Chapter 103

Each of the carved knights with the church lay on his back with his head resting on a rectangular stone pillow. McEwan felt a chill. The poem's reference to an "orb" conjured images of the night in her grandfather's basement. Forcing the image from her mind, she advanced with Jimmy and Rodriguez toward the first group of knights. Despite Rodriguez's insistence that their investigation should be conducted cautiously, McEwan felt eager and pushed ahead of them, making a cursory Walk-through of the five knights on the left.

Examining these first tombs, McEwan noted the similarities and differences between them. Every knight was on his back, but three of the knights had their legs extended straight out while two had their legs crossed. The strangeness seemed to have no importance to the missing orb. Examining their clothing, she noted that the two knights wore tunics over their armor, while the other three wore ankle-length robes. Again, utterly helpful. McEwan turned her attention to th