The Emerald Key - By Christopher Dinsdale Page 0,57

to be a series of sketches. Beth could see a bunch of rectangles, side by side, ascending in a slightly staggered pattern. Lines and numbers were sprinkled around the diagram. In the corner, a picture of a ship had been sketched into one of the lower rectangles. At the top was the title How to Get a Ship over a Mountain. Jamie’s eyes scanned the sheet several times, and then he suddenly jumped to his feet.

“I don’t believe this!”

“What is it?”

“I don’t believe this!” Jamie pumped his fist and whooped with joy.

Beth grabbed his arm. “Tell me! What does the paper mean?”

“I’m not sure, exactly, but I know this is my brother’s sketch! And look here at the bottom. Do you see it?”

He tapped the paper with his trembling finger.

“Those numbers?”

“Yes, Beth! It’s a date! He dates all of his work! And this sketch was dated only three days before the Carpathia reached Montreal. Don’t you see?! The captain said he died just two weeks into the crossing. This proves he was alive just before reaching Montreal! Therefore, there’s a chance he might still be alive! The captain made a mistake in identifying a dead body!”

She threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Come on!” he said, bursting with excitement. “We need to get back to Montreal!”

After wrapping up the book and tucking it back safely into his shirt, Jamie and Beth strode away from the river and back into the city. The glow of the still-burning parliament building illuminated the centre of town in an eerie yellow light, as if the city were celebrating some ancient pagan event with a giant bonfire. The bells of fire wagons could be heard congregating to do battle with the towering flames that lit up the early-morning air. To the east, the sky was just starting to glow a faint crimson, signalling the start of a new day.

Upon reaching the main road, Jamie reached into his pocket and gave Beth a handful of coins. “Take the money and go get Colin. Give your friend an extra tip for keeping him overnight, then buy some breakfast for the three of us. I’ll meet you back at the bookstore in an hour. We have some research to do.”

Beth was just about to run off on her errand, but instead turned to face Jamie, her face beaming with hope. She bounced up and down a few times then flew towards him and wrapped her arms around him in excitement.

“I’m so happy for you! Ryan might still be alive!”

Then, with the flash of a smile, Beth disappeared into the brightening dawn.

Chapter 15

Jamie towelled off his hair and then threw on the brand new shirt he had purchased a day earlier from a St. Denis clothing store. The face in the mirror staring back at him looked completely different from the one that had been there only minutes earlier. Gone were the sweat-stained smears of soot and charcoal across his face. His hair, instead of smelling of smoke and sewer, glowed with a fresh, soapy scent that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. In a way, it felt as if he had almost washed away the memories of last night’s horrific fire and Beth’s near murder.

He left the bathroom, walked down the short hallway of the small but tidy apartment, and then opened the door that led into the back of the small bookstore. Mr. Kessler and Beth were poring over books on a table while Colin sat on the floor with a paper and pencil, having fun drawing pictures of the huge fire he had seen from the window of his sitter’s home in the early hours of the morning. Jamie pulled up a chair.

“I feel as if I’ve been reborn.”

“I hadn’t had a proper bath in so long,” agreed Beth, looking fresh and cheery with her strawberry hair neatly braided and a starched blue cotton dress setting off her clean freckled face.

“If I hadn’t offered you my tub,” chuckled Mr. Kessler, “that smell of fire and sewer on you two would have chased away all of my customers for at least a week.”

“Don’t worry,” added Jamie. “I’ve thrown all of our old clothes into the garbage bins outside. Your store should be back to smelling like its musty old self well before the noon meal.”

The three shared a laugh as Jamie bit into an apple Beth had purchased earlier in the morning. A hearty breakfast of fresh buns, cheese, nuts, and a