PROLOgue Jack stepped through the crack into the night Outside the yard was quiet and thick dark clouds hid the moon from view Squatting beside the door he scooped handfuls of muck from a puddle and plastered it through his white hair Muddy lumps dripped down his scarred face oozing odorously into his eyes nose and mouth making him want to retch A spotlight swept past outlining the barred windows Jack crouched low to the ground and scanned his surroundings The prison yard the cells the watchtower the tall perimeter fence the gatehouse the iron gates the high stone wall tipped with iron spikes all 7
unbreachable In its long illustrious history no prisoner had ever escaped the Ville But he’d conquered worse After fifteen years in maximum security under constant surveillance it had been a mistake for them to transfer him here to Pentonville and a regular cell This past week the screws had barely looked in on him they’d even let him out to exercise They should’ve known better Now because of their stupidity he’d be The World’s Most Infamous Jailbreaker as well as its Greatest Escapologist He crawled toward the fence and pulled himself onto its wire surface scrambled upward vaulted nimbly over the top and dropped down the far side Landing with a squelching thump he raced toward the main gate and exterior walls A drainpipe snaked up the side of the gatehouse Jack brushed his muddy palms against his chest took a deep breath and began to climb Reaching the top he hauled himself over the gutter onto the slippery roof and across a patchwork of tar and tiles the exterior wall looming above him in the dark Mounds of leaves and globules of green moss gathered in the crevices up here creating perfect hiding places for small items someone might wish to stash Jack rummaged in one such crevice and pulled out a tarry tangle of ropes They’d been bartered and 8
bargained for outside the oakum shed over the past seven days and were the makings of a secret escape kit He began fastening them together checking each knot carefully and pulling them tight Long ago he’d taught Fin to do this A good knot can be the difference between life and death he’d told the boy Especially for an escapologist or a hanged man Luckily he’d never yet been threatened with that final rope Thoughts of the old times led Jack to remember his wife and the plan they’d made long ago to hide his greatest treasure the Blood Moon Diamond Artemisia might be gone but soon very soon that big beautiful stone would be his once more And oh what a diamond day that would be Jack checked the last knot and fastened a heavy rock to the rope’s end Then he stood and began whirling it around his head like a lasso feeding out lengths of line until the stone picked up speed When it was finally making a wide circle about his head Jack released his grip The stone flew through the air arcing over the exterior wall For a second the rope wriggled trying to snake free but Jack kept a tight grip on its end and the stone hit the ground on the wall’s far side with a clunk 9
