"We don't have time for a stroll down memory lane," Nina whispered. "Find the blasted book!"
Julia dug in again, wincing with paper cuts as her hands slid down between the pages, until panic began to set in. "It's not in here. I don't believe it. It's not. . ."
"Are you sure?" Lance asked.
"It's not in here!"
"Get down," Lance said, gesturing to the safety of the floor.
She stared down at him, so calm and safe on the ground beneath her, then she considered hurling herself off the ladder. Better to end the humiliation here.
"Just get down," he soothed. "We'll figure something out."
Julia began the long descent. At the base of the ladder, Nina put her arm around Julia's shoulders to comfort her as Lance asked, "What was it in?"
"That box," she cried, pointing again to the top shelf.
"I mean the manuscript, specifically. It wasn't just loose in there, was it?"
"No," Julia said, remembering. "It was in one of those accordion-type files that expands and has a flap that goes over and a piece of cord that wraps around."
"Okay," Lance said. "You and Nina are going to go home now, and I'm going to go into the house and look for that file." "Nuh-uh," Nina said.
"Three of us will be three times faster," Julia suggested.
"Yes, and three times louder," Lance replied. "That triples our chances of getting caught, and we haven't exactly been good at this so far."
"I'm not leaving you," Julia said defiantly.
"Me either," Nina said, sounding offended that she might get cut out of her own master plan.
Lance looked at them, seemingly weighing his options. "Fine. But we're just doing the downstairs. Agreed?"
Nina and Caroline looked at each other. "Agreed," they said in unison.
Lance handed the dog another weenie, and they were heading into the kitchen when Nina stopped and said, "My flashlight! I laid it down to help hold the ladder. I'll be right back."
"No," Lance said. "You two go on. I'll get it."
He disappeared before the walkie-talkie came to life with Caroline's muffled cry: "Abort!"
Julia and Nina froze.
Again, Caroline hissed, "Abort! Abort! Abort!"
Julia looked around for Lance; Nina was running in place, rotating from the waist up like a compass spinning out of control looking for north. All Julia could think of was Lance, finding Lance, getting Lance out of there.
"Closet!" Nina grabbed Julia and squeezed in beside her just as light came streaming through the frosted glass of the pantry door.
"Who's there?" Myrtle yelled. "You! Who are you?"
No! Julia thought but couldn't scream. She saw a solid, six-two form walk in front of the frosted glass.
"Oh, hoo!" Myrtle squealed like a schoolgirl. "This is so exciting! I knew my Johnny wouldn't forget my birthday," she said. "Every year he does this!" she exclaimed with glee. "Every year he gets me a stripper!"
Chapter Twenty Two
WAY #56: Turn up the music and dance.