With This Ring (35 page)

walked to another cabinet and studied the old volumes inside. "So this is where he kept the real collection."

"Who? Trull?"

Leo examined a row of grim-faced masks. "I told you that I had paid one or two visits to this establishment in the past and had found nothing but fakes and frauds in the rooms upstairs."

"But the relics in this chamber are real, you say?"

"So it appears. If the Rings or the statue are anywhere in this museum, I expectwe shallfindthem here inthis chamber." "I hope you are right."

He reached out to run a hand across the curved surface of an ancient vessel. "It's a pity that we do not have more time to spend here tonight."

"Frankly, I see nothing at all that interests me," Beatrice said. "Let us get on with our task. We do not have all evening, you know."

Leo glanced at her. "Are you all right?" "Yes, of course. Why do you ask?'

He frowned. "You're tense."

"I would like to have done with thin affair." She took a few steps toward the display case he had examined a moment earlier, glanced uneasily at the books inside, and then looked quickly away. There was something distinctly wrong with the volumes, although she could not have said what it was that bothered her. "Where shall we start?"

Leo turned slowly to study the chamber. "If the statue is here, it will occupy one of the larger cabinets. We may as well begin on that side of the room and work our way around to the opening in the wall."

He walked to the nearest of the big cabinets, removed a slender needle from his collection of picklocks, and went to work. Beatrice could not help but admire his skill.

"You really are very good at this sort of thing," she said. "It is fortunate for the ton that you did not choose to take up a career as a jewel thief." joo

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"My grandfather always said that the world was an uncertain place and that a man must know more than one way to make a living. Ah. Here we go."

Leo eased the cabinet door open. The lantern light fell on several shelves laden with a number of large, intricately worked vases. "Amazing."

"What are they?"

Leo examined the pictures inscribed on the vases. "If I am not mistaken, they are artifacts that were once used by a small cult of Romans who worshiped certain gods associated with the underworld. According to my studies, the members of the cult believed that they could communicate with the shades of dead relatives through the rituals prescribed by their leader."

It occurred to Beatrice that Leo could very likely spend several hours exploring the contents of each cabinet. She had to keep him moving. "I see no sign of any Aphrodite in there. Nor any Rings. Open the next cabinet."

Leo closed the doors with obvious reluctance and went to open the next case.

Under Beatrice's urgings, he worked his way quickly around the chamber. One lock after another fell before the onslaught of his picklock. But the contents of the cases revealed no statues of the goddess nor any Rings.

"We may have wasted our time." Leo tackled the lock on the massive cabinet beneath the entrance to the secret passage. "If this venture comes to naught, the only course of action left is to locate the new proprietor of this place and see if he has anything useful to tell us."

There was a distinct click as the lock gave way. Leo dropped the picklock into the pocket of his greatcoat and opened the cabinet doors.

The lantern light glinted on a figure fashioned from a strange green substance that gleamed with a metallic sheen. Beatrice stared, transfixed. "Leo, it's the alchemist's Aphrodite. It must be her."

The goddess gazed out at the chamber with enigmatic calm. Frozen waves crashed and rolled beneath her bare feet. Her hair tumbled down her back in a design that echoed the sea on which she stood.

"It's an Aphrodite." Leo studied the figure with rapt attention. "Not necessarily the right one."

"It must be the right one." Beatrice hurried forward. "This was what brought Uncle Reggie back to Trull's time after time. He must have somehow traced her here to the museum.'

A sharp crack of stone on wood interrupted Leo before he could respond.

"Bloody hell," he said much too softly. He looked past Beatrice to the staircase that led to the upper floor of the museum.

Beatrice whirled and saw the sharp angle of light at the top of the steps. It widened swiftly to reveal two figures. The lantern that one of them held glared so harshly that it was impossible to make out their faces in the shadows behind it.

But there was no mistaking the pistol in one man's hand. Nor was it difficult to recognize the*voice of the person who held it.

"So you finally found your way to Trull's special chamber, Monkcrest. I told you that it was a most inspiring place for an author. Was I not right, Mrs. Poole?"

"Mr. Saltmarsh," Beatrice whispered. "What are you doing here, sir?"

"The same thing you are, my dear," he said cheerfully. "I see that you have also found our bitch of a goddess. You see, Sibson? I told you they would show eventually. Patience was all that was required."

"Damnation." The cadaver-thin man with the lantern pattered swiffly down the steps. He came to a halt at the bottom of the staircase and stared at Leo with bulging eyes and bristling whiskers. "You found the Rings, you bloody bastard. You actually found them. After all the time I spent

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looking for them. It's not fair, I tell you. It's not bloody well fair."

So this was Mr. Sibson, Beatrice thought. Leo was right. He was a man who clearly suffered from a high-strung temperament. He simmered with nervous energy. Everything about him from his fluttering brows to his twitching fingers was in motion.

Leo glanced at Sibson and then returned his attention to Saltmarsh. "There seems to be a misunderstanding here." "Nothing that we cannot clear up quickly enough, Monkcrest."

Saltmarsh's pistol never wavered as he came slowly down the steps. As he drew closer, Beatrice saw that he had a second pistol stuck into the waistband of his trousers.

"I see you are not wearing your spectacles, Mr. Saltmarsh," she said. "Were they your notion of a suitable disguise?"

"I thought they gave me a scholarly air." He smiled. "I wanted you to take me seriously, Mrs. Poole. In the beginning I had hoped to charm you into giving me the Rings. I was convinced that a woman of your intelligence would be more likely to respond to a gentleman who approached you as a felrow author rather than one who attempted to sweep you off your feet with silly compliments about your eyes and lips."

"I see."

"Unfortunately, you chose to fall for the eccentric attractions of the Mad Monk instead. Did it ever occur to you that he was only using you to get the Rings?"

Sibson bounced and sputtered. "Where are the Rings? Make him give us the Rings, Saltmarsh."

"In good time." The young man eyed Leo thoughtfully. "First, take off your greatcoat, Monkcrest. You look quite dashing in it, but it would be just like you to have stuck a pistol in one of those large pockets."

"As you wish." Leo shrugged out of the heavy coat. He set it down on a nearby display case.

"I must also ask that you remove your cloak as well, Mrs. Poole." He raised his eyes when she took off the garment. "Trousers. How very intriguing. And oddly appealing on a lady."

Beatrice did not like the look in his eyes. Without a word she put the cloak aside. The tiny pistol inside one pocket made a soft, distinct clunk against the wooden case.

"Check the pockets, Sibson."

"Yes, of course. The Rings may be in one of them." Sibson set down his lantern, seized Leo's coat, and clawed at the pockets.

"Bloody hell. There is nothing in here but a pistol." "Take the pistol out and put it well beyond Monkcrest's reach." Saltmarsh employed the tone one used with a not very bright child. "And then check Mrs. Poole's cloak pockets."

Leo watched Sibson retrieve the pistol from the pocket of his greatcoat. "How long have you been in partnership with Saltmarsh, Sibson?"

"He came to me when the rumors first began to circulate." Sibson clutched Leo's gun in both hands. "I had heard the same talk, of course. For a while it was all that the serious collectors discussed. But no one knew where to look. Saltmarsh and I agreed to work together to locate the Rings and the statue."

"You traced the Rings to Ashwater's shop," Leo said. "He always did have the most excellent connections," Sibson complained. "Ashwater's family had money years ago. He took the Grand Tour when he was a young man. That's how he acquired his sources. Not fair. Not fair in the least."

"Unfortunately, by the time we got to him, Ashwater had already sold the Rings and wisely left Town." Saltmarsh came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. "It took weeks to determine that Lord Glassonby had purchased the damned relics."

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Beatrice could barely contain her fury. "You murdered Uncle Reggie for the Rings."

"Your uncle died of a slight miscalculation," Saltmarsh said negligently.

"A miscalculation?" Beatrice could not believe her ears. She was so angry, her hands shook.

"Wasn't supposed to die." Sibson's whiskers twitched in outrage. "It was a disaster for us. A disaster."

"How dare you speak of murder as if it were an inconvenience and a miscalculation," Beatrice whispered.

Leo cast her a warning glance. "Beatrice."

She ignored him. "Dr. Cox was in on this from the start, I assume?"

"Cox was, indeed, a member of our little group," Saltmarsh admitted. "Once I explained the possibilities, he was as eager to get his hands on the secret of the Forbidden Rings as the rest of us."

"He was useful because of his extensive knowledge of herbs and because Glassonby went to him for the elixir," Sibson said. "Cox was in the perfect position to give Glassonby the potion."

"Which one of you murdered Cox?" Leo asked coolly"He did." Sibson shot Saltmarsh a nervous look. "I told him it was a stupid thing to do. Too many deaths in this thing already. Another one was bound to draw attention. Especially yours, Monkcrest. Didn't want you blundering any deeper into it."

Saltmarsh's mouth tightened. "I was forced to get rid of Cox because he became greedy."

"Greedy? That is an outrageous accusation, coming from you," Beatrice snapped.

"Saltmarsh said that Cox had lost faith in our plans." Sibson's ferrety eyes darted back to Graham. "He said Cox feared that we would never find the Rings and that he wanted to gain something from the venture, so he attempted to blackmail us."

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"Is that what Saltmarsh said?" Icy amusement curved Leo's mouth. "I doubt that it happened quite that way, Sibson."

"What do you mean?" Sibson demanded.

1 think Saltmarsh simply concluded that he no longer needed Cox after he used him to try to poison Clarinda." "Clarinda?" Sibson looked bewildered. "The little harlot

across the street? What's she got to do with this?"

"She was spying on us." Saltmarsh frowned in annoyance. "I realized that after you told me that you had seen Monkcrest give her some money. Didn't it strike you as odd that she was suddenly able to afford a tavern?"

"What about Cox?" Sibson demanded.

Leo shrugged. "Saltmarsh decided he didn't need him anymore, so he got rid of him. Why split the treasure three ways?"

Sibson's eyes seemed to start out of his head. Still clutching Leo's pistol, he swung around to face Saltmarsh. "Is that what happened? Did you kill Cox because you did not want to share the treasure with him?"

"What does it matter?" Saltmarsh asked. "He is gone. You and I will split the treasure two ways."

"Surely you do not believe that he intends to share whatever he finds inside the statue with you, Sibson," Leo said very softly. "Why should he do that?"

"Be quiet, Monkcrest." Saltmarsh raised the pistol an inch higher and pointed it at Beatrice. "Or I shall hav6 to kill the lovely Mrs. Poole.'

"That would be stupid," Leo said. "She is the only one who knows where the Rings are."

Beatrice managed to conceal her surprise at that startling announcement. It took her only a second to comprehend that Leo was attempting to protect her by making her appear to be indispensable. The ruse would not work for long, she thought.

"Where are they?" Sibson was almost hopping up and

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down now. He looked at Graham. "Make her tell us where theRings are."

"All in good time."

"You don't want him to rush, Sibson,' Leo said. "After all, the sooner he gets his hands on the Rings, the sooner he will kill you."

"I'm warning you, Monkcrest." Saltmarsh cocked the pistol.

Beatrice realized that Leo was deliberately fanning the embers of distrust between Sibson and Saltmarsh. She looked at Saltmarsh. "It is quite obvious that you intend to murder us all before this is over, Mr. Sibson included."

Sibson gave another violent start. "Here now. What do you mean, obvious?"

"I told you, he wants the treasure for himself," Leo said. "You cannot mean to kill me, Saltmarsh." The pistol trembled in Sibson's hand. "See here, we had an agreement."

"Put the pistol down." Saltmarsh appeared to have become aware of the threat from Sibson's unstable nerves. "Of course we're partners. We will share the treasure between us, as agreed."

"Cox was also one of your partners," Leo reminded Sibson softly.

"You said he tried to blackmail us, Saltmarsh." Sibson's whiskers vibrated. "Was that the truth?"

"Yes. Now put the bloody gun down," Saltmarsh snarled.

"If you set that pistol aside, be prepared to die," Leo murmured.

"Damn you, Monkcrest, I have had enough of your interference. " Saltmarsh swung the pistol back toward Leo. "If Mrs. Poole is the one who knows where the Rings are, then I have no more use for you."

Beatrice saw Saltmarsh's finger tighten on the trigger. She realized Leo was preparing to hurl himself to the side. She feared that he would never make it. Desperate for a

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