Unearthed

“That might be part of it, but there’s more to it. You see, when Rohan was a child, I told him stories of the heritage we lost in West Africa during the slaving years. So many families got torn apart, and so much was lost. People were displaced, Molly, but heritage and culture?” Nanny shook her head. “That was all scattered and forgotten. I told Rohan that it was a wish of mine to see something of our family revealed. Our history. That was what he was doing here. And if he went to Aleister Crowe’s home, it was because he believed that family has some of that history.”

AFTER HE’D CONVINCED Paddington to talk with Nanny Myrie later, Michael left the inspector and went back into the hospital. He found Molly sitting with Nanny Myrie and Rohan. The old woman sat at her grandson’s side and softly hummed to herself. Before he could enter, Molly waved him off.

Molly got up. “Nanny?”

The old woman looked up at her.

“I’m going to step outside for a cup of tea. Would you like anything?”

“Water would be fine.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Nanny returned her attention to Rohan.

Outside the room, Molly took Michael by the arm. He kissed her forehead. “I guess I’m buying you a cup of tea.”

“You are.”

AT THE TEA SERVICE IN the waiting room, Molly looked at Michael. “You’re certain you’re all right?” She pulled at his shirt where the dead man’s blood—and his own, though he’d never tell her—had dried.

“I’m fine.” Michael poured tea and handed her a cup. “So what are we doing out here? I would have been glad to bring you a cup of tea.”

“I wanted to talk to you away from Nanny. That poor woman is already carrying enough of a burden without hearing about everything that happened out there.”

Michael sighed. “She’s going to end up hearing about it, anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because Dunkirk was visiting Rohan shortly before he was shot. I chased him out of the building.” Michael quickly related the story and brought Molly up to speed.

“This man, Dunkirk—”

“Or whatever his name actually proves to be.”

“—was working at the marina?”

“Yes.”

“On one of the restoration projects that I brought to Blackpool?”

“It appears so.”

Molly withdrew and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Hey.” Michael took her hand in his. “That man didn’t come to Blackpool to work on the marina. He came to break into Crowe’s Nest. If he hadn’t had the renovation to use as a cover, he’d have found something else. This isn’t any fault of yours.”

“Doesn’t feel that way.”

“If Rohan hadn’t gone to Crowe’s Nest, probably with this man, and Nanny Myrie wasn’t sitting in that hospital room right now, would you feel this way?”

Molly let out a slow breath. “No. She’s a good woman, Michael. She’s been through a lot.”

“I understand. I like Rohan.” Michael shrugged and smiled. “We’re not going to give up on them. We’re going to help them. But we can’t do that by dwelling on the past.”

“The past seems to be where all this started. You said you never knew why Rohan came here?”

Michael shook his head. “When we first met he told me he was just passing through. Looking for work.”

“But he spent a lot of time with you.”

“Blame my magnetic personality.”

“Oh, I blame you for many things, Michael Graham. And you can, under the right conditions, have an inflated view of yourself.”

“Ouch. Did I tell you I was very nearly shot today?”

“You said the sniper deliberately missed you.” Molly fisted his shirt and pulled him close. She kissed him and the chemistry that bound them sizzled anew inside Michael’s body. She pulled away entirely too soon. “For which I’m eternally grateful. What I want you to focus on is that Rohan made sure he was with you, and the two of you were always working on those models of the town buildings.”

Michael thought about that, remembering how Rohan had been interested in his extracurricular project practically from the moment he’d heard about it. “Funny, I never noticed that before.”

“Because you were so caught up in figuring out how the model fit together. You become quite distracted when you’re trying to figure something out.”

“Possibly.”

“Definitely. The point is, you were blind to Rohan’s interest.”

Michael looked at her and realized there was something she wasn’t telling him. “You know why Rohan is here.”

“Nanny Myrie says that Rohan came here searching for possible artifacts that were taken during the slave trade. She thinks Rohan connected the artifacts to the Crowe family.”

“But how? Blackpool was long associated with smuggling, but evidence of slave trading was only found recently with the discovery of the Seaclipse. And there is no evidence tying the Crowe family to it.”

“Maybe we should ask Nanny.”

“Speaking of Nanny, Paddington would like to have a meeting with her, as well.” Michael glanced around. “I don’t really think this place would be good for that.”

“I won’t have her taken to the Blackpool police station and questioned there.”

“She could choose not to go.”

Molly gave him a look. “Do you really suppose Paddington is going to let that stop him?”

“No. Not with that dead man out there and still no answers about what’s going on.”

“I have a simple solution.”

“All ears, love.”