Page 7 of Unbroken
“Chiffon?” Irene suggested.
Tubbs shrugged. “Whatever it was, it caught fire. She was very badly burned…the doctors don’t think…”
Sebastian paled sharply. His own mother had burned to death, and he’d been unable to save her. Even now, he didn’t care for open flames of any sort. Ves wished he could take Sebastian’s hand for comfort, but didn’t want to in front of Tubbs.
“I-I’m sorry,” Sebastian stammered.
Tubbs swallowed hard. “She’s conscious some of the time, depending on how long it’s been since her last dose of morphine. She told me it wasn’t an accident. That she felt as though some outside force took over, puppeting her limbs. It made her light the candle, then hold it directly against her dress so it would catch. Then it prevented her from crying out for help, from moving, from doing anything but stand there, while everyone stared in horror as she…”
Sebastian’s mouth formed a silent “O.”
“Good God.” Mortimer was the first to recover his voice. “I can see why you came here.”
“No one else wants to believe it’s true. They want to think the pain has distorted her memory, that it was just a simple accident, the sort you see in the paper from time to time.” Tubbs shook his head. “Many years ago, my brother Pat was butchered as a sacrifice to some dark force. I couldn’t save him. And I can’t save Penny. But I thought I might…I don’t know. Learn how to turn the curse back on whoever did this to her, perhaps.” His shoulders straightened. “You say this was caused by some artifact?”
“Perhaps,” Ves said. He didn’t want to reveal the existence of the Books to Tubbs, in case the man got some twisted idea of laying hands on the Book of Blood himself and using it for revenge. And of course, it was possible some other magic lay behind Penny’s actions.
It would be quite the coincidence if that were true, but coincidences did happen.
Mother had made a point to seek him out and warn him about the Book. Did she know it was already in someone’s hands? If so, why not just come out and tell him?
Because information was a way of controlling him—that answer, at least, came easily. No doubt she delighted in choosing what to withhold and what to dole out. She always had.
“Is there any possibility of speaking with Penelope?” Sebastian asked. Some of the color had returned to his face. “It might help us determine if this artifact is the cause, or if something else was responsible for her misfortune.”
Tubbs looked conflicted. “The doctors have recommended complete rest.”
“They’ve also despaired of her life,” Irene pointed out. “If they’re right, we can’t wait until she recovers to talk to her. If you want whoever did this to pay for their crime, we need all the information we can get.”
“And you’ll share your theories with me, after?” Tubbs asked. Sebastian opened his mouth, and Tubbs added, “I insist.”
Sebastian didn’t look happy, but said, “Fine.”
“You won’t cut me out of this. I won’t allow it.”
Mortimer gave Tubbs a smile that seemed sincere, though Ves doubted it actually was. “Of course, Mr. Tubbs. We wouldn’t dream of it.”
CHAPTER 5
“Tubbs is going to be a problem,” Sebastian said, while climbing into Irene’s new auto.
She’d blown up her old one when they were attacked by constructs animated by the magic of the Book of Bone. The Endicotts apparently had an excess of vehicles tucked away somewhere, however, because she was now driving a 1905 Pierce-Arrow Great Arrow Limousine, which sported an enclosed backseat whose curtains allowed Noct to travel in comfort without being seen.
Noct, Ves, and Mortimer had chosen to remain behind, Noct for obvious reasons and the other two because a dying woman didn’t need excess people crowded around her sickbed.
Irene steered the auto away from the curb, around the back of the museum, and into the slow seep of traffic. “He’s going to hover over our investigation the way he hovered over us in the records office,” she agreed. “We’ll have to dissuade him somehow. I suppose Ves might be able to frighten him off.”
Sebastian frowned. “I don’t think he’d enjoy doing that.”
“We all do things we don’t enjoy, Sebastian.”
An edge to her voice made him think there was more to the comment than there might seem. “Such as?”
“Family business.”
He sighed loudly enough to be certain she heard over the sound of the engine. “Everything we’ve been doing lately has been my family business. I’ve shared with you.”
“I know, but…” She beeped the horn angrily at another driver who had slowed to peer at the street signs. He offered her a rude gesture in return.
