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Corrie looked down. “Well… I was going to tell you…”
“Out with it,” Watts said.
Corrie settled back against her chair. Without looking up, she dug into a jacket pocket, pulled out an official-looking envelope, and handed it to Watts.
He unfolded it, read it—then looked up, with a huge smile. “Looks like Sharp wasn’t the only one to get promoted. Corrie’s mentoring period is officially over and she’s now a GS-11, step 2—a full-fledged special agent.”
There was a moment of surprise, followed by a round of cheers, whistles, and applause that turned every head in therestaurant their way. The flush Nora had seen on Corrie’s face, she realized, was not sunburn at all.
As the noise subsided, Watts leaned over and gave her a congratulatory and rather passionate kiss.
“That’s wonderful news, Corrie,” said Skip. “And thank you for sharing that information with us. It… well, it helps to know. But there’s something you’ve left out.”
“What’s that?” Corrie asked, detaching herself from Watts.
“You’ve explained what Oskarbi, Bromley, and the cult members believed… but what doyoubelieve?”
“Well…,” said Corrie, her voice trailing off.
“That’s kind of a weird question,” Watts said.
Skip turned to Watts. “I know whatIsaw. I want to hear from the others.”
“What you saw,” Watts replied, “were drug-induced hallucinations. Right?”
This was greeted with a disagreeing silence.
“Whoa. Am I missing something?” Watts finally said, looking around, his eyes coming to rest on Corrie.
“What I saw,” Corrie said, “was… quite enough to last me a lifetime.”
“Wait a minute,” Watts said in a low voice. “You don’t actually believe you saw the raising of some fiend from the underworld? Is that in your report?”
There was another long, awkward silence. “What I saw,” said Corrie finally, “sure as hell didnotgo into my report.” She gave the envelope a flourish. “If it had, instead of this, I’d be in the FBI psychiatric unit.”
“As far as that goes,” Skip added, “you all know what I think. But am I going to wander around the Institute telling anyonewho will listen that I was almost sacrificed in some demon-summoning ceremony? I’m not stupid.”
Watts turned to Nora. “And you? You think what you saw was real?”
Nora gave him a long, level gaze before answering. “You heard what Corrie and my brother just said. I’m keeping my mouth shut, too. But we—we three—werethere.”
“It’s like Hamlet told his friend,” Skip said. “‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’”
“That’s right,” Corrie said, looking at Watts. Her voice, which had gone tight for a moment, was once again back to normal. “And just what do you have to say to that—Horatio?”
This was so unexpected they all laughed—even Watts.
“Well, shoot.” Watts took off his hat, turned it one revolution, smoothed down the brim, then replaced it on his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have skipped that Shakespeare assignment in high school.” And he grasped Corrie’s hand with a smile as laughter went around the table, dispelling the dark mood.
That conversation’s over and done with.Nora felt more than a touch of relief, looking around the table. She caught Corrie’s eye, then Skip’s: whatever ended up in the official reports, they had a shared understanding that required no further words.
We—we three—were there.