“Aren’t you at all concerned that he and Daniel might leave immediately for India?” Faye countered.
The chatelaine shook her head. “Nope. I’ve got somebody permanently assigned to trailing Daniel. So far, he’s done nothing but catch up on his reading at the library. He’s been seen in research departments that aren’t remotely connected to the relic hunt. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say he’s dragging his feet about cracking the next clue. It could be a month or more before he’ll be ready to hit the road.”
“Then I suppose our team has the luxury of some lead time for a change,” the old woman observed.
“They do,” Maddie agreed guardedly. “But that still leaves Hunt with free time on his hands. Free time that he’s going to use to track down Hannah.”
“Didn’t you destroy Hunt’s chances of finding her after you emptied the antique shop?”
Maddie sighed ruefully. “I might have been a little too efficient there. It didn’t occur to me til later that if I don’t give him something to chase he’s going to stumble around and maybe accidentally uncover some real information about where our little fugitive is hiding.”
“Good heavens!” Faye exclaimed. “The child is beginning her first year in a public school. Being out in the world for several hours each day, she’s more vulnerable than ever.”
“That’s the reason for my trail of breadcrumbs.”
Faye regarded the chatelaine curiously but said nothing. She drank her tea, waiting for an explanation.
Maddie put down her cup and leaned back on the couch. “I want to plant some false clues that will send Hunt on a wild goose chase and get him out of the way for a while.”
“And just how do you plan to go about it?”
“I’ll start with the antique shop. It’s where he left off his search, so I’m pretty sure that’s where he’ll pick it up again. Maybe this time he’ll find something that he overlooked before.”
Faye paused to consider Maddie’s plan. “You do realize you could permanently stop his search if you were to fake Hannah’s death.”
“I already thought of that.” The chatelaine’s tone was rueful. “The problem is, if he doesn’t have Hannah to track, he’ll have more time to focus on the relic quest. I want him distracted and physically out of the way where he can’t muck up the works either for Hannah or for our field team.”
“I think we should still consider falsifying Hannah’s demise at some point,” the memory guardian demurred.
Maddie pondered the idea as she poured herself a second cup of tea. “Agreed. Once we’ve got the Sage Stone safely in the vault and this whole business is wrapped up, we can arrange Hannah’s swan song. In the meantime...” she trailed off.
Faye raised her cup in a mock toast. “To breadcrumbs. I wish you great success in your endeavors.”
Maddie raised her cup. “To breadcrumbs. A whole loaf of them.”
Chapter 6—Good for What Ales You
Daniel was poring over a book in the public library when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He wheeled about in alarm then relaxed immediately at the sight of Chris’s smiling face.
“Hey there, bookworm,” the librarian said playfully. “You really got lost in whatever you’re reading. You didn’t even hear me get off the elevator.”
Daniel shut the thick volume. “It’s a survey of the Buddhist religion meant for someone like me who has no prior knowledge of the topic.”
The scion felt a twinge of guilt that he wasn’t actively working on the clue to the next relic but he knew he had the luxury of time on his side. Because the golden bull and its riddle were in his possession, the trio of thieves had to wait for him to make the first move. He also knew his father had gotten used to lengthy stints of research before each artifact recovery. Daniel calculated that he had at least two months to squander on other pursuits before the diviner began to nag him for results.
In consequence, the scion had decided to use this peaceful interval to further his education about the strange world of the Fallen. He wanted to know everything about their history, religion, politics, and culture. The fact that his best friend was a research librarian at the main branch of the Chicago Public Library made his pursuit of knowledge all that much easier. Chris knew exactly where to find the information Daniel was seeking.
The two men had fallen into a comfortable pattern. Each morning, Daniel would tell Chris what subject he wanted to study that day and the research librarian would guide him to the right section of the library. Then they would meet for lunch at which Daniel usually badgered Chris with questions prompted by his studies.
All of Daniel’s cares fell away during the hours he spent among the books. He could forget the relic quest. He could even forget the domestic drama at home. His third wife Annabeth was nearing her delivery date. She would soon have another child and an additional reason to lord it over his other wives. Daniel sighed at the thought of the future outrages she was likely to commit. He suppressed the thought and transferred his attention back to Chris who stood leaning over his desk.
The librarian glanced around the empty reading room. “It looks like today’s topic isn’t very popular with scholars. You’ve got the place to yourself. I came to tell you that it’s lunchtime if you can tear yourself away from Buddha for an hour.”
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lunchtime? Already?” He checked his watch. “But
