sea.
‘We have to put pressure on Rathbone,’ said Boges, ‘and force him to tell us who those other nicknames belong to. You got on really well with his assistant, Dorothy, didn’t you, Winter? Cal said you two were talking up a storm while he was hiding under Rathbone’s desk.’
‘I can’t risk Rathbone seeing me,’ she replied. She reached into her bag for some sunscreen.‘Not after Sligo’s banquet. He could recognise me.’
‘No, we don’t want that happening,’ I said.
‘I can call Dorothy,’ said Winter. ‘See if I can squeeze any handy info out of her. Who knows what she could tell me.’
She stood up and brushed sand off her legs.
‘No time like the present,’ she exclaimed, pulling out her phone. ‘I think Dorothy’s there until twelve on Saturdays.’
Winter shook some more sand from her hands, then made the call. She wandered away to a quieter spot.
I watched her. The girl had everything—brains, beauty and courage.
Boges and I waited expectantly as she finally returned. The minute I saw her face, I knew something was wrong.
‘Wasn’t Dorothy there?’
Winter plonked herself back down on the towel beside us. ‘Man, that woman can talk,’ she said. ‘She was there—that wasn’t the problem. Rathbone’s gone.’ Her forehead gathered in a worried frown. ‘She says the office is all quiet again because he’s flown to London.’
‘For how long?’ I asked.
‘She wasn’t sure exactly. Said he left in a bit of a rush. A couple of weeks, maybe. But she did say that after that, he’s flying to Dublin. Ireland .’
‘Damn it,’ I swore. ‘The Gordian knot.’ I jumped to my feet. ‘He’s going to cut the rope and go straight to wherever the Ormond Singularity is! That’s why he must have thrown out the list of remaining nicknames.’
Both of my friends looked at me, confused.
‘He must have given up on trying to find the Jewel and the Riddle, and decided to just dive right in and go looking for the Ormond Singularity. Right to the heart of the matter—Ireland!’
‘Don’t freak out just yet,’ said Winter. ‘He doesn’t know everything we know. He’s behind. He’s not going to know where to start.’
‘He’ll talk to other people in Ireland. Someone like Rathbone will have plenty of legal contacts who could be equipped to give him much more information than we have! Remember he’s been gathering information on my family for years! He’s seen the Piers Ormond letters and he knows the contents of the will. He knows time is ticking down.’
I ripped my hat off and ran my hands through my hair in pure frustration.
‘After all this time, trying to make sense of the Singularity,’ I said, ‘I am not about to let someone like Sheldrake Rathbone beat me to it.’
24 NOVEMBER
38 days to go …
I was on my way back to Eric Blair’s office. He’d called me late last night, asking me to come down to meet him this morning. I could hardly sleep after speaking to him, waiting anxiously for the time to come, and hoping for his memory to have returned.
‘Cal,’ he said, when I walked into his office and eased my backpack off. ‘I know you’re desperate to clear your name and get some answers, but I’m afraid I’m going to be a disappointment to you. Ever since our meeting I’ve been racking my brain, trying to dig deep and piece my memory back together, but it’s like driving through impossibly thick fog. I have to keep pulling over.’
My shoulders instantly slumped.
‘I do recall, though, that Tom told me you were in great danger—you were all in great danger—and then he got sick. Not long after that, I fell ill too. I do, however, feel quite strongly that he wanted me to get the message to you. Perhaps that’s why I—’
‘Chased me down, New Year’s Eve.’
Eric leaned against the desk, his face serious and concerned.
‘Yes, but I still don’t remember it. I don’t know why I said the things I said.’ He took a deep breath
‘We have to put pressure on Rathbone,’ said Boges, ‘and force him to tell us who those other nicknames belong to. You got on really well with his assistant, Dorothy, didn’t you, Winter? Cal said you two were talking up a storm while he was hiding under Rathbone’s desk.’
‘I can’t risk Rathbone seeing me,’ she replied. She reached into her bag for some sunscreen.‘Not after Sligo’s banquet. He could recognise me.’
‘No, we don’t want that happening,’ I said.
‘I can call Dorothy,’ said Winter. ‘See if I can squeeze any handy info out of her. Who knows what she could tell me.’
She stood up and brushed sand off her legs.
‘No time like the present,’ she exclaimed, pulling out her phone. ‘I think Dorothy’s there until twelve on Saturdays.’
Winter shook some more sand from her hands, then made the call. She wandered away to a quieter spot.
I watched her. The girl had everything—brains, beauty and courage.
Boges and I waited expectantly as she finally returned. The minute I saw her face, I knew something was wrong.
‘Wasn’t Dorothy there?’
Winter plonked herself back down on the towel beside us. ‘Man, that woman can talk,’ she said. ‘She was there—that wasn’t the problem. Rathbone’s gone.’ Her forehead gathered in a worried frown. ‘She says the office is all quiet again because he’s flown to London.’
‘For how long?’ I asked.
‘She wasn’t sure exactly. Said he left in a bit of a rush. A couple of weeks, maybe. But she did say that after that, he’s flying to Dublin. Ireland .’
‘Damn it,’ I swore. ‘The Gordian knot.’ I jumped to my feet. ‘He’s going to cut the rope and go straight to wherever the Ormond Singularity is! That’s why he must have thrown out the list of remaining nicknames.’
Both of my friends looked at me, confused.
‘He must have given up on trying to find the Jewel and the Riddle, and decided to just dive right in and go looking for the Ormond Singularity. Right to the heart of the matter—Ireland!’
‘Don’t freak out just yet,’ said Winter. ‘He doesn’t know everything we know. He’s behind. He’s not going to know where to start.’
‘He’ll talk to other people in Ireland. Someone like Rathbone will have plenty of legal contacts who could be equipped to give him much more information than we have! Remember he’s been gathering information on my family for years! He’s seen the Piers Ormond letters and he knows the contents of the will. He knows time is ticking down.’
I ripped my hat off and ran my hands through my hair in pure frustration.
‘After all this time, trying to make sense of the Singularity,’ I said, ‘I am not about to let someone like Sheldrake Rathbone beat me to it.’
24 NOVEMBER
38 days to go …
I was on my way back to Eric Blair’s office. He’d called me late last night, asking me to come down to meet him this morning. I could hardly sleep after speaking to him, waiting anxiously for the time to come, and hoping for his memory to have returned.
‘Cal,’ he said, when I walked into his office and eased my backpack off. ‘I know you’re desperate to clear your name and get some answers, but I’m afraid I’m going to be a disappointment to you. Ever since our meeting I’ve been racking my brain, trying to dig deep and piece my memory back together, but it’s like driving through impossibly thick fog. I have to keep pulling over.’
My shoulders instantly slumped.
‘I do recall, though, that Tom told me you were in great danger—you were all in great danger—and then he got sick. Not long after that, I fell ill too. I do, however, feel quite strongly that he wanted me to get the message to you. Perhaps that’s why I—’
‘Chased me down, New Year’s Eve.’
Eric leaned against the desk, his face serious and concerned.
‘Yes, but I still don’t remember it. I don’t know why I said the things I said.’ He took a deep breath
Similar Books
