She poured the rocks back into the bag and shoved it into her trouser pocket. Then she reached back into the coffin. This time, she forgot all about their disrespectful treatment of Mr. Travers’s remains. She ran her palm against the bottom of the coffin, giving no thought to the prospect of splinters. She paused.
“Max, should this wood have seams in it?” she asked.
“Where?” He moved the remaining portions of the body out of the way to where her hand lay. With his finger, he ran along the tiny crevice she’d found, and there in one corner, he discovered a small latch. “This is a door.”
CHAPTER13
Cassandra St. James stepped into the dimly lit room and paused at the mess. The man she’d hired was rumored to be brilliant, but so far, his mind did not make up for the fact that he was rather disgusting. The long table he worked on was littered with small glass dishes and bottles. And the contraption he used to break down the crème looked more like a small torture device than something a scientist would use.
She stepped over a pile of books, and something that appeared to be a moldy chunk of bread, as she moved closer to his work space. “What have you discovered, Mr. Olney?”
He jumped at the sound of her voice. “I didn’t hear you come in.” He looked up at her, his eyes wide and glassy. “I’ve broken down all of the key ingredients again. Now I am trying to re-create the material.”
“You have been working on this for more than three days,” she said. “What could possibly be taking you so long?”
Why must she always wait? She’d searched for this elusive “fountain” ever since Max had told her about it nearly ten years before. The allure of eternal beauty and youth had been too tempting to resist. Women had no power without beauty. Her mother had warned her of that many times. Cassandra had been blessed with a lush body men craved and a face that made other women fume. But time was beginning to take its toll. Lines had appeared around her eyes and mouth, and the soft, smooth texture of her skin was now patchy and ruddy in places.
“It’s a complex procedure,” he said, his thin voice wavering. “I’ve had a few setbacks.” He glanced at the table in the corner at some mysterious material that had solidified in a jar.
Cassandra’s nostrils flared. “I don’t have forever.” Lately it seemed the skin on her hands had begun to thin, and she’d noticed gray sprinkled throughout her blonde locks. Fortunately for her, her hair was so pale to begin with, few would notice, at least initially. Still, she was concerned. “I’m paying you a large sum of money for this tiny task. You are supposed to be the best!”
“Yes,” he said.
She picked up a bottle of gray liquid, sniffed it, then set it down. “I’m told you visited the Tobias shop.” With two painted fingernails, she tapped his chest. “What were you doing there?” she asked.
“I… I was buying another sample,” he stammered, then averted his eyes back to the contraption in front of him.
“Indeed.” She glanced around. “Did you forget it?”
A frown creased his high forehead. “I beg your pardon?”
“The sample.” She ran a hand over his extraction equipment. “You said you purchased another, but I don’t see any new jars. Did you leave it at the store?”
“Please don’t touch that.” He hovered over the machine much as a mother bird protects her young. He pointed to the empty jar to his left. “It’s right here.”
She loathed liars, especially if she was paying them to do a job for her. “I see. Then why were you seen leaving the store empty-handed?” She walked over to him, grabbed his tie, and tugged forcefully on it. “You are lying to me, and I do not care to be lied to by anyone. Especially an employee.Whatwere you doing there?”
She stood nearly a head taller than him, and under her gaze, she could see the man’s will give way. People did not often succeed in deceiving her. She tended to persuade them that honesty was a far better choice.
“I went to speak with Miss Tobias,” he said quietly.
“And?”
He shook his head. “She would not give me any information.”
Cassandra laughed. “You asked her for the recipe?”
“I offered to pay her,” he said shallowly.
“You offered to pay her. Now don’t you think, were that an option, I would have simply done that instead of hiring you?” She paused a moment, waiting for him to give another excuse, but he said nothing. “I was told you were unmatched in your abilities. Evidently someone lied about that as well.” She jammed her finger into his chest. “You are an idiot.”
“No, I am unmatched. I am the best,” he said.
“I have yet to see proof of that.”
“Madam St. James, please. I can figure out the formula, I promise. I merely need more time.”
“I’m afraid it might be too late for that. We’ll see. Perhaps later I’ll be feeling more generous. Right now, however, I’m feeling rather inhospitable,” she said.