“The people we spoke with said the same thing,” Crow said with a nod when Penelope explained how her investigation had gone so far. He was glad to hear that it didn’t seem like she had gotten any conflicting stories. Now, if she and Gavin communed to go over their findings together, they would both be on the same page, and they would all be forced to accept the fact that their tip in Wheldrake had been just another dead end. Jaxon’s thieves would remain safe and undiscovered in their real camp to the west.

However, in the next moment, he felt a rush of panic as Penelope lowered her voice and said that the villagers she had talked to had been acting strangely. Forcing himself to keep a calm expression, he crossed his arms with mock thoughtfulness. “I noticed that too,” he confirmed in a quiet tone, deciding it was safer to play along rather than try to convince her that she had just imagined the peasants’ reactions. After pausing for a moment, he went on, “I’m starting to think that something happened here, but I’m not sure what. Maybe some of Jaxon’s men robbed them, so now they’re not as trusting of strangers?”

“You’re back,” Rikki bounced up with a grin as she suddenly took notice of the thief’s arrival. “What did your group figure out?”

“Pretty much the same thing that yours did, from the sound of it,” Crow shook his head.

“Well, hopefully we can turn that around soon,” she winked at him slyly. “It won’t be much longer before the people in this tavern loosen up enough to tell us more, and then we’ll have our revenge on that rat bastard.”

“I hope so,” Crow agreed, forcing a smile in spite of the growing seed of anxiety in his chest. He looked over the other people in the room—Alistair and Olivia had been quick to find each other and order some drinks, he noticed—before turning back to the Penelope and Rikki again, “We’ve still got some time left before they get drunk enough to tell us anything worthwhile. Why don’t we find a table and order some drinks for ourselves while we wait?”

“Sounds like fun,” Rikki beamed at him, clearly eager to jump at the chance to drink with him after he had avoided being around her for so long.

Crow met Penelope’s gaze with a shrug, “What do you say, love? There isn’t much else for us to do at the moment.” [i]And I need more time to figure my way out of this mess,[/i] he added silently to himself as he waited for her reply.