Unlocked the padlock.

They had unlocked it. They found the key and unlocked it. Cyrus stared at the chastity device. The padlock, open, was still on it. Why? Because Nora had said the lock held the two pieces together.

Cyrus removed the lock and let the two pieces of the device fall apart. Curious, he studied the two parts in his hand—the cage, as Nora called it, and the ring.

He saw something.

At first, Cyrus thought it might just be some kind of maker’s mark, like the kind he’d seen on the bottom of old silver plates and other antiques. But it wasn’t that. He narrowed his eyes. Two letters were engraved inside the device, followed by three numbers.

MT 529

And underneath…there was a tiny butterfly.

Cyrus wasn’t nearly as religious as Paulina, but he knew a Bible verse when he saw it.

Matthew 5:29.

His heart raced with excitement. Something told him this was the thing. This was it. This would break the case.

Cyrus called Nora. She picked up on the first ring.

“It’s engraved,” Cyrus said before she could even get out a quick “hello.”

“What? What is?”

“The cock thing. The chastity thing. It’s got a butterfly and a Bible verse engraved on the inside. Couldn’t see it when the lock was on but it fell apart and I saw it. Matthew 5:29. I haven’t looked it up yet but—”

“Søren,” Nora said. He must have been with her. “Matthew 5:29.”

Cyrus held his breath. His lungs nearly burst while he waited.

“Okay,” Nora said. She repeated after Søren: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

“Søren’s got that memorized?”

“Are you surprised?”

He wasn’t. “What do you think it means?”

“That you should do anything you can to avoid sinning, including amputation.”

“Not the verse,” Cyrus said. “That he’s got it engraved inside his chastity thing. Why would he do that?”

“It was actually engraved in there? Like how?”

“I don’t know. Like you engrave anything.”

“Not written in Sharpie or scratched in with a knife?”

“No, I said engraved, and I mean engraved. Fancy letters made by a pro. Why?”

She went silent. Then, “Give me one minute.”

Silence again. Cyrus pressed the phone to his ear as hard as he could. He held his breath and heard the low, low murmur of voices. Sounded like Nora was asking Søren something else.

Then the phone crackled.

“We need to go to the Ritz-Carlton.”

“What’s there?”

“Kingsley’s there. He’s not answering his phone, which probably means he’s eating dinner. He hates it when people talk on phones during meals. But if he’s there, he’ll tell us. I’m sure he knows.”

“Knows what?” Cyrus was so excited he was almost shouting at her.

“He’ll know who engraved Father Ike’s chastity device.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Nora ended her call. She looked at Søren, who was standing with his back to the kitchen counter, a glass of white wine in hand. Casually, he sipped at it, but she noticed his grip was a little tighter than it needed to be.