Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

was seeing. Forcing himself to move with deliberation, Beckett
straightened, and went over to his bookshelf. Extracting the J. Ward
book, he returned to his desk and, still moving with deliberate calm,
took out his magnifying glass. Still standing, he leaned closer, studying
the artifacts closely, comparing their designs to the hand-tinted
illustrations in Captain Ward’s book.
A pectoral, an armband, an amulet, a ring, and a pair of earrings
lay softly gleaming on the dirty cloth. All were made of gold, and all
bore bright enamelwork. The earrings were the size of gold
sovereigns, and in addition to their enameled borders, each bore a
small design picked out in green stones. Some kind of leaping
creature, possibly a gazelle, Beckett thought, leaning in to peer
through the magnifying glass.
“Emeralds, or I miss my guess, sir,” Mercer said, quietly.
“They certainly seem to be,” Beckett replied, abstractedly. Slowly
he turned over the objects, one by one, studying each minutely. The
pectoral he compared closely with one of the hand-tinted designs in
the book. After a moment, he realized he’d been holding his breath,
and let it out slowly. That’s a royal pectoral! He exerted control,
reminding himself to appear calm, but despite his efforts, when he
finally spoke, his voice held an undercurrent of excitement that made
Mercer glance at him sharply. “Mr. Mercer, ask him where he got them,
if you please.”
Mercer obeyed. The man went into a long speech, punctuated by
many gestures. Finally, he ran down.
Mercer shook his head. “Near as I can tell, Mr. Beckett, he says
he’s had this bigger piece for a while.” The operative pointed to the
one Beckett had identified as a royal pectoral. “He won it about six
months ago from a slaver named Duke Wren-John in a dice game.
Wren-John said nothing about it where it came from.”
“And the others?
“He’s claiming that he bought these other items from the same
man just a few months ago. Before the rainy season.” The operative
paused, then asked a question of the Portuguese man. Another,
shorter, interchange followed. “He’s repeating that the man’s name is
Duke Wren-John, but that this time Wren-John talked about the pieces,