was big as a bull, with long arms and big teeth.”
Jazhara asked James, “And you want to go down there?”
“No,” answered the former thief, “but we have no choice. If we’re going to catch Bear, we need to find Lucas before he does. I have an idea where Lucas may be lying low.”
William nodded. “Even if Bear doesn’t find Lucas, if Lucas was in cahoots with Knute and is sitting on that treasure, anyone else who finds it before we do will probably kill Lucas.”
James said, “No more delays. Come on.” To Simon he said, “When your relief shows up, tell the duty sergeant that we’re in the sewers hunting the killer. I want word sent back to the palace asking the Prince to send a company down after us to help clear out these treasure hunters.”
“As you say, Squire.” Simon saluted.
James started to turn away, and Simon added, “One other thing, Squire.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a rumor surfaced a bit ago.” He glanced around as if ensuring no one else was listening. “Seems a bunch of drunken lads from up Fishtown way came out of the sewers over near Five Points, dragging some fellows with them. They were pretty messed up.”