Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

19.1|| Storm Brewing

Sam had deeply hoped everything bad would go away by morning. At least Jimmy's cold took a hike and he was fully functional again except for the raspy voice. But other than that... Yeah, still up shit creek without a paddle.

Tom was still in pain and moved very slow, the chill in the air was still there, though it seemed to be focused on Jessie, Jerry and Tina, and the castle proved empty. He also noticed how meticulous his brothers had been about searching and he had to admit he was impressed.

"Though I did hope you left something untouched and we could go back if need be," he mumbled as they sat in a cafe right outside the walls of Cheverny.

"Our barbarism was very thorough," Jerry said, sipping his coffee.

Yes, tragically enough. But also good since they had a lot of tiny castles to check after finishing the more important ones. Though his hopes weren't high. What if Snitch Gravel had been wrong to begin with and there was no jewel in France?

"How do we kick the people out of the castle?" Tom asked.

"We usually waited for nighttime, but this castle is trickier," Jessie answered, stretching. There seemed to be a glow around her that dimmed the awkwardness and made Sam feel comfortable again. "This castle isn't just a museum, but an actual home, so it's permanently staffed."

Sam gaped. "What?"

She nodded. "Yup. So we'll have to figure out a way to get rid of everyone."

"I have an idea, but it will imply finding a computer, internet and a whole lot of practice," Jerry said, turning to Tom. "You can imitate the owner's voice and ask the permanent staff to leave for the winter holidays."

"And they're going to believe me because...?" Tom asked.

"There's a snowstorm coming," Tina supplied. "It was on the radio. Use that."

Sam turned to Tina in shock for providing such useful information then immediately felt like an asshole.

"It could ensure no tourists tomorrow, which would be a blessing," Kyle said, putting his joined hands behind his head. "This castle is open year-round. Including on Christmas day."

Sam had even forgotten there was such a thing as Christmas. Normal families coming together to celebrate in front of fires, exchanging gifts and watching holiday movies. Christmas was only three days away and there was no way they would be done and back home in time. He ached to ask what excuse his brothers had fed their parents, but decided he didn't want to know.

"That's a great idea," he said instead.

And it really was. It took Jerry and Tom half a day to identify the owner, get his phone number, watch recordings of him so Tom could get the voice right and teach him enough French to handle a simple conversation.

While that happened, the rest of them took a tour of the castle and the grounds to asses the volume of work. Sam wasn't really sure how complex the other castles had been except for Chambord which, even if huge, had been mostly empty, but this one was big and cluttered with furniture. As advertised, it really did look like someone's home and a pang of guilt stabbed at him for all the future ransacking the place would suffer.

That thought however left his mind as they admired the hound pen. The others gave the dogs a once over then hurried away because of the powerful smell. Sam stayed behind, not bothered much by it. The pen looked clean enough and the dogs, all the same breed and with he castle crest burned into their fur, seemed well cared for. They lounged around, yawning and stretching.

Large snowflakes began to fall and Sam's attention turned to the sky. The clouds were dark grey and heavy with snow, but the storm was supposed to take another hour. Not that anything had gone as planned since Christine disappeared. The thought of her made his hands ball into fists and all security he'd managed to regain fly out the window.