“And we had an interesting conversation. He said the contract I signed with Martin Ammon was not in my best interest. And then he said there were some who thought M. Ammon was actually Mammon. And that Martin was one of them. We sort of already knew all of that.”
“Mammon is a demon,” Glo said. “I read all about him in Ripple’s Book of Spells. It has a chapter on devils and demons. Mammon is the demon of greed.”
Diesel was slouched against one of the workbenches. “Wulf said he thought Martin Ammon was Mammon?”
“Not exactly. He said, ‘There are those who think he’s Mammon.’ And he said there were ‘other forces at play’ in Ammon’s house.”
“That’s a pretty cryptic message,” Diesel said. “Did Wulf say anything else?”
“He said Ammon wasn’t interested in my cookbook. He said it was a ploy to get close to me and use my greed to find the eight pieces of the coin. Once Ammon gets the entire coin he can use it to read Palgrave Bellows’s treasure map, and the map will lead him to the Stone of Avarice. We knew this, too.”
“It’s kind of cool that you know a demon,” Glo said to me. “Has he ever exhibited any demon behavior? Do his eyes glow? Does he have horn nubs?”
“None of the above. He’s a strange, unpleasant man
with perfect teeth.”
“And billions of dollars,” Clara said.
We all went silent for a moment.
“Mammon, the demon of greed,” Glo said. “Think about it.”
“I personally know an elf and a tree fairy,” Diesel said, “but I’m having a hard time with the demon of greed.”
“Wulf sort of suggested that you might want to steal the map,” I said to Diesel. “He said you’re better at larceny than he is.”
“You could steal it on Saturday,” Glo said. “We’ll all go to the party disguised as dessert caterers.”
“We are dessert caterers,” I said.
“That’s why it’s the perfect cover,” Glo said. “Diesel can walk off with the map while everyone is snarfing down desserts.”
“Do you have a license to steal?” I asked Diesel.
“It’s more in the vicinity of vague permission.”
“Aside from being fun, do you think there’s a reason for Diesel to steal the map?” Glo said. “It isn’t as if it’s any use to us. We only have five pieces of the coin. Wulf has one more, and nobody has any idea where to find the other two.”
“Okay, let’s think about the last two pieces,” I said. “The pieces were hidden by Peg Leg Dazzle. Where would he hide them? He would have kept the last two pieces close, just like he did the other six. Two were on him. Two were with Gramps. Two were in the lighthouse.”
Clara thunked the heel of her hand against her forehead. “The Dazzle Speakeasy! It’s been abandoned since Prohibition ended. Peg Leg practically lived there…at least until he disappeared. It was his pride and joy. You can get there through the Underground.”
“What’s the Underground?” I asked.
“It’s a series of tunnels built by smugglers. They run underneath the whole city. The rumrunners used them, but they date from way before that. Salem has a long history of civil disobedience. Most of the tunnels go back to the first Jefferson administration, when he imposed customs duties on molasses. One of the tunnels runs right under Dazzle’s. You can get there through that door right there in the back.”
We all moved to the back of the kitchen. Diesel opened the door and stared down into the dark stairwell.
“What’s down there?” Diesel asked Clara.
“Not much,” Clara said. “Mostly mechanical stuff. Technically it’s a storeroom, but it’s not very convenient. It connects to the Underground, so I keep the door locked.”
Diesel made his way down the rickety stairs and yanked the chain that turned the single overhead bulb on. We all followed Diesel and watched while Clara pushed an empty shelf unit aside on the far wall.
“It’s a hidden entrance,” Clara said.
“It’s a black, yawning corridor of doom,” Glo said.