Page 97 of The Sea Witch
As she spoke, a small glow appeared between her fingers. She opened her palms and the glow hovered above them. Soft pinkish gold light illuminated her face and a small area surrounding them.
In this glow, she was a being of brightness and shadow, lovelier than any moonrise.
“I summoned the light of a firefly and combined it with a bee’s sense of direction.” To the ball of light, she added, “Go, my friend. Lead us to what we’re looking for.”
The glowing sphere darted away and they chased after it. It shot up the aisle, then into the chancel at the front of the church. They hurried in pursuit. It alighted upon the freestanding wooden altar, faintly humming.
“In here.” She laid her hand atop the fair cloth draped over the altar.
It had been years since he’d last attended a mass. Even so, he asked forgiveness from whatever deity might be observing as he removed the altar covering. He carefully folded it and set it on the front pew before returning to the altar.
“There’s a kind of puzzle mechanism carved into the wood.” He placed the petticoat on a pew, then glided his hands over the altar panels. Several of the pieces seemed to be grooved, fitting into each other. He slid them back and forth, rearranging them. At first, nothing happened when he did this.
But then he slid the pieces into a different configuration, forming the shape of the church’s layout. And then, there was a satisfyingsnick. One side of the altar popped open. Gently, he removed the wooden slat and also placed it on the pew.
Alys reached into the open space within the altar. She pulled a leather tome out, nearly identical in appearance to the register they had seen earlier. At once, she sat cross-legged on the floor and opened it, placing her hand on its pages.
“There’s no reason for Reverend Gardiner to lie about this register’s existence.” Ben crouched down beside her.
“I can’t read this language, but these entries look suspect.” She flipped to the back of the register and pointed to a page covered in columns of numbers, with words written beside them.
“Latin.” He muttered, “These are records of trades. Spices for brandy. Flour for bolts of cotton. Christ.”
“Something else?”
“The good reverend is a thorough recordkeeper. He’s documented how the town fathers have been embezzling hundreds of pounds over the course of decades. I suspect Reverend Gardiner plans on using this evidence to blackmail the leaders of Domingo Town, should it ever be necessary.”
“Small wonder he insists this was destroyed in a fire. Still...”
“We’re after a different prize.”
Alys flipped back and forth between pages in the register. “Here’s Ralph Dunwood... his daughter, Miss Olivia Dunwood... who married William Lambert... and they had a son...” Her voice trailed off.
“What?” Ben demanded. “Who was her son?”
She looked up, her expression wide and disbelieving. “Lethal Lambert.”
“Olivia Dunwood named her sonLethal?”
Alys gripped his sleeve. “That’s not his name. Well, itishis name. He was christened Charles Lambert, but he’s been known as Lethal Lambert ever since he skewered French Henry with Henry’s own cutlass. Born into wealth but turned pirate when he learned his father had bankrupted the estate.”
Ben rubbed his forehead, attempting to keep track of all the twists of Lethal Lambert’s life. “Andhehas the fail-safe.”
“The clue at the waterfall said it was at Lambert’s table.” She rose, leaving the register on the floor.
“A tabletop mountain? Perhaps an arithmetic table.”
Also standing, Ben left the register where it was. Let the parishioners of All Saints discover Reverend Gardiner’s record of blackmail.
“Lethal Lambert’s family owned an estate near the Bahamas, but it was sold to pay their debts.” Alys started down the aisle, back toward the door. The ball of light followed her, a faithful servant. “After New Providence became law-abiding, Lambert used his prize money to buy the estate back and turn his family estate into a haven for pirates. Every now and again, he’ll throw a massive party. Feasts that would rival any king’s.”
“Sir Fenfield’s nephew’s cousin’s daughter’s son’s table,” Ben said wonderingly. “And that’s where we’ll find the fail-safe. God willing.”
“Goddesswilling.”
They reached the narthex, and she held up her hand. The ball of light perched on her palm.
“Thank you, friend,” she murmured to it.
