Pirate

Forty-nine

Sam checked the neighborhood for any sign of Fisk and his men. Only then did he let the others cross over to talk to Percy Wendorf. The man stood, transfixed, as the firefighters traipsed through his yard, dragging their heavy hoses back to their firetrucks. “My pansies…”

Professor Aldridge clasped his hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Flowers will grow back. At least your house is still there.”

“I suppose.” He turned toward them, eyeing Sam and Remi.

Aldridge introduced them and Sam shook hands with him, saying, “Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“Agreed.” Percy gave a tired sigh. “Though they tell me it’s mostly contained to the kitchen and front parlor.”

Sam watched the firefighters rolling up their hoses. “Did they give any indication on what started it?”

“It just blew up. Flames shot out. Lucky I wasn’t any closer.”

After several minutes, one of the firefighters walked over. “Mr. Wendorf?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll be finished shortly. A bit of a mess in there. Water and such. Do you have insurance?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Give them a ring. They can recommend who to send for cleanup.”

“Very good.” He stared at his home, clearly still in shock.

Sam, realizing that Percy wasn’t in any frame of mind to ask any important questions, stepped forward to address the firefighter. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you have any idea how the fire started?”

“From what he described when we got here, it looks like a chimney fire. Creosote buildup.”

“You’re certain?”

The man removed his helmet and then pushed back his hood, running his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. “Quite.”

Definitely good news — as long as they overlooked the damage to his home. Even so, Sam wasn’t about to dismiss any involvement from Avery or his men until he saw the evidence himself.

When they finally allowed Percy and the others into his home, Percy stood speechless, eyeing what was left of his parlor. The heavy scent of smoke hung in the air, and Professor Aldridge started opening windows. Sam walked over to the hearth, his feet sloshing in the wet, gray sludge on the floor. The initial burn marks appeared just outside the hearth, the stones blackened, the wooden floor adjacent to it charred. All that remained of an oriental rug was a dark, soggy mess beneath a charred upholstered chair, which sat several feet away from the hearth.

The fireman was right, Sam realized. It appeared to have started at the fireplace and worked its way into the room from there. Though possible, he didn’t think Avery’s men would take such care in an arson to make it look as if it were the result of an accident.

“Sam?” Remi stood in the arched doorway that led to the dining room. “There’s a to-do list,” she said quietly, “on the table. The first thing on there is to call the chimney sweep.”

“That seems to be the clincher. Accident over arson.”

“We can all breathe a bit easier.”

“Except for the part about Nigel still being missing.”

Remi glanced at Percy, who stood looking around at the fire damage, refusing to leave when Professor Aldridge tried to lead him from the room toward Sam and Remi. “If we’re going to ask him to help, he certainly can’t stay here,” Remi said.

“No,” Sam replied. “We could put him and his wife up at our hotel. At least until this place is cleaned.”

They posed the idea to Aldridge, who immediately declined the offer. “As generous as it is, I’m not sure that’s the best course of action for him.”

Before he had a chance to explain, a woman, mid-sixties, walked into the house, then stopped just a few feet in as she looked around. Undoubtedly Percy’s wife, Agatha. “Oh no…” She held her hand to her mouth as she took in the damage. “Percy. You didn’t light a fire, did you?”

“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I left a note to call the chimney sweep. I told—” She gave a deep sigh. “Never mind,” she said, her gaze lighting on Sam, Remi, then Professor Aldridge. “I see you have guests.” She walked over, took Percy by the arm, and Sam was certain the sparkle in her eyes was from being near tears. “Let’s all go into the kitchen where it’s cleaner, shall we?”

“Yes,” Percy said. “Good idea.”

The look that passed between Agatha and Professor Aldridge told Sam that today’s fire was not totally unexpected. Aldridge eyed the wet floor. “I’ll go see if I can find a mop and broom and start sweeping out some of this water. First, I’ll introduce you to Percy’s wife.”

They followed him into the kitchen. Percy was seated at the table. Agatha smiled at them as they walked in. “How frightfully rude of me for leaving you standing there. And with guests. I’m not normally this inconsiderate.”

“Nonsense, Agatha,” Aldridge said. He turned toward Sam and Remi. “Percy’s wife Agatha.” As they shook hands with her, he said, “Agatha, this is Sam and Remi Fargo. They’re here looking for information on some archaeological artifacts, and, well, Percy was supposed to meet us. He never made it.”

“Understandable,” she said, glancing toward her husband. “Normally, Percy’s very good with lists. Perhaps I should have written ‘Don’t light the fire’ and called the chimney sweep myself.”

“I simply forgot,” Percy said.

Agatha gave a tired smile. “I know.”

“Maybe,” Aldridge said in a quiet voice, “it’s time for live-in help?”

Agatha’s eyes glistened and she turned away, busying herself with the dishes in the sink. Eventually she took a seat at the table, giving another tired smile. “Rather like sitting around a campfire, what with the smoky scent all about.”

Percy looked at his wife. “I forgot to call the chimney sweep.”

“I see,” Agatha said, patting his hand and smiling at him. “So what sort of artifacts are you discussing, Percy?”

“Artifacts?” Percy eyed Sam and Remi. “I… Aldridge? Are these the people?”

“The couple I told you about.”

“Right… We were supposed to meet. Slipped my mind. Almost burning down one’s house will do that.”

“Indeed,” Aldridge replied. “But they’re here now.”

“Yes,” Percy said to Sam and Remi. “I expect you’ll want to have a look for yourself.”

Sam felt Remi tapping his foot with her own. “Maybe,” he said, “we should reschedule.”

Remi gave a sympathetic smile. “You probably have enough on your plate right now.”

“Actually,” Agatha said, “it’ll be best if he’s out from underfoot. I expect I’ll have a lot of calls to make while you’re all off doing whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Very good,” Aldridge said. “It’s settled, then.”

As they left the house and walked through the park toward their car, Sam told Remi quietly, “We’ll catch up to you,” then slowed his pace, signaling for Professor Aldridge to follow suit. Sam waited until Remi and Percy were out of earshot. “In light of Percy’s memory issues, maybe we should go with this other expert?”

“Normally, I’d say yes,” Aldridge replied. “This is beyond his usual forgetfulness. But he seems to have more trouble when he is out of his element. When something happens to throw him off his game. Like starting a chimney fire.”

“But if this other expert is willing to help…”

“Maybe give Percy a chance. He lives for this sort of thing. And I know Agatha agrees with me. I ran it by her first. She’s the one who insisted. He’s happiest when he’s in his element, and the tunnels below Nottingham, well, are definitely his element.”

“Is it possible he can just point us to the cavern entrance?”

“I suppose so. Though he does enjoy walking through them. I’m sure that’ll be fine. In fact, I believe he’s mapped most of them out on some chart, if that’ll work.”

“That’ll work perfectly.” Sam watched as Percy pointed something out to Remi in the hedge, some bird, as both started laughing when it flew off. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. “Let’s go find this chart.”