As she said it, Hailey realized—no matter how stupid and dangerous, she was going to see this through to the end. It wasn’t about the money anymore. Now, it was the math—that magical power she had over cards, and equations, and anything that involved numbers. And here, too, the skill at cards that had brought her to the casino had also opened a door to a role in recovering what shouldn’t have existed: something of incredible power. Paul Revere’s bell, his alchemical philosopher’s stone—a bell that emitted a tone that could transform lead into gold. Hailey had to see this through.

She looked directly at Nick.

“I can’t turn away. Not yet.”

“We don’t even know if what we’re looking for is even real—or if it’s been lost to history. We’re going to be risking our lives, for something that doesn’t even seem possible.”

But she could see in his eyes that at least a part of him understood.

She reached past him, toward her backpack—and her phone.

“But you’re right, if we’re going to do this stupid, dangerous thing—we need to at least try to do it the smart way.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Zack sank back into the front seat of his unmarked agency car, still cradling his cell phone against his ear. He’d already listened to the message he’d been forwarded from the dispatcher in his office three times, but he was still having trouble digesting what he’d just heard.

Finally, he slid the phone back into his jacket pocket, and stared out through the windshield at the scene in front of him.

Christmas, Fourth of July, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular all rolled into one; enough squad cars flashing lights that the entire section of Congress Street abutting the Tea Party Museum was lit up like Times Square, and still he could hear the sirens coming, so many damn sirens, that the dashboard in front of him was trembling to the tune.