“I quite doubt it,” the master builder said, and his accomplice laughed again. “No bullets though,” Gilbert warned. “This can’t have the look of anything but an accident. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
The two men were still directly next to the rope coil behind which she and Finn hid, and Rose wished herself anywhere except there.
In another moment, their footsteps had moved on. Unnecessarily, Finn put his finger to his lips to keep her from speaking, which she knew better than to do. Then he raised his head until he could see beyond the thick rope.
When he lowered himself again, he put his lips to her ear. “They are heading to the north entrance, about two hundred yards away. Not far enough yet.”
She closed her eyes. She most certainly didn’t want her head taken off.
“In another minute,” he continued, his breath hot against the shell of her ear, “we’re going to go quietly back the way we came.”
Rose opened her eyes and looked at him, shaking her head. She made a gun out of her right hand and pointed at it with her left.
He leaned into her again. “You heard what they said. No guns.” Then he paused and rested his forehead against hers for a second. “On the other hand, if it seems we’re escaping, I suppose they’d have to shoot us and try weighting our bodies down in the harbor.”
Rose shivered. Decapitation or death by drowning. She wanted to live. And to cook.
Finn eyed her thoughtfully.
“There are only two doors to the Ropewalk,” he said, “and a quarter mile between them. We’re already halfway there.” He stood up and offered her his hand. “Come on, love. Let’s get out of here.”
They took off at a quick pace, despite his limp, moving as quietly as they could, though it was impossible to avoid the reverberation of their footsteps through the vast, silent building.
In fact, she was certain she heard the men chasing after them.
In a minute, they’d reached the south door and slipped outside. Finn took the time to close it and to lodge a piece of timber across the handle and through the latch, hopefully providing them enough time.
With luck on their side and Finn’s knowledge of the yard, they made their way quickly toward the main gate. They passed the timber shed and were running across an open stretch of grass toward Second Avenue when Rose thought she heard the Ropewalk door forced open.
Distracted, she stumbled momentarily but had righted herself with Finn’s hand on her arm when to her amazement, her brother appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He was flanked by policemen with their guns drawn.
