THE NEXT MORNING, TAYLOR WAS STILL HALF ASLEEP AND started to respond to Jack’s kiss before she remembered their conversation from the night before and pushed him away. “I’m still upset with you.”
He stroked her arm. “T, come on. What would you do if Jeremy was sick and you had to help him? This isn’t about Dakota. It’s about Sybil. She’s family. If it weren’t for her, I might not be here right now.”
Taylor softened. “I’m sorry. I know your heart’s in the right place. It’s just so unnerving that she reaches out to you now that we know Crosse is alive. Dakota used to work for him. How do you know this isn’t another of his plans?”
“Because she’s in hiding from Crosse herself. He tried to have her killed. Besides, I know Sybil would never lie to me.” He leaned up on one elbow. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting my guard down. But I couldn’t live with myself if Sybil died all alone and I could have prevented it.”
Taylor got up from the bed. “We’re going to have to agree to disagree.”
They got dressed and joined Jeremy in the kitchen, where he was already drinking a cup of coffee.
“Morning, guys. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right about Crosse. I had an idea for a way we can get to him. First thing he does every day is read the New York Times cover to cover. We can place an ad in their classifieds, something like: ‘Rare coins dating back to AD 30. Seeking proper owner. Set of ten from an original thirty. Guaranteed authentic.’ We still have time to get it to run this Sunday.”
“And then what?” Jack asked.
“Set up an email address he can write to and take it from there. When he gets in touch, we set a meeting, and we lay a trap for him,” Jeremy said.
“I think you’ve watched one too many cop shows. Damon Crosse is much too smart to walk into a trap.”
“What do you suggest then?” Jeremy asked him.
Taylor answered instead. “What if we make him think it’s someone from the church who has the coins? It might be more believable. Maybe Scotty could help, get the FBI to set it up.”
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “Crosse hates to do his own dirty work. What if he sends someone in his place?”
“He’ll come. There’s no way he would trust anyone besides himself with the coins,” Jeremy assured them. “Besides, after being duped on the last ten, he’ll want to make sure that these are the real thing.”
“So who would we pretend to be?” Jack asked.
“What about Father Basil?” Taylor suggested. “I can call him and tell him that’s the plan. Crosse knows that the coins have the potential to corrupt even the most devout. He’ll be inclined to believe that has happened to Father Basil, seeing as Damon hates the church so much. We ask for five million dollars. That way we also find out if he’s got access to money; maybe there’s a way to connect him to Licentia,” Taylor said.
Jack nodded. “I think we’re on the right track.”
“We have to make it foolproof,” Jeremy said. “If he ends up actually getting the coins from us . . .”
“He’d still only have twenty. That wouldn’t be the end of the world. Right?” Jack asked.
Jeremy sighed. “Well, no, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get more power if he doubles the quantity he has. There’s a lot we don’t know about the coins. No one has ever held more than ten at a time—they’ve always been divided up. If someone had twenty, that could open more portals for evil. And they could make it easier for that person to find the remaining ten.”
“How?” Jack asked.
“There’s a theory that if you have a majority of the thirty, those will have the energy to lead you to the others.”
Jack gave him a skeptical look.
Jeremy shrugged. “Look, I know you don’t buy into all this spiritual stuff, but what I know is that there are angels and demons in a constant battle for the souls walking among us. Those coins allow the holder to either keep a door closed on those demons or open a door and let more of them walk freely as well. When someone does something horrific, something truly unfathomable to most of us, you can bet one or more of these demons is whispering in their ear.”
Taylor watched Jack’s face for a reaction, but his expression was inscrutable. “Are you saying that people are not responsible for their own actions? That unseen spiritual forces are making them do bad things?” he asked.
“What I’m saying is that we can be influenced for good or evil by the things we invite into our lives,” Jeremy said. “Don’t forget, I was raised by Damon Crosse and was involved in the occult for many years before I found my way to God. It’s very powerful, and trust me, those evil forces are very real.”
Taylor looked at Jeremy. “So are you saying there’s some sort of correlation between the number of coins one has and the number of demons they can call up to earth?” She believed in God, but this all sounded a bit crazy to her. “I mean they’re inanimate objects. I know they have a bad history but—”
Jeremy held his hands out for emphasis. “Have you ever heard of relics healing people? They’ve been responsible for miracles around the world. These are not just inanimate objects! They are the very coins that were used to betray Christ. To secure his death. Satan entered Judas. Do you understand? He took human form in Judas and he touched those coins.” He shook his head. “Do you really think your mother would have given up her entire life, given the chance to be with her beloved daughter, if they were just inanimate objects?”
Taylor stood, walked over to Jeremy, and sat next him, taking his hand in hers. “It all just feels so unreal. Finding her after all these years only to lose her all over again. Thank God you’re going to be okay. I almost lost you, too.” Taylor was still trying to reconcile her mother’s reappearance and murder, and she needed to grieve, but they needed to sort this out first. She was preoccupied by one other thing, something she hadn’t mentioned to Jack yet. But that would have to wait as well.
“Our plan has to be foolproof,” Jeremy said again. “There’s too much at stake, and now that Evan is here, you’re in even more danger. That’s another reason we can never let Damon Crosse get our ten.”
A shiver went up Taylor’s spine. “I’m going to check on Evan now,” she said. She left the two of them and went to the small bedroom where she found Evan asleep on the twin bed, his thumb in his mouth. She sat gingerly on the bed so as not to wake him and stroked his head. Her beautiful little boy. She was filled with a new resolve. No matter what, she would protect him, or die trying.