Ben Dover's Arc

Chapter 24 of 150

Ben pushed the inn door open. Warm air met him. A low room, six tables, a fire in the back. Two men stood between him and the far corner. Big shoulders. Hands loose at their sides. Local muscle, paid to watch the door. The taller one stepped in front of Ben. "Full house. Try the next stop." Ben looked past him. A hooded figure sat at the corner table. The felt-lined chest sat on the bench beside them. Justin, behind Ben with the taped crate, gave a small nod. He could hear the hum. "I only need a word," Ben said. "You need the door," the man said. He set a hand flat on Ben's chest and pushed. Ben went back a step. Anita caught his elbow before he tripped. A young woman rose from a table near the window. Small frame, hair pulled up, a worried pinch between her brows. She had been writing in a notebook. She closed it now and walked over. Ben had never seen her before. "Amber Green," she said to the muscle. "Finder. Three days here." She tipped her chin at the hooded buyer. "That one bought a chest last night. I've been watching." "Move along," the man said. "The herbalist I'm tracking came through this fork," Amber said. She spoke fast, clipped. "Same buyer. Same table. I want a word too." The second man stepped toward her. She did not move. "Two of us now," she said to Ben. Not asking. Telling. Ben understood. He raised his voice so the room could hear. "This buyer is trading in stolen goods. That chest was taken from us at a stone ruin two days ago." Heads turned. The innkeeper looked up from his cloth. "Ask him to open it," Amber said. "Ask him what's inside." The hooded figure stood. The hood turned toward the door at the back of the room. One hand went to the chest handle. "He's running," Amber said. The muscle turned to check. Ben moved. He went past the taller man's shoulder before the man's arm came up. Justin followed with the crate. Anita stayed with Amber at the door. The buyer got two steps toward the back exit. Ben got there first and put his hand on the chest. The buyer pulled. Ben pulled harder. The chest hit the floor between them. The lid snapped open. Three carved boxes sat inside the felt. The hum, thin and clean, lifted into the room. Every head heard it. The innkeeper stepped back from the bar. The muscle stopped where they stood. The hooded buyer let go of the chest and went out the back door alone. Ben closed the lid. He knelt on the boards with his hand flat on the felt. Anita reached him. Justin set the crate down beside the chest. Amber watched from the doorway, notebook open again. "You've got your chest," she said. "I've still got questions."