Page 109 of The Shop on Hidden Lane

“Never mind.”

“Looking back, it was our conversation about my relationship with Victoria that helped me make the decision.”

“Glad to be of assistance. We librarians are here to serve.”

Sixty

Sophy awoke to the soundof a few short, soft raps on the hotel room door. Bruce leaped off the bed and rushed to greet whoever stood on the other side.

“I’ll get it,” Luke said. He rolled out of bed and grabbed a robe.

“You ordered room service,” she mumbled into the pillow. “Brilliant.”

“Unfortunately I wasn’t thinking that far ahead last night.”

He unlocked the door and opened it a few inches, careful to shield their early-morning visitor from the view of the bed.

“This had better be important, Deke,” he said.

“Thought you’d like to know the Foundation people took the helicopter up at dawn. I got a call a few minutes ago. They picked up the twins and Victoria Ellsworth. They are all on the way to Foundation headquarters as we speak.”

Sophy sat up in bed, holding the sheets to her breasts. “What’s going to happen to them?”

“Probably not much,” Deke called from the other side of the door. “The three people who committed murder—Orston, the guyhe killed in Mirror Lake, and Vincent Grant—are dead. So is Whitley, the man who put the weapons in their hands. As for the others, the Foundation and the Agency are obsessed with burying the truth about the Bluestone Project, so there probably won’t be any official charges. The real threat to all of them is that they know the Foundation will be tracking them closely from now on.”

“What about Hatch?” Luke asked.

Deke snorted. “Arganbright couldn’t wait to offer him his own lab at Foundation headquarters in Vegas. But he will be wearing an ankle monitor.”

“I’m surprised by how quickly the Foundation agents picked up the fake librarian and the Tuxedo Twins,” Sophy said.

“That was the easy part,” Deke said. “Ellsworth and the twins waved down the helo.”

“They were on the run,” Sophy said. “Why would they do that?”

“Their vehicle broke down in the middle of nowhere and they didn’t have any water,” Deke said. “They figured out fast that they wouldn’t survive for long.”

“This is the desert,” Luke said.

“I’m getting tired of hearing that,” she grumbled.

“He’s right,” Deke said. “Out here water is more valuable than gold.”

“Whatever,” she said. “So I guess the only one who won’t get closure is poor Mack Rivington. He’ll never know for sure that he was right about the murder in Mirror Lake.”

“He won’t get to make an arrest,” Deke said, “But the Foundation is sending agents to Elk Cove to take possession of the body and the case. Your friend Rivington will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that the Feds were concerned enough to take over the investigation. He’ll be told it’s a matter of national security and that will be that.”

Bruce whined, evidently bored with the conversation.

“I’m up and dressed,” Deke said. “Want me to take him for a morning walk?”

“Thanks,” Luke said. He picked up the bag of dog food and handed it to Deke. “After the walk, do me a favor and feed him. Keep him busy until I call you.”

“No problem.”

Luke tossed the coiled leash to Deke. “You won’t need this unless one of the hotel staff sees you and gets upset.”

“Right. Ready to go, Bruce?” Deke said.