Notes from the Past
by Tanya Reed
Well, here we are, almost at the end. There is only one more chapter after this one. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. You make me happy. :)
Disclaimer: Um...I'm pretty sure you all know this, but I do not own Relic Hunter.
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Part 2, Chapter 4
After playing for several hours, the game still showed no signs of stopping. They took a break, agreeing that they'd all be more comfortable in their pajamas, especially since they were playing on the floor.
Claudia entered her room thinking it seemed strange not to be followed by Karen. At the inn, each woman—and Nigel—had her own room.
She picked up her very large suitcase and threw it on the bed with a heavy thump. Rummaging through it, she tried to keep everything neat and folded so nothing would get wrinkled as she looked for her pajamas.
Claudia found them and quickly threw off her top and wiggled out of her tight jeans. She was ahead and didn't want to miss the start of the next hand. It wasn't very often she got to beat Sydney or Nigel at anything.
She paused in the act of slipping on her pajama top and sighed. That was one problem with having friends who were so smart, not to mention the fact that one was almost perfect and the other was always leaving her behind when they had a contest of wits. Karen was a relief, really, because, even though she and Claudia were so very different, Karen was so normal. Despite the fact that she was a single parent to an almost teenager, she was easy to understand and easy to relate to.
Finishing her motion, Claudia decided that even with their strange quirks, she would never trade Nigel or Sydney for anyone. She was so glad her father had decided she needed a job to learn responsibility. If he hadn't, she never would have met the best friends she'd ever had—and the only people who actually took her seriously. Claudia smiled at that thought. Well, most of the time.
Her fingers flew as she did the buttons. She hurried because she heard Karen's door open and wanted to get back to the fun. She was going to check her hair first, when a glint at the window caught her eye.
Puzzled, Claudia went to look. She was on the second floor, and the only thing that was supposed to be out there was an ancient maple tree, one that grew so close that its branches brushed the pane.
The night was overcast and only a few brave stars managed to break through and twinkle down on the town below. A wind was blowing and Claudia could hear the tree creak alarmingly, even with the window closed.
She peered out, more than a little nervous, and thought Nigel was right about her susceptibility to horror movies.
That's when she saw it—a huddled white mass amid all the darkness. At first, she didn't know what it was, and she thought it might be a discarded plastic bag. As she stared at it, features began to emerge, and she realized it was a skinny and battered cat.
Immediately, Claudia felt sorry for him. It was cold and, though it wasn't actually snowing, the wind was blowing up clouds of the stuff. It dusted the cat's small body, making Claudia shiver.
Quickly, she slipped into her slippers and pulled on the satiny pink robe she had brought with her. Now layered against the wind, she opened the window, blowing out through her mouth and blinking rapidly as snow blew up into her face.
"Kitty," she said, "Here, kitty, kitty."
The cat regarded her solemnly, moving nothing, not even his eyes. It was almost as if he had been watching her through the window.
"Here, kitty, kitty," she said again, hoping to lure him inside and into the warmth
When he still didn't stir, she started thinking he might not be able to get out of the tree. What if he had climbed up and gotten stuck, and that was why he didn't like the idea of crossing the branches to get to the window?
Claudia reached out the window, beckoning with her arms and calling to him. He stood up on the branch, but didn't come nearer. Claudia reached out, but she was too far away to even come close to reaching him.
It only took a split second to decide what she had to do. Without another thought, she scrambled up onto the window sill and climbed out onto the nearest branch. It made threatening noises but held her slight weight.
The wet snow immediately soaked through both her robe and her pajamas to reach her bare skin. Goose bumps sprung up on every inch of her—she thought she could even feel them on her earlobes.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
Even so, she was committed to her course of action. She moved around the branch until she was in a position to crawl her way along. At one point, she teetered and was sure she would drop from the tree. She grasped desperately at branches, holding on for dear life.
Once sure she was safe, if slightly frozen, Claudia started inching her way forward, towards the cat. She got about half way to him when he started making his way down the tree.
"Hey!" Claudia cried. "Wait."
The cat didn't listen. In fact, he seemed to begin moving faster. She tried to do the same, but she was too afraid of falling. The cat had reached the ground before she even reached the trunk. Claudia sat there for a moment, literally freezing her butt off, with her arms wrapped around the trunk, trying to decide what to do next.
The sensible thing would have been to make her way back to the window, but she kept seeing how cold and forlorn the cat had looked.
Throwing one last longing look back at her window, she began climbing down the tree. The going was slow. Her slippers weren't exactly climbing gear, and they slipped often. Sometimes, only wildly gripping with her legs or arms saved her from a terrible fall.
By the time she reached the ground, her arms and legs were trembling as much from effort as from cold. The wind blew against her wet clothes and seemed to cut right to the bone. Her legs were calf deep in snow, and it filled her slippers.
She looked around calling, "Kitty, kitty..."
A faint meow made its way to her ears. She peered around. The blowing snow clung to her face and lashes, making it hard to see. She pulled her useless robe around her thin body.
It took her almost a full minute to see the white cat against the just as white snow.
"Kitty, kitty..." she said again, crouching down and rubbing her fingers together.
He looked at her before turning and taking off into the nearby trees.
"No, kitty. Wait."
She took off after him, forgetting how numb her feet had become, and the wind-caused tears freezing on her cheeks. The branches snatched at her clothing, but she kept the cat in sight. There was no way he was going to outrun her!
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Sydney was sitting cross legged on the floor with her back propped against her bed when Nigel came back in. She was absently shuffling the cards and listening to the howl of the wind. Her mind was full of things she had never considered—like what her aunt had really been like, what her life was like, and would they have liked each other. Before this, her aunt was a vague memory of a woman she had loved fiercely, as a little girl loves, but she wasn't really a flesh and blood person. At least, not one with loves and hates and a life and a husband. Thinking of these things made Sydney want to find out what happened to her even more.
Nigel was wearing red silk pajamas and a matching pair of slippers. She whistled at him teasingly. "Looking good."
He made an incredibly silly face at her. She reciprocated, sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes. Nigel laughed and came to settle beside her.
"I can't believe Claudia is clobbering me," he commented.
"Us," Sydney corrected. "All three of us—and she's never even played before! Who'd have thought she'd pick it up so quickly?"
"Certainly not me."
"Just when I have her figured out, she surprises me."
"Me too," he admitted.
They sat there for a moment before Sydney elbowed Nigel gently. He glanced at her with a question in his eyes.
"Thanks for helping me find the answers," she said, knowing he'd understand what she meant. "you didn't have to. After all, you're supposed to be on vacation."
"Well, I couldn't have you running around all by yourself, now, could I? Who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into?"
"Nigel." She elbowed him again, this time a little harder.
"Seriously, Syd. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
"Really?"
"Really."
This was why he was her best friend.
They lapsed into companionable silence, their shoulders touching and Sydney still shuffling the cards. Nigel picked up the pad and pencil they had been keeping score with and started doodling.
After a few minutes, he asked, "I wonder what's keeping Claudia and Karen."
"I don't know," Sydney shrugged. "Maybe they want to make themselves sexy for you."
She grinned at him evilly but, instead of blushing, Nigel looked at her and deadpanned, "Maybe there's something we don't know and they're making themselves sexy for you."
Once again, they shared a round of face making. Sydney felt like a little kid and wondered what her students would think if they could see her acting so silly. Nigel did that to her sometimes. He could bring out the mother in her, he could bring out the child in her, and sometimes he could bring out the Sydney that was unsure and vulnerable.
"What are you two doing?" Karen asked, coming in, the amusement plain in her voice.
"Having a face making contest," Sydney told her. "Want to play?"
"Didn't your parents ever tell you your face would freeze that way?"
"All the time. It made me want to do it more so I could see how long it would take to happen."
"Really? That threat terrified me. I could just imagine all the kids making fun of me."
Karen folded gracefully, crossing her legs and settling across from them, her back against the chair. Out of the corner of her eye, Sydney caught Nigel watching Karen with appreciation. She felt a little pang and wondered if it were jealousy.
"Someone should have bought some snacks," Karen said, unmindful of Nigel's gaze.
"If you said something earlier, I would have run across the road to the store," he said. "Unless you want me to get dressed...?"
"No, don't bother on my account."
"It's all right, Nigel." Sydney held on to his shirt sleeve to keep him from rising. "We'll survive."
He nodded and asked Karen, "Did you see Claudia on your way here? Even she can't take that long to change."
Karen shrugged. "Maybe she needed a potty break."
"Or maybe she collapsed from not saying, 'Oh, my God!' once this whole holiday."
"Nigel," Sydney admonished. "Be nice."
"Thus says the woman who was just sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes at me."
"I think you both need a good spanking," Karen teased, her blue eyes twinkling.
"Nigel would like that, wouldn't you, Nigel?"
This finally got the blush she was craving. If flamed across his face in a red wave.
"Well, I certainly vote for giving Sydney a good spanking."
"Do you hear that, Karen? He's volunteering."
He sighed dramatically. "All right. Come, bend over my knee."
Sydney moved to do just that, and he gave her a push and an embarrassed laugh. "All right. I give up. You two have bested me once again."
She reached over and pinched his cheek. "And we always will. Don't forget it."
"Hard to when you lord it over me every..."
Nigel's comment was cut off by a shrill scream. Everyone froze for a moment as the same thought raced through each mind. That scream had been Claudia—and it came from outside.
Sydney was the first to jump to her feet. Needlessly, she said, "That was Claudia!"
Pausing only to slip on her boots, and not looking to see if the others were following, she dashed from the room to the elevator. Karen and Nigel got there just a few seconds after her, and Sydney impatiently pushed the button.
What was Claudia doing outside? And more urgently, what had caused her to scream?
Briefly, as they got out of the elevator, Sydney considered the receptionist's reaction to three people hurrying through the lobby in their pajamas, though Karen had thought to throw on her coat. She dismissed the thought immediately, too worried about Claudia to care.
Sydney yanked open the front door, and cold air hit her like a wall. She shivered but didn't even take time to rub her arms as she ran in the direction of Claudia's scream. Claudia's tracks were visible in the snow, showing Sydney she was going in the right direction. The tracks led towards the forest at the back of the hotel.
"Claudia!" Sydney called, entering the trees.
"I'm here, Syd."
Sydney stopped short, almost running into her friend, who was just a shadow in what light made it through the thick branches.
"Claudia, what's going on?" Sydney demanded. "You scared me half to death!"
The small blond pointed and Sydney suddenly realized they were not alone in the trees. Standing just a few feet away, leaned against a nearby trunk, stood the man they had passed on the sidewalk earlier.
"What's going on?" Nigel echoed as he and Karen noisily joined the group.
"I was coming to see you." The man had a soft voice. "I live on the other side of this wood and was taking a short cut. I ran into her—almost literally."
"Coming to see us?" Sydney asked in puzzlement.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Uh, Syd," Nigel said, "Can we talk about this inside? We're all in our pajamas—and Claudia looks half frozen."
Sydney took a good look at Claudia and saw that Nigel was right. Her pajamas and robe were soaked right through and clung to her thin frame, which was shivering uncontrollably. Her hand, robe, and bits of her face were streaked with dirt. Her hair was as wet as the rest of her and had plastered itself to her skull.
"And what are you doing out here half dressed, young lady?"
"It's a long story," she answered through chattering teeth.
"One that can also wait until we're inside," Sydney declared. "Let's go." She motioned to the man. "You too."
The five of them trooped back to the hotel with Sydney keeping a good eye on Claudia, hoping her young friend wouldn't catch pneumonia.
As they entered, the green eyed man said, "I need to talk to you in private. It's important that no one else hear me."
"Fine. We'll meet you in Nigel's room. Show him the way, Nigel."
"Okay, Syd."
The men went into Nigel's room, while the women hustled Claudia inside hers. She protested that she was fine, but Sydney supervised her getting out of her wet things while Karen went to the bathroom to draw her a very hot bath.
"What were you thinking?" Sydney asked sternly, wrapping Claudia in a towel while they waited for the tub to fill.
"There was a cat. He looked so miserable that I just had to rescue him."
"A cat?"
"Yes. He was in the tree outside my room, and he looked awful cold and chilled."
"So, you..."
Claudia looked sheepish. "Climbed into the tree after him, and then followed him into the woods."
Sydney shook her head. "I can't fault your heart, but next time get dressed and wear a jacket before you go climbing trees in the middle of winter." She looked at Claudia's slightly torn hands and winced. "And wear mittens."
"I wasn't thinking."
Karen came out of the bathroom then. "Water's ready. You'll feel a million times better afterward."
"We'll be in Nigel's room. Call if you need anything," Sydney added.
She suddenly realized that she had left Nigel alone with a complete stranger, and someone that might not exactly have their best interests at heart. Worried, she left Claudia to Karen's tender care and made her way to Nigel's room.
He was sitting on his bed, changing his socks. He had already changed his pajamas and looked at her critically when she came in.
"You're all snowy, Syd. You're going to catch a cold."
She waved this off, turning her attention to their visitor. He was sitting in Nigel's chair and looking slightly agitated. His face was pale, and he twined and untwined his fingers. His sandy hair was damp and unruly from the blowing snow.
"You came to see us?" she asked.
He sat up straighter and regarded Sydney for a moment. Then, he glanced at Nigel, who helpfully said, "Spill it."
The man swallowed and replied, "You shouldn't be here. None of you should be here. You're in danger."
"Danger?" Sydney asked. "What kind of danger?"
"They know you have the coin. They won't hesitate to kill you for it." His tone was earnest and urgent.
"What coin?" This time, her voice was innocent.
The man raised his compelling green eyes to hers. "I overheard them talking. Someone's been watching Nic Parker for twenty-five years. Watching and hoping one of his ramblings would reveal where the coin was hidden. When you went to visit him, it was like a Christmas gift to them."
"Them? Who's them?" Nigel asked, but Sydney held up her hand.
"First, who are you?"
"My name is Chad Harrington, but most people just call me Cougar."
Sydney froze and felt her eyes widen. "Wh...what did you say?"
She couldn't remember ever feeling so floored.
It was the man's turn to look puzzled. "I said my name is Cougar Harrington. Is there something wrong?"
Sydney met Nigel's eyes and saw her own epiphany in them.
"Did you know Nic Parker, Cougar?" she asked almost breathlessly.
He smiled a faint, self mocking smile. "Yes. You see, this whole thing—the coin being stolen, Melody's death, Nic's institutionalization—it's all my fault. I started everything in motion, and I don't want anyone else hurt because of me."
This time, Sydney had to sit down. She made her way across the room and sat beside Nigel.
After a moment, she asked softly, "Melody's death?"
"Yes. They killed her when she wouldn't tell them where the coin was. They thought they would be able to get answers from Nic. They didn't figure on Melody's death driving him insane."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"It was a long time ago, some of it is fuzzy—I was only ten. I'll tell you what I remember, and why everything is my fault..."
Karen entered at that point and stopped short as she examined the faces in the room. "What's going on?"
"Karen," This was Nigel, "meet Cougar Harrington. He's going to tell us what happened twenty-five years ago."
The significance of the man's name didn't seem to click to her as she just asked, "He knows?"
Sydney nodded. "He knows."
Karen came over and sat on Sydney's other side. At the pronouncement of her aunt's death, she had felt shaky, as if part of her had held out hope even after all those years. Sandwiched between her friends, she suddenly felt stronger.
Cougar seemed nervous at having another observer. He drew a hand through his shaggy hair, making it stand up in all directions. If he had been a student, Sydney might have felt sorry for him. As it was, she just stated, "Go on."
He took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly haunted. "Nic Parker worked for my grandfather. He did odd jobs, both legal and...well, not so legal. I liked him. Looking back, I guess he must have been a kid person because he let me follow him around and talked to me like I had a mind. I wasn't used to people wanting me around.
'We talked a lot. He talked mostly about his wife, and I talked about my life. For awhile, after the coin had been stolen, I thought he had used me, and I was very angry. Now, I think he just saw an opportunity and impulsively took it. You see, I'm the one who told him about the coin."
His eyes looked right into Sydney's, and for just a moment, they were so intense that she could almost sense something else behind them—something dangerous, but not necessarily unpleasant.
"Can you tell us about the coin?" Karen asked.
His eyes flicked from Sydney's face to hers. "It was a family heirloom, made in the early 1900s by my great great grandfather. The lore behind it said it was the key to a great treasure. He'd hidden it away behind clues. One was the coin; the other was a poem."
"'Hunger'," Sydney interrupted.
Cougar shook his head. "No. "Hunger" is the key to the coin. The location of the treasure is hidden in another.
'I told Nic about the coin, but I also told him about the poems...I think he figured out the answer. After all that time, when my own family couldn't reason it out, he did. So, he stole the coin." He looked back down at his hands and started twining them together again. "It didn't take long for my grandfather to figure out who had taken the coin. He sent some of his men to find Nic, but he had gone to Vegas. Instead, they found..."
"Melody," Sydney whispered.
"Yes."
"So, what happened?"
"They watched her, hoping she'd lead them to Nic. It was a week before they realized that she knew where the coin was and might even have it herself. Then," His voice turned bleak, "they took her."
Sydney winced at his tone, noticing that Cougar's face paled, making his eyes look even greener.
After a moment, he continued, "They tried to get her to tell them where the coin was, but she wouldn't. I think she was sure that Nic would come save her, but he didn't. They...they broke her, and then they killed her."
Sydney felt her own face pale as she thought of her joyous aunt, a woman who was always full of smiles and laughter.
"What did they do with her body?" she asked tightly.
"I'm sorry. I don't know...I saw them take her out, but I..." He stopped for a moment before saying, "I wish that I could tell you. I know she was your aunt. After that, Nic lost touch with reality, and no one could get anything coherent from him. Now, somehow, the coin has come into your hands. You need to go...get out of Clarksville, or my uncle will try to take it from you. And once he does, he'll kill you all."
Sydney dismissed this, asking, "About the second poem?"
Cougar frowned. "I'm not going to tell you."
"You've come all this way, told us all of this, and you're not going to tell us the last piece of the puzzle?"
His voice was firm. "No. I won't have more deaths on my conscience."
"Didn't you just say that they intend to kill us anyway?"
"That's why you have to go. If you go back to where you came from, maybe they won't be able to find you." Obviously, Cougar didn't know about the break in.
Nigel surprised Sydney by answering, "We've never run from our problems, and we won't now. Maybe if we find this treasure, we'll have something to bargain for our lives with."
Sydney backed him up immediately. "Nigel's right. This is what we do. We've never let fear get in the way, and we won't now."
Cougar shook his head. "Fools."
"We've been called worse."
Suddenly, the man's head tilted to the side and a startled and frightened look came to his face. He hopped to his feet, zipping his jacket.
"I've done what I intended. What happens next is up to you. If you die, it won't be my fault. Not. My. Fault."
He then turned and fled from the room. Sydney jumped up, using Nigel's and Karen's shoulders as spring boards, and hurried across the room.
"Wait!"
Going through the door, she met something solid that let out a startled squeak. Arms tangled and heads knocked, causing Sydney to wince in pain.
She extricated herself from the barrier and discovered it was a damp and towel-headed Claudia.
"Syd, what's..."
She gently moved Claudia to the left and peered into the hallway beyond. It was empty.
"Where'd he go?"
Puzzled, Claudia asked slowly, "Where'd who go?"
"Cougar...The man you found in the woods."
"I didn't see him."
"How could you have missed him?"
"Honestly, I didn't see him. Maybe he went the other way or something."
"He didn't have time..."She looked the other way anyway, not surprised when there was no sign of Cougar.
"Syd?" Nigel asked.
She turned back to look at him, shaking her head. "He's gone."
"Did I miss something?" Claudia looked first at Sydney, then Nigel, then Karen.
"Only everything," the latter told her cheerily.
"What does that mean?"
So Sydney explained to her everything Cougar had said, ending with, "I'll understand if you and Karen want to go home and pretend you're not part of this. I hate putting you in danger."
"When we're this close?" Claudia demanded at the same time Karen cried, "Syd!"
"Nigel?" she asked.
"Don't think you're leaving me behind."
"Okay, what's going on with you three? You never used to want to throw yourselves into danger."
Claudia threw one long arm around Sydney's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "We've been friends with you too long."
"You all know that this is a personal thing and not a work thing. No one has to be here."
Karen came up on Sydney's other side and put her arm over Claudia's so that she was also hugging Sydney. "That's why we want to be."
Sydney slipped her own arms around each girl to hug them back. "Thanks."
Nigel still sat on the bed. A grin came to his face and his eyes sparkled at their hug.
"Want to join us, Nigel?" Sydney asked him teasingly.
In response, both Karen and Claudia held out an arm to him. His grin turned to a laugh as he came over to join the group hug.
It lasted several minutes, but Nigel's laugh was catching and the others couldn't help but join in. It started with muffled giggles from Karen and escalated until they couldn't hold on to one another because of their laughter.
Sydney had been feeling slightly out of sorts since having it confirmed that her aunt had really died—and had, in actuality, been murdered. Now, she felt lighter and happier. She was glad she wasn't on this hunt alone.
Their laughter lasted longer than it might have because they were all having trouble looking in one another's eyes without starting the giggling again.
When they could finally control the laughter, Claudia settled in the chair Cougar had vacated and Sydney, Nigel, and Karen sat back on the bed. Despite the seriousness of their situation, they were all smiling.
"So, Syd, what do we do now?" Karen asked. "Without that other poem, we don't know where to go next."
"No," she admitted, "But I know someone who does."
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Once more, Sydney and Nigel found themselves driving up to the cheery farmhouse that represented the institution of Shady Acres. The place looked exactly the same as it had a couple of days before, right down to the pale faces peeking out of the windows.
"I don't know about you, Nige," Sydney commented, jumping out of the jeep and slamming the door, "but I'm getting a very strong feeling of deja vu."
"As long as we don't run into any more blizzards, I'll be happy."
Karen and Claudia had still been sleeping when Sydney and Nigel left the inn. The night before, while making plans, Karen had mentioned the almost forgotten waitress. It was decided that the relic hunters would leave for the institution as early as possible and then go to see the waitress when they got back.
Sydney and Nigel hurried up the walkway in the chill air. Though it wasn't snowing, it was cold enough for Sydney to wrap her arms around herself against the wind. She heard Nigel behind her, picking his way cautiously, and it was a comforting, familiar sound.
The same nurse was in the reception area. Sydney stopped for a moment, causing Nigel to lightly bump her from behind, to regard her. Was she Harrington's informant? She seemed nice enough, but Sydney had been fooled before.
Nurse Blackmore looked up, her stern face softening as she saw Sydney and Nigel.
"Oh, it's you."
"Yes, good morning." Sydney moved aside so that Nigel could come in out of the wind and close the door. "I've come to see my uncle. Is that okay?"
The nurse looked at her watch. "Well, visiting hours don't start for another ten minutes, but for Nicholas I'll make an exception."
Sydney smiled. "Thanks."
Nigel smiled too, his most winning smile. "Yes, thank you."
Nurse Blackmore looked almost startled and a faint blush touched her cheeks. "You're welcome. I hope the two of you will be regular visitors for poor Nicholas. You should find him in the same lounge area as the last time."
The two of them made their way down the now familiar hallway, its whiteness almost glaring. It was a relief to get to the homey lounge with its large chairs and lightly flickering television.
Nic was alone. He sat in a chair, staring into space as if day dreaming. Sydney wondered what he was seeing.
She approached him quietly, not wanting to startle him. He looked almost happy and she was reluctant to pull him out of his thoughts. Still, without his help, a treasure and possible relic would not be found. She was as determined to find it as she was to beat the location of her aunt's remains from Alfred Harrington after this whole thing was over. After all, Melody had died for whatever the coin was the key to. Sydney had to know if it was worth it.
"Uncle Nic?" she asked gently.
He turned towards her, his blue eyes far away.
"Hello, Uncle Nic."
"Melody?" he asked.
She had been expecting this. "No, it's Sydney. Remember?"
"Sydney. Yes. Sydney grown. Horses and cats. Trees and bicycles. Grown up now. Looking like and unlike my Melody."
Sydney tried to make sense of this as she sat in the chair across from him. Nigel perched on the chair arm instead of taking one of the other chairs. She looked up at him. He winked encouragingly, and his hand brushed over her arm almost imperceptibly.
"Yes. I am Sydney. I've come to talk to you some more."
His eyes cleared, and he said, "It's nice to have visitors. Who is your friend?"
This surprised Sydney because Nic hadn't even seemed to notice Nigel the last time they were there.
"I'm Nigel. Nigel Bailey." He held out his hand politely, and Nic shook it.
"Hello, Nigel. Are you Sydney's husband?"
Nigel shot a look at Sydney and replied, "Not exactly."
Nic's hand tightened. "Take care of her. Don't let her go. Keep her safe. If you don't, you'll regret it."
"Don't worry," Nigel said so seriously, Sydney was sure he was sincere. "I will. Nothing will happen to her as long as I'm around."
Nic nodded and loosed Nigel's hand. "I should have kept her safe. It's my fault. She depended on me, and I left her. " His face was anguished as it focused on Sydney. "They killed her, you know."
"Yes," she said softly. "I know."
"She's lost, and I can't find her. I searched and searched...but what good's the coin without her?"
"That's why we've come. We know that you have the answer."
"The answer...the answer...what good is the answer with no song? The song is gone from my heart...Treasure is dust...dust..."
Sydney looked hopelessly at Nigel, who shrugged. She bit her lip and chose her next words carefully. "We had a visit from Cougar last night."
"Cougar. A nice boy. Way too nice. They will break him." Nic's lost voice turned sad, and slightly more lucid. "He's not like them, and they won't stand for it. He'll be as lost as I am."
"You remember Cougar, then?" Sydney asked eagerly.
"Of course. The only one of them worth something...But, if you are Sydney...How many years again? How many?"
"Twenty-five."
"He is a man now."
"He is."
He took Sydney's hand and asked. "How is he? Has he become one of them?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. He came to warn us about his uncle. He also told us about the second poem. Do you remember the second poem, Uncle Nic?"
"The poem is the answer."
"We know. And we know that you are the only one who has been able to figure it out."
"A lot of good it did me." His voice had turned bitter, and he drew from Sydney to sit back in his chair. "It cost me everything."
This was the most sane thing that Sydney had heard her uncle say. She couldn't refute the words. Their truth shone from the man who had changed so much after Melody's death. Nic had lost his wife, he had lost his life, and he had lost his sanity.
"It might have cost you everything," Nigel said slowly, "but it just might save Sydney's life."
"Her life?"
"Yes. Harrington has threatened her."
"Nigel." Sydney tapped him lightly on the knee with her fist, afraid that mention of Harrington and death would throw Nic back into the past.
Nic's eyes widened. "He'll kill her?"
"So Cougar says."
"I can't lose her again...Can't lose her again...The poem has killed her...the poem will save her..."
"Uncle Nic?" Sydney asked urgently, afraid his babbling would turn incoherent.
"I solved it," he said. "A hundred years and no one could figure it out. They weren't looking at it right, weren't reading it right. Cougar came the closest, but he was only ten years old. He didn't understand. It spoke of dead fathers, but it didn't mean the graveyard. It spoke of stone crosses but did not mean gravestones. They were so sure the answer lie in their own pasts that they ignored the obvious. All this time, they've been searching the graveyard, when..." He beckoned Sydney closer. She leaned forward, excitement mounting, "...the words meant the museum. The entrance is in the museum, where anyone could have found it, but no one did because no one knew."
"The museum?" Sydney whispered because Nic had, and because she knew Alfred had spies watching him. "Where in the museum?"
"Look for the dead fathers, and look for stone crosses. They will show you the way. The horror of death, the birth of life...and most of all, the symbol of the cat."
When Sydney was sure he had finished speaking, she leaned back and nodded at Nigel's questioning gaze. She had the answers she needed.
"Thank you, Uncle Nic."
"You'll be safe now, Melody?" he asked urgently.
"Yes, I'll be safe."
"Stay away from them. They will hurt you. Hide the coin. Hide it. If they find it, all will end..."
Sydney reached out and took the broken man's chin in her hand. Gently, she raised his face so that her eyes looked directly into his.
Firmly, she said, "Not this time."
Unexpectedly, Nic smiled. It washed over his face, lighting dark and shadowed corners. She answered the smile with one of her own, softly caressing his cheek before releasing him.
"We have to go now," she told him. "But we'll be back to see you. I'm not leaving you all alone again."
"Nigel?" he asked, as if once more just remembering that the Englishman was there.
"Don't worry, sir. I'll take care of her. It won't happen again."
"Thank you."
Nic then lost his focus and turned his gaze to the wall. Sydney liked to think that he was with Melody again, both of them happy and whole.
She and Nigel got up quietly, though a train wreck probably wouldn't have disturbed her uncle then. In excitement, she grabbed Nigel's hand as they left the room. He squeezed back, understanding as she knew he would.
Now, they had all the clues. All that remained was to find out what they meant.