Page 219 of Cross & Crown

to this home.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. It was obvious that

giving her lecture was helping to calm her a little. Nick’s mind was whirring, trying to fit the puzzle together as she gave

them more pieces.

“Jason Russell was an old man, and he arrived at his home

just as the minutemen were retreating. He was gunned down

just outside his door and then stabbed by bayonets eleven

times. The British soldiers massacred everyone else in the

house, save for eight minutemen who were able to barricade

219

themselves in the basement. When Jason Russell’s widow

returned to her home, she found her husband and the rest

of the dead, numbering twelve men total, laid out in rows

in the kitchen. She is said to have claimed the blood on the

kitchen floor rose to her ankles. Jason Russell and the dead

Continental soldiers were buried in a mass grave, no coffins

and no services. It took over seventy years for a monument to

be erected over the grave.”

She fell silent, swallowing repeatedly, blinking rapidly as

she fought off tears.

“That’s it?” the Irishman on the ground asked.

“That is . . . it. Yes. There is no treasure.”

“What about the basement?” Alex suggested.

“We’re looking for redcoat treasure; the basement was

barricaded by minutemen,” JD countered.

Nick slowly lowered his gun, his eyes unfocusing.

“Nick?” Kelly whispered.

Nick didn’t answer.

“Irish?”

Nick winced and lowered his head. “Fuck,” he whispered.