Quarter - The Final Installment In The Adeena Cole Series

Chapter Four

I groaned, folding my arms under my head. Charting a course was simply tedious, why couldn't I get Eric or Nina or someone else to do it for me?

The smell of moldy parchment assaulted my nose as I pressed my face into the mass of papers and ink splotches on my desk; the desk that Jack Sparrow used to sit at and procrastinate just like me, his daughter.

I opened my eyes a crack, glaring at the map of the Pacific, before shoving it aside (everything went tumbling to the floor) and lifting the top of the desk.

Jack had told me the entire story, narrating with sweeping gestures and such, of the time when he had hidden a slave in the secret cavity inside his desk. I used the large space for hiding things I didn't want anyone to find, such as my teddy bear (which I hadn't coddled in years, mind you) myself, and, currently, my investigative notes.

I snatched up the leather bound notebook, untying the ribbon that kept it clamped shut and letting it fall open on the tabletop.

Adeena Sparrow, ne Cole, was killed the day after she appointed a tenth pirate lord.

The same day, she and Jack Sparrow passed on their Pieces of Eight to Jacqueline Sparrow, making her Lord of two seas.

Therefore, there are now Nine Pirate Lords as tradition dictates.

It can be inferrd that Adeena Sparrow knew of her and Jack Sparrow's incoming demise.

I bit my lip, staring at that last notation. Why was it hitting so hard now, of all times?

I knelt and retrieved a quill from the mess on the floor, then my inkwell from a drawer. I inscribed another paragraph, and then another:

Captain Taylor Sutcliff is the successor to the newly appointed Pirate Lord; he is Lord of the Red Sea. His inheritance is a bit shady, but he claims the old Lord was marooned.

He also claims to have met Adeena Sparrow. His recount of their meeting supports the previous theory.

I frowned, glancing over my writings. This was no help at all, really.

This is only stating facts. Someone, unknown to me, killed my parents. I leaned over the desk, gazing intently at the grain of the wood. I get the feeling that this is important, now. That someone is going to resurface and throw a knife into my plans, or my improvisation.

Who is a suspect? I tucked the leather notebook away again, sitting crosslegged on the floor, picking up the mess of charts. Thinking about all these confusing things made me feel very important. No one is suspicious yet. But if this continues, someone will be...

I blinked. How convenient this was, occurring exactly when the Brethren Court met...

But none of the Pirate Lords seemed guilty. Ai Fan hated me, but that, perhaps, had to do with Hector Barboussa. But, her detest of me was not reason to suspect her.

Taylor Sutcliff? I frowned, standing and dropping to stack of parchment onto the desk. "He has no motive..." I murmured, grabbing my coat and pulling it on as I made my way onto the deck. I rather liked him. It would be disappointing if he turned out to be a cold blooded killer.

"Nina!" I barked, seeing her nearby. She stopped, and reluctantly turned. A bottle of that horrid drink she called vodka swung from her side. "Could you alert the crew for me? We leave tomorrow."