Page 25 of Home Free

Finn nodded. He’d learned a lot of things since working with his brothers, one of which was the unreliable nature of anything learned when you were beating the shit out of someone.

Were they lying to get you to stop? In the throes of their suffering, were they retreating to another place, talking about things that had nothing to do with the questions they were actually being asked?

“But I think it does mean something,” Julia said. She glanced at her laptop and set it on the coffee table where Finn and Elise could see it.

Finn caught the headline of the article — BOXGROVE SOCIETY TO HOLD ANNUAL GALA — before Julia continued.

“Boxgrove is a place in England,” she said. “It also happens to be the site of a famous archeological dig, one that uncovered evidence of humans as far back as five-hundred-thousand years ago, which makes them some of the earliest humans in the British Isles.”

“They found bones too, some of the only ones of their kind in Northern Europe,” Ronan said.

“So Boxgrove is an important archeological site?” Finn asked.

“Very important,” Julia said. “They’re still looking for artifacts there, and that’s not all. The Boxgrove Historical Society is a heavy hitter in natural history and paleontological circles. So much so that they hold a big gala every year.”

Finn could feel the connective tissue between Ukraine and the new information about Boxgrove, but he didn’t yet understand what it meant, how it all worked together.

“What kind of gala?” Elise asked.

“It’s a philanthropic event,” Julia said. “They use it to raise money, some of which they grant to researchers who want to dig in the area. You want to hear the most interesting part?”

Finn nodded. He definitely wanted to hear the most interesting part.

“This year’s gala is next week.”

That got Finn’s attention. “Next week?”

“Yep. In London,” Julia said.

“London?” Elise asked. “Why would an event for the Boxgrove Society be held in London instead of Boxgrove?”

Julia shrugged. “I’m guessing it’d be harder to get people with fat checkbooks out to a tiny village for an event held at the local church.”

“Julia’s right,” Ronan said. “London is where the movers and shakers are. An event there gives people a chance to dress up, to see and be seen.”

“So all the members of the Boxgrove Historical Society will be in one place next week,” Finn said.

“And their donors. Presumably,” Ronan said.

“Think there’s anything to it?” Elise asked.

Finn knew she was running through the same questions running through his own mind. How reliable was the information elicited from Eudorus in the hours before his death? Why would this, of all the information he possessed, be the one thing he’d given up?

“I think there’s only one way to find out,” Ronan said.

“We go to London,” Finn said.

Ronan met his gaze. “We go to London.”

14

Elise ripped the tape off a box labeled MUGS — KITCHEN and peered at the bubble-wrapped contents inside. “Do you want all of these in the same cabinet?” she asked.

Alexa glanced up from the floor where she was loading pots in a deep drawer under the commercial style cooktop. “What are they?”

“Mugs, according to the label,” Elise said.

“If they’ll fit.” Alexa laughed. “I have a lot of mugs.”

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