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F rank’s favors turned out to be him asking everyone in his fly-fishing group of forty-three to show up at meditation at the same time and to stay for at least thirty minutes. I wasn’t entirely sure that was going to work, but I really, really wanted it to.

We ate our breakfast, turned in our trays, and headed for his quarters to wait until it was all clear.

I kept my words vague, since we were standing outside his door and still in a public area. “How are you going to know that it’s all right for us to go in?”

“I’ll show you.” He pressed his palm to the print lock, and the door opened. He gestured for me to go ahead of him.

Once we were both in, he picked up his tablet from the coffee table. Gracie was on her perch, wearing her vest. I smiled at that. I really needed to get Harry’s new sweater done so I could make her a second one.

“Here we go,” Frank said. “Have a look at this.”

A monochrome camera feed filled the screen. For a second, I couldn’t make out what I was looking at. Then it dawned on me. “Is that the door of the Nova Luna suite?”

He looked pleased with himself. “It is.”

“How are you getting this?”

“It’s from a camera I installed last night.”

“Frank Kitson. You clever boy.”

He laughed. “I figured we’d want to keep tabs on them, so…”

“Well done. So now what? We sit here and wait?”

He nodded. “Yes. Although I’d suggest we sit and wait at The Corona Café. It’s a lot closer to the suite, so once we know they’re out, we can be there pretty quickly.”

“Also smart. Although I don’t think I could eat another thing.”

“Not even a petit four and a cup of tea?”

He definitely knew my weaknesses. “I guess I could manage that much. It’s for a good cause, after all. Do you have everything you need?”

He patted the pocket of his flannel shirt. “I do.”

“Then let’s go.”

The café only had two occupied tables when we went in. We ordered a pot of Earl Grey and four petit fours, assorted. That ended up being one vanilla, one lemon, one pistachio, and one chocolate.

Frank, who seemed to sometimes understand me better than I understood myself, used a knife to slice each little cake in half so we, mostly me, could taste each flavor.

We picked a booth near the back and sat together on one side. The tea was good, the petit fours delicious, but the waiting wasn’t fun, mostly because I was a little anxious about the whole thing. Frank paid the bill right away so that we could leave when we needed to.

I was so ready to find Zanya, Sten, and the others and get them out of there. It was hard not to watch the feed on the tablet, even though nothing was happening, except occasionally someone walked by.

Frank had the tablet propped up by its cover and turned so that only we could see it. I popped half of the pistachio petit four into my mouth and chewed. It was really good. Why didn’t I eat more pistachio things?

Someone in a robe approached the suite door, hood pulled up to cover their head.

“Frank,” I mumbled around cake crumbs.

“I see them,” he said.

We both watched as the figure went into the suite, turning at the last moment as if looking to see if anyone was behind them. It was Nostromo. The door closed.

We stayed glued to the screen. I ate half of the chocolate petit four while we watched and took a sip of tea.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Nostromo came out, followed by Jhanna.

Frank glanced at me. “Can you find out from whoever’s on duty at the library if Mhari and Luhora are there? If so, we’ll know the suite is empty.”

I’d already started typing. “Miriam’s there today.” I sent her the question. She got back to me quickly.

Both are here.

“The sisters are there. Let’s go.”

Frank slid out of the booth. I was right behind him. We made our way to the Nova Luna suite. There were a few people around, but I didn’t care.

He opened the keypad, got his emergency key out, slipped the little green rectangle into the slot, and with a soft hiss of air, the door opened.

We walked in and went through a small foyer, which opened up to a spacious living area with three large windows that looked out to space. On either side of the room were two sets of doors—the bedrooms, I assumed.

I’d only been in one other suite, the Cassiopeia. The Nova Luna was nothing like that one. Done in deep blues, gold, and cream, it had a definite galaxy vibe. I liked it a lot. “This is nice,” I whispered.

Frank nodded. “Very high end. You take the left. I’ll take the right. Let’s find them and get out of here. We only have so much time.”

“Right.” I headed for the first door. The bedroom beyond was as luxuriously decorated as the living area and had an attached bathroom. Neither of which had anyone in them. I left, closing the door behind me, and went through the next door. Same setup, also empty.

I walked back into the living area as Frank was leaving one of the other bedrooms. “Anything?”

He shook his head. “You neither, I take it.” His gruff sigh spoke volumes. “You know what that means? Their wristbands must be here somewhere.”

I looked around. “Should we try to find them?”

“Better we don’t, I think. That way we don’t tip our hand any more than we might have already.”

“Okay.” I was so disappointed I could feel it in my bones. “Where are they, then, if they’re not here?”

“I have no idea, but we need to figure this out.” He started for the door, and I joined him. “If your daughter gives me the names of the other missing, I can track their wristbands, too. Or she can have one of her people do it.”

I tapped the button to open the door, and we slipped out.

“At this point, with the nanoids gone,” he continued, “there’s no reason for her to distrust any of her people.”

“Elevator?” I asked.

“Yes. Let’s go back to my place.”

“Okay.” We went in that direction.

“I hope there’s no reason for her to distrust anyone.” I frowned. “We have to find Zanya and the others. If they’ve had their wristbands taken?—”

“I hate to play devil’s advocate, but they may have given up their wristbands voluntarily while they were still under the influence.”

“Maybe. And that is possible, depending on how deeply brainwashed they were. But it’s also possible that they’re being held against their wills. Something they’ve probably realized by now.”

“I agree with that assessment. Do you want to call your daughter, or should I?”

“I’ll do it.” As we arrived at the elevators, I sent Hazel a note about the names. I hit Send and glanced at Frank. “I didn’t tell her what we found. Or rather didn’t find. Should I?”

“Yes. She needs to know what’s going on.”

A car arrived. We got on, giving a nod to the other passengers.

“Okay.” I was about to send her that info when I received a reply from her. I read it and filled Frank in, no longer caring what anyone overheard. This was important. “She’s sending us both the names, but she’s going to have Gibson track them.”

Frank pushed the button for his deck and gave a short nod. “Good. But I already know what that’s going to turn up. They’ll ping to the suite, just like the other two did.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” The others on the elevator were giving us curious looks, but I didn’t want to stop having this conversation. I ignored them. “Where do you think they could be?”

He shook his head, his gaze straight on. “I wish I knew.”

I let it drop until we were back at his place and could talk more freely. “How are we going to find them?”

“Your daughter’s hands might be tied when it comes to doing anything official about the Ohuli, but mine are not. I’m not going to sit by while something happens to these people.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning it’s time to have a chat with one of them. And I think the best one to start with is Nostromo.”