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“That date at least explains the photo’s condition,” Mathi said. “The photographic stock they used back then tended to degrade rather badly over time.”

“What about the numbers underneath? Any idea what they might be?”

He shrugged. “Could be an old phone number or coordinates or anything, really.”

“If it was coordinates, wouldn’t they have used a directional marker, such as north, east, whatever?”

“Not if they’re using degrees, minutes, and seconds.”

“Huh.” I stared at the numbers for a few seconds, but enlightenment didn’t happen. “I wonder if the date is of any importance?”

“I can’t remember anything significant happening in that year, but I’ll run a check through IIT’s records and see what I can find.”

I glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “Youwill?”

He grinned. “I’ve long had access to my father’s computers. He’s aware, of course.”

“And does this access have anything to do with the bodies you mentioned earlier?”

“Of course not.”

“Liar.”

He smiled and didn’t deny it. “We’d better head back down. The IIT will be here any minute now.”

He’d barely said that when the wail of approaching sirens broke the silence.

I grabbed my phone, took a quick shot of the front and back of the photo, and then carefully tucked it into the envelope and gave it to him. It was pointless putting it back where I found it, as our fingerprints were all over it.

As we headed down, the IIT were coming through the door. I let Mathi deal with them and sent a text to Sgott, letting him know what we’d discovered. He’d no doubt get an update from Ruadhán, but he’d be less annoyed at our breaking-and-entering actions if I was upfront about it.

By the time our statements had been taken, nearly an hour had passed. The rain had eased to a drizzle, but the day had definitely gotten colder. Mathi opened the car’s rear door, ushering me in before slipping in next to me.

After directing his driver back to the tavern, he shifted in the seat and said, “What’s your next course of action?”

I wrinkled my nose. “To be honest, I’m not sure. We need to deal with the sword, but we also have to find the ring.”

“Is it truly wise to be searching for it now? Would it not be better to put that search on hold until the Looisearch are found?”

“They won’t stop looking even if we do.”

“The only reason they found the first two Claws is Vincentia. They’ve quite literally erasedthatadvantage, so unless they can find another Aodhán pixie to do their dirty work, they’re stuck.”

“If they get stuck, they’ll come after me, Mathi.”

“There are enough of us to prevent you getting kidnapped again.”

I hoped he was right, but I suspected he wasn’t. I forced a smile. “I can’t quit now, Mathi. Would you?”

“My position is somewhat different to yours. I’m an annoyance to them rather than a viable asset. They’ll not kill me unless it is absolutely necessary, simply because they know such stupidity will bring the full wrath of my father and the IIT onto them. Andhedoes not have the same views on the law and punishment as Sgott.”

Something I’d always suspected, but it was still rather shocking to hear it said out loud.

“The longer the search is drawn out, the more dangerous it becomes,” I said. “Hiding won’t alter that fact.”

“Hiding would be sensible, and we all know you often suffer a lack of that.” Despite his wry tone, his expression was surprisingly serious. “I don’t want to see you dead, Bethany.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Only because you’d have no chance of getting back into my bed if I were.”