“Step aside.”
The soldier stared back at her, his expression blank. “I’ve been instructed to keep you here.”
“By whom?”
When he didn’t respond, Anne tried to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm. Anne yanked out of his grasp, only to find two more soldiers had joined the first.
“What’s going on? Where’s Coyle Flynn?”
“He’s being questioned.”
“For three hours? I want to see him.”
“We can’t allow that.”
Anne frowned. “Why not?”
“Not until his questioning is complete.”
“Why hasn’t anyone come to question me? We came here together. I want to see him.”
The soldier shook his head. “We can’t allow that.”
“Why not? I’ve done nothing wrong.” Even as Anne said the words, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. Covered in blood, she’d ranted about the governor’s life being in danger. “I wish to return to The Laughing Fox.”
Their only response was to shove her back into the room, closing the door soundly behind them.
CHAPTER 19
Teach
Teach strode through the streets of Nassau, enjoying his momentary liberation. The governor’s soldiers hadn’t come to the Triumph like they had the previous day. If Webb hadn’t gone on and on about the importance of a schedule and punctuality, Teach wouldn’t have been so surprised that the soldiers were late. But he had waited for thirty minutes before he finally realized that for whatever reason, the soldiers wouldn’t be accompanying him to the fort.
Since he planned to go and visit his men once more, Teach had decided to call on Anne first at The Laughing Fox. His heart was light at the prospect of seeing her again. If everything went according to plan, they would set sail in the morning and meet up with Alastair within three days.
Teach pulled at the door of the tavern, but it didn’t budge. Strange. It was late afternoon. A crowd should have already gathered within the popular pub, especially since they’d repaired the damage from the recent fight. Teach knocked and waited, but there was no response.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled. Alastair wouldn’t have left already, would he? Teach quickly shook off the thought. Although he didn’t truly know the man, Anne apparently trusted him, and Anne didn’t trust easily.
With a growing sense of unease, Teach went around to the back. The courtyard was empty, the barn doors closed. The single-story house also looked deserted. Entering the back of the tavern through the kitchen, Teach was momentarily relieved to see Cara seated at the table, until he saw her tear-streaked face.
“What happened?”
Cara sniffed, the look in her eyes haunted. “Beth’s dead.”
“What?”
“She was stabbed. Anne found her.” Cara pointed to a spot beside the table. Although it was apparent someone had tried to clean the area, Teach knew from experience that the dark stain would remain for some time.
“Where’s Anne now?” he asked, a buzzing in his ears growing sharper, more piercing.
“She went to the fort with Coyle. The governor’s wife has been poisoning the governor. They went to warn him and to tell him about the murder.”
“How long ago was that?”
Cara stared at him blankly. “I don’t know. Four hours, perhaps.”
What could possibly take that long? “Where’s Alastair?”
Cara wiped her face with the back of her hands. “Upstairs. He waited for them to come to take the body and then he said he wanted to be alone. I’ve . . . I’ve never seen him like that.”
Teach could only imagine the shock the Irishman must be feeling. “I’m going to speak with Alastair. Will you be all right?” he asked Cara.
She nodded.
Running a hand through his hair, Teach strode through the empty tavern and up the stairs to Alastair’s office. He tried the handle, but the door didn’t move. Teach knocked briefly. “Alastair? Alastair, please let me in. We have to talk.”
An interminable silence followed. Teach leaned in, straining to hear any sound from within the room.
“Alastair, please. I’m sorry, but we have to talk. Neither Anne nor Coyle has returned from the fort.”
Nothing.
Teach considered breaking down the door when the key turned in the lock and Alastair opened it. The older man’s face was drawn and anguished. In his left hand he held a tortoiseshell comb. He looked, quite literally, as if a part of him had died.
Teach didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. When he’d climbed the stairs, he’d had a vague idea to speak with Alastair about their next course of action. But looking into Alastair’s tormented eyes, Teach hesitated. Alastair had done enough. He’d sacrificed enough.
For a minute, there was no sound or movement.
Alastair was the first to speak. “I told them I’d never join them. And I told them I’d butcher any man who ever harmed her,” he said, looking down at the comb in his hand, his voice hoarse. “Never thought they’d send a woman to do the job.”
In that moment Teach believed one could die of a broken heart as he looked at Alastair’s sloped shoulders. When Anne had left on the Providence, Teach had been overcome with grief. For weeks he’d wondered if he’d ever see her again. He couldn’t imagine the pain of Alastair’s loss, and the corners of Teach’s eyes burned as he watched the older man.
Alastair finally met Teach’s gaze. “They took her from me. They took the one person who mattered the most to me in this world.”
“I’m so sorry,” Teach breathed, although the words didn’t adequately express how he felt.
Turning the tortoiseshell comb over, Alastair held it tenderly in his palm. “This belonged to our daughter. She died when she was six.”
How much heartache could one person bear? Nodding, Alastair took a shuddering breath. “Beth told me she planned to give this to Anne this morning. I found it in the courtyard. Anne must have had it with her when she left.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Alastair closed his fingers over the comb, a deadly glint entering his eyes. “They’ll pay for what they’ve done. I swear, I’ll make them pay.”
Loud footsteps sounded on the stairs and Coyle appeared in the doorway, panic gleaming in his eyes.
“Where’s Anne?” Teach asked.
Coyle’s lips tightened. “They have her locked up.”
“Who has her locked up?” Alastair demanded.
“The governor. We went to warn him about his wife and tell him about the murder, but he didn’t believe me. Webb says Beth and Anne had some kind of a fight over Alastair and now Anne is trying to cover up her crime.”
Teach’s blood teemed with fury. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him myself if anything happens to her.” If anyone harmed Anne because of that man’s assumptions, Teach would rip him apart. They should have let his wife finish the job of poisoning him. Teach turned to the door, but Alastair caught his hand in a viselike grip.