Page 77 of Cross & Crown

me off the top of your head what they have to do with each

other.”

JD’s brow furrowed, but he nodded anyway.

Nick held up his hand and counted off. “American

Revolution. Ireland. Stolen goods.”

JD opened his mouth like he was going to respond, then

shut it again, staring off over Nick’s shoulder with a scowl. He opened his mouth again, leaning forward, then sat back and

frowned harder. “The Continental payroll gold.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Yeah. The Continental payroll! There was a

redcoat lieutenant during the war. The legend is that he and

his men intercepted a Continental Army payroll delivery

somewhere. Took off with a wagon full of gold bars as it sat

at a roadside inn.”

77

Nick ran a finger over one eyebrow, trying not to look

skeptical, or worse, annoyed. He was writing all of it down

anyway. “Okay. Go on.”

“That’s . . . that’s all I know. The gold was never recovered.”

Nick stared at him for a few seconds, and Hagan returned

and flopped into his seat, looking between them silently.

“Okay,” Nick said patiently. “What does a missing

Continental Army payroll have to do with Ireland?”

“The lieutenant was later revealed to be a supporter of

Ireland. He was involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.”

“What are we talking about now?” Hagan asked.

Nick sighed heavily. “I told him to give me a connection

between all our threads. Revolutionary War objects, Irish

thugs, and stealing shit.”

Hagan placed a fresh cup of coffee by Nick’s elbow. He

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