Mavis grabbed his lapel. “I had a vision, and it made me fall. Quinn’s in trouble. You have to go to her. Go find Quinn.”
“Where is she?” he asked, searching her gaze, wishing he could pull the answers faster from her lips.
“The old library. Look for the book with the black spine and white symbols. Find the book and find Quinn.”
Ian busted into the kitchen with the McDougall doctor by his side, who ushered Collin out of the way.
“Ian, stay with Mavis.”
Collin turned to leave, but Ian caught his arm. “What’s going on?”
“The emerald is a fake, and Quinn is in trouble.”
“Nay.” Ian shook his head. “It bares the mark from the sword fight. I saw it with my own eyes. The one she returned was real.”
“What are you talking about?” Collin lowered his voice and pulled him farther away from Mavis and the others in the room.
“Like the Menzies, the McDougalls have their tales. The emerald was a gift from my clan to yours. The McDougall laird at the time wanted to give the emerald as a wedding present and symbol of peace, but his heir did not. They battled over it. His son died from his wounds. That’s how the curse started. His bride cursed the stone while clutching McDougall’s dying body in her arms. It’s believed she had gypsy blood in her. The emerald was damaged in the scuffle. The emerald Quinn brought you was real, Collin. I saw the mark. Now where’s Quinn?”
His heart hammered against his ribs. “She’s gone to find a killer. Stay here with Mavis and then send everyone home.”
“Aye, go.”
Collin rushed out of the kitchen and right into Ramsey. “Whoa, where are you going?”
“Quinn’s in trouble.”
“I should say so.” His eyebrows dipped and his mouth turned down.
“She was going to the library. Never mind. Help Ian send everyone home.” Collin didn’t waste time explaining how Quinn could be in trouble in a library of all places. Hell, he didn’t even know. He just knew he needed to get to her. Collin swallowed around the lump in his throat as he ran toward the east wing where all of the old books were kept. No wonder she said she’d planned to spend her day in the library. She was looking for something, and if his gut told him anything, he’d say she’d found whatever it was she was looking for.
Collin burst into the old library, expecting to find her, and God knows who else, but the room was empty. No sign she’d even been in the room. Had Mavis been wrong? Was she somewhere else? He hesitated to leave when he spotted the odd spine with symbols, not words, that Mavis had mentioned. If whatever she was looking for was in that book, there was no way he was leaving it behind.
He stomped to the bookshelf and pulled. He had heard a click before the book sprang back into place. The shelfpushed in, revealing a secret passageway that he hadn’t even known was there. Collin stepped inside the dark corridor.
“Quinn,” he yelled.
“In here.” He heard her voice, and his heart skipped a beat as he stepped closer toward the sound.
A light was bouncing off the walls as she neared. “Don’t let the door shut.”
She said it a minute too late. Collin turned toward the click.
“Perfect.” She sighed and shined the flashlight to a keyhole. “I don’t suppose you brought a key?”
“Nay. What are you doing in here?”
“Following the clues. I found something interesting. You might want to come take a look.”
She turned to leave, and Collin pulled her into his arms. “Wait. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“The emerald was stolen,” she answered for him. “I know, but how did you know?”
“What do you mean you know?” he asked, releasing her arm.
“Because I found it…again.” She grabbed Collin’s hand and shined the light down the tunnel. Steel beams were secured into the rock leading him to believe they were for support from a possible cave-in. Every few feet more beams had been constructed, spaced to withstand the weight. He’d rounded a curve, and he could see the opening up ahead and the night sky outside. He was greeted by the sound of crashing waves in the distance, and his tense body slowly started to relax.
She bent down by the cave entrance and pulled back the red tartan. Beneath it was the emerald, along with several other Menzie heirloom pieces. “I found all these. Someone is stealing from you, Collin, and they’re using this cave to smuggle things out.”
