The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2)(67)

Emily rolled her eyes at him. “You never turn down anything edible.”

Griffin glanced at Finley with a grin. She smiled back. Sam and Emily’s banter was always good for defusing an awkward moment. He didn’t like it when things were awkward between Finley and himself, but they couldn’t seem to help themselves.

As Kirby cooked, he revealed his surprising family connection to the Renns. No wonder he wanted to clear Jasper’s name. His sister—and the rest of the family—must be beside themselves with worry. If the marshal had revealed this earlier, it would have kept them from doubting him.

In turn, Griffin related what they had discovered from Tesla in regards to the mysterious machine.

“Isn’t that a bit of a coincidence?” Finley asked, speaking for the first time since leaving the cell. She glanced at Griffin, then Emily. “That it just happened to be built by a man you know?”

Emily’s pink lips curved slightly. “I prefer to think of it as my sweet Irish luck, my friend. It might seem odd, but Tesla and Edison are the two minds behind the most amazing inventions in this country. Dalton must have heard of the machine and what it was supposed to do—why else steal it? At least now we know what it does.”

“Mmm,” Griffin agreed as he took a drink of Kirby’s excellent coffee. “But still no closer to knowing what he intends to do with it.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kirby asked. “There’s not a vault or train—anything—that he can’t simply walk right into whenever he pleases.”

“Dalton thinks of himself as special,” Griffin replied. “He doesn’t strike me as the type to simply rob a place because he can. There’s no challenge in that. He wants attention, but he also wants respect. No, he’ll go after high-profile victims— the kinds of robberies that anyone else would be foolish to attempt.”

Finley nodded. “Griff ’s right. Dalton’s vain. He’ll want to cause a fuss, right off the mark.”

“And what better place to do that than in New York City?” Whip flipped the eggs frying on the stove and turned to Griffin. “You’ve been something of a celebrity since your arrival. Do you know of any highfalutin shindigs coming up?”

“Dalton stole plans to the Museum of Science and Invention, but from what I’ve heard, there’s nothing that would be of value to a man like him on display there.”

Whip’s eyes lit up. “Isn’t that where they’re displaying that rare diamond that’s come to town? It’s an odd color or something. That Astor-Prynn gent’s in charge.”

Griffin froze. He had received an invitation to the event, but he hadn’t opened it, because attending would mean spending more time with Lydia. If he had opened it, he would have seen the location. Even though he’d been told about the viewing, he’d never been told where it was.

It was enough to make him want to smack himself in the forehead for being so ruddy stupid.

“Dalton must be planning to steal the diamond,” Finley said. “It’s flashy, plus he’ll have a very upscale audience. It’s the kind of thing that would make him famous.”

“It would at that,” Whip agreed. “And if he’s got a machine that allows him to walk through walls, he can get in right easy.”

“Not just that,” Emily added before Griffin could. “He could reach right into any display or locked box he wanted.”

Anticipation stirred in Griffin’s belly, just as it always did when he was close to capturing a criminal. But it wasn’t just for that. Once Dalton was gone, Finley would come back.

He really wanted her back.

Kirby began setting plates of bacon and eggs and fried potatoes in front of them, and they ate while they discussed Dalton and his plans. Finley told them about the barbaric collar the outlaw made Mei wear and how he used Jasper’s feelings for the girl to manipulate him.

Sam shook his shaggy dark head. “There’s always a girl.”

Emily nudged him hard with her elbow, but the big lad hardly seemed to notice. In truth, he used the fact that her arm was busy to steal a forkful of golden-brown potatoes from her plate.

His joke led Griffin to reveal to Finley what Kirby had told them about the murder Jasper had been accused of committing. What surprised him was that she knew all about it— Jasper had told her.

“Mei and I can’t stand each other,” she admitted, “but I don’t blame her for plugging that fellow full of holes. I’d have done the same myself.” A shadow seemed to pass over her face, and Griffin wondered if she was thinking about what she had done to the son of her last employer when the young man attacked her.

“Me, too,” Emily agreed.

Sam’s scowl returned. “You’d have to do it before I ripped his arms off.”

Griffin winced. It was one thing to hear someone make such an overly exaggerated comment and another to know they could actually do it.

A knock on the door put an end to the conversation, and they all snapped to attention.

Quickly, Kirby gathered up their plates and piled them in the sink. “In the back, all of you.”

“You think it’s Dalton?” Griffin asked, holding the heavy door open for the others.

The marshal met his gaze with his flinty stare. “I’m expecting him.”