Chapter 17

Alex and Dawes meet Turner outside the Peabody to pursue leads on finding killers for the Gauntlet. After brief updates on aging poisons and suspects, they slip past security using Dawes’s camera-jamming tea and descend into the basement, where Dawes reveals a secret archive room hidden behind shelves of old pond-water jars.

Inside lies a massive amethyst model of New Haven. Dawes tailors and performs a Latin incantation to reveal perpetrators of a specified crime—homicide—and sprays the model with a preservative mist. The city miniature animates and red stains bloom where killers are present, including a cluster where Alex, Dawes, and Turner stand, and a distinct mark at Skull and Bones.

Turner realizes the artifact was historically used to track runaway slaves, condemns its oppressive origins, and orders they finish quickly, promising to return with a sledgehammer. An exit triggers the museum alarm, and they flee to Turner’s car, heading for Skull and Bones to intercept whoever the map flagged.

At the tomb, Alex hammers on the door until Tripp Helmuth, a recent Bones alumnus who never completed his degree, sheepishly answers. Inside, Alex confirms he’s alone and notes his scavenged food. They bring Tripp to the car, where Turner intimidates him while Alex probes his situation: he kept his key, has been trespassing for food, and is working low-level marketing to save money.

Alex and Turner give Tripp a choice: face disciplinary trouble for trespass and theft or help them with a difficult job related to the Gauntlet. Tempted by the promise of cash and reassurance, Tripp agrees, and Alex secures him as a potential murderer to walk the Gauntlet.