“Did the vault growl at you?”
“No.”
“Then it wasn’t Glo.”
“I see your point,” Rutherford said. “Then it must have been Mr. Hatchet. He clearly has a strong magical component.” More pacing. “This is very bad. Mr. Ammon is in the hospital. The Prince of Avarice is waiting at the threshold. And I’ve failed them. This happened on my watch. They’re going to be very disappointed in me.”
Glo had come into the kitchen. “What happens when they’re disappointed?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Rutherford said. “I’ve never disappointed them at this level. This is big. I think something catastrophic might happen. Biblical even.”
“Wow,” Glo said. “Biblical is huge!”
Rutherford nodded. “I would prefer to avoid it.”
“I can ask Hatchet,” I said. “I might be able to talk him into making a deal.”
Rutherford looked like he might explode with happiness. “Really? What kind of deal?” He leaned forward and whispered at me. “I would be willing to do anything. Anything.”
“That covers a lot of ground,” Clara said.
“Would you have something to trade for the treasure?” I asked Rutherford.
“I have a car. It’s a Ford. Very reliable.”
“Hatchet might not care about a car. Hatchet lives to serve his master, Wulf. He would want something that would make Wulf happy. It would have to be something unique. Something Wulf might desire.”
“Gosh, I don’t know,” Rutherford said. “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Wulf.”
“What about the stone?” I said to Rutherford. “It’s not nearly as valuable as the treasure, but Wulf might like it.”
“The Avaritia Stone? The Stone of Avarice? The stone that will set Mammon free?”
“You don’t really believe all that, do you?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. Mr. Ammon believes it.”
“Yes, but so far it hasn’t done squat for him. I mean, let’s face it, it’s just a stone.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you know where the stone is hidden?”
“Not exactly. We put it in a safe place, but it isn’t there anymore. I think Mr. Ammon re-hid it.”
“Do you know where he re-hid it?”
“I have my suspicions.”
“Which are?”
Rutherford smiled his big, wide Rutherford smile. “Lately, since Mr. Ammon is…sometimes doglike, he likes to dig in the flower beds at Cupiditas.”
My first reaction was to burst out laughing, but I checked it and simply nodded at Rutherford. “If you could find the stone I think I might be able to get the treasure back into the vault before Ammon realizes it was stolen.”
“Oh wow,” Rutherford said. “That would be amazing. That would make Mr. Ammon very happy.”
“And the Prince of Avarice,” Glo said. “He’d be happy, too.”