The water had receded for the moment. Leaving odd marks on the floor and walls beyond the main room that gave evidence of tides and eddies. Remains of minerals. Remains of books that hadn’t survived. A broom leaning against the wall, used to sweep away water. The stacks and stacks of books. That odd darkness of a tunnel leading … where? And where did she sleep?

Rathven took two books from an old sofa chair. Put them on the table. An old oil lamp flickered across the books, which were tattered and stained. Mold and worms had been at them. A thick mustiness made Finch sneeze. The gray caps’ ridiculous list lay sprawled beneath the table.

She asked him to sit. He didn’t like that the chair was so comfortable. Felt like he could fall asleep in it. Wanted to ask, in a conversational way, “So, did a man named Bosun visit you? Maybe a man named Stark?” But didn’t. That conversation could wait. As for warning her, she had plenty of reasons to be careful already.

She pulled up an old wooden chair. Turned it around, leaning her arms against the back. Looking tense. Unsettled. The straight, unflinching stare she gave him undermined by quick glances toward the tunnel. Was she expecting someone to appear?

“Do you need tea or coffee?” she asked. He only liked tea now for some reason, but wanted neither at the moment.

“I’m tired, Rath. I’m not in the mood. What did you find out?”

Rathven winced. “Just the information, right?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling he’d insulted her. “Something’s wrong.”

She stared at him with those large hazel eyes. “You’re not going to like what I found out.”

Finch laughed. Until the tears came. Doubled over in the grip of the chair. “I’m not going to like what you found out? I’m not going to like it?”

Glanced over, wiping at his face with his sleeve. Saw her confusion.

“Rath, I haven’t learned anything I liked since Monday. There’s nothing about this case that I’ve found likable. Nothing. This morning I went out to interrogate a suspect and came back without my socks, my shoes, or my gun.”

That brought a curling half smile, but her eyes were still wary. As if the idea was both funny and horrible to her. “Your socks? Walking around in your bare feet? In Ambergris?”

He nodded. Sobered. “So, what did you find out?”

A deep breath from Rathven. She looked like a creature used to being in motion stopped in midstride. Asked a fundamental question about its own existence.

“Yesterday, I read all of the names on your list. That took a long time. Then I made a much shorter list of any names I recognized.”

“Like?”