Page 184 of Cross & Crown

the ground, unmarked and lost to history.

What remained was a mixture of veneration of the past

and compromise toward the future. Nick had always felt a

little uneasy when he’d visited this place.

“The headstones are . . . irreverent, to say the least,” JD

commented. He was kneeling in front of one. Many of them

had skulls grinning impishly, with wings behind them. Nick

has seen a few with dancing skeletons, capering around as

death chased after them.

“So?” Julian asked. “What now? Is the treasure supposed

to be buried here?”

“It couldn’t possibly be,” JD answered. “Not if the stories

surrounding its theft are true.”

“There’s another marker here somewhere,” Nick added.

“Are you fucking telling me we came out here before the

fucking sun for anotherclueto where this treasure is and not the treasure itself?” Kelly asked. He had Nick’s aviators on

despite the lack of light.

“It makes sense; if he was leaving clues behind for someone

to follow to this treasure, he would have done it on permanent

fixtures. Or, things they would have considered permanent

then. Graveyards, churches, buildings of importance he had

to trust wouldn’t be torn down.”

“So, you believe we’re looking for a gravestone,” Julian

said.Nick nodded. “The date of death would be 1775.”

“Why?” Julian asked.

“A clue carved on a tombstone would have been left as

soon as it could be commissioned, when they still had access

to the city,” Nick explained. “Had to be that year because they evacuated shortly after.”

185

“What else?” Julian asked.

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