Rutherford looked like he wanted to hit her on the head with his flashlight. “That must be it,” he said.
I crossed the tilted room to a huge overturned table and peered over the edge. The area behind the table was littered with gold and silver coins, jewelry, raw jewels, miniature icons, elaborate little bottles with stoppers, and carved gold platters. They had obviously spilled out of a heavy oak chest that had been smashed open. A skeleton was sprawled next to the chest. Bits of cloth clung to the yellowed bones, a filthy white wig lay next to the skull, and the man’s boots were still attached to his feet.
“Most likely this is Palgrave Bellows,” Rutherford said. “Those boots would have been very fancy back in the day.”
My attention wasn’t on his boots. My attention was drawn to the egg-sized rock in the man’s hand.
“Pry the stone out of his fingers,” Rutherford said to me. “Tell me if this is the holy stone of Mammon.”
I attempted to take the stone away from the corpse, and accidentally snapped off two of his fingers. I gagged and broke out in a sweat.
“Oh my,” Rutherford said, squeezing out a nugget of nervous laughter. “Ha-ha! That was something. They snapped right away. Ha-ha!” He shifted foot to foot. “Well, go ahead and pick it up. We have a schedule to keep. Let’s see if this is the right stone.”
I could feel the sweat trickle down my breastbone. The finger bones were still curled around the stone.
“Let’s see,” Rutherford said. “How can I make this easier for you? Oh, I know, we could distract you by shooting your friend. Nothing fatal, of course. Ha-ha.”
“Don’t worry, Lizzy,” Glo said. “Broom would never allow it.”
Broom was still stuck in Glo’s tote bag. I wasn’t sure I could count on Broom to save the day, so I sucked in some air and picked the stone up. It glowed green and hummed in my hand.
“I can tell from the expression on your face that this is the holy stone,” Rutherford said. “This is the stone that will awaken Mammon!”
“And that would be Martin Ammon, right?” I asked. “Why isn’t he with you?”
“Mr. Ammon is a busy, very, very important man. He can’t be everywhere at once.”
“I bet he’s in a kennel,” Glo said. “I swear it was an honest mistake. The page just sort of turned itself.”
“A kennel?” Rutherford clasped his hands together. “Ha-ha, ha-ha! That’s a good one.”
“So he doesn’t still think he’s a dog?” Glo asked.
“A dog? Goodness, no. No, no. He’s just fine. An occasional lapse, perhaps, but nothing serious. Nothing to worry about.”
Rutherford took the stone from me and put it in a thick leather pouch he’d obviously brought for the occasion. He attached the pouch to his wrist and tested it to make sure it was secure.
“We need to pack as much of the treasure as we can carry out of here,” Rutherford said to his crew. “We can come back some other time for whatever is left behind. Right now I need to rush this stone to Mr. Ammon. I’m going to take the first helicopter out. By the time it returns I trust you’ll have staged the most important items at the rim. Mr. Carter will be in charge of securing the ladies.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Mr. Carter was balanced on the slanted floor of the ship, standing just in front of a trapdoor. He reached down and flipped the door open, and a dank odor of wood rot and seawater filled the room.
“How convenient,” Carter said, shining his flashlight into the dark hold. “Chains for two.” He looked over at me. “Ladies first.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’ll pass.”
“I haven’t got time to play,” Carter said, motioning to the two remaining men with his gun. “Take them down and chain them.”
“I’m not really into the whole chained thing,” Glo said. “I’d actually rather be a hostage.”
“I was told to secure you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“He might not have meant that literally,” I said to Carter. “He might have meant you should keep us safe.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he said. “I’m going to keep you safely secured so we can do our job.”
One of the men dropped into the hold and another shoved Glo forward toward the trapdoor. Glo whacked the man with Broom. The man grabbed Broom away from Glo, and threw Glo and Broom into the hold. The second man followed Glo through the trapdoor. I heard splashing and shrieking and then a horrible quiet. After a couple beats the second man climbed out of the hold. He was soaking wet.