fumbling with her purse. Chogyi Jake took the key from her, smiled, and went out the back door toward what would soon be our holding cell. I signed a few papers, shook the Realtor's hand, accepted the bottle of cheap celebratory champagne she'd brought, and ushered her out.
I'd spent two days sleeping, eating, talking to Karen and Aubrey, Ex and Chogyi Jake, and then sleeping some more while my lawyer cut through the red tape, waived the inspections, and sent me the papers I needed to sign. I had inherited dozens of properties around the world, but this was the first one I'd bought myself. It was mine, free and clear.
Ex stood at the front window, watching the Realtor's car wind down the drive, past a stand of trees to the road. His white-blond hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail, his face had the focused, almost angry look that seemed most comfortable on him. I hadn't brought up his drunken visit to my room, and neither had he.
"Well," he said. "I guess we'd better get to work. Aubrey, can you help me haul that box?"
"Sure thing," Aubrey said from the kitchen.
"I need to put this in the fridge," I said, hefting the champagne.
"No fridge," Aubrey said as he walked past.
"What?"
"No fridge," he said over his shoulder. "Range. Oven. Sink. No refrigerator, no freezer."
"Well, little tomato," I said to the small black bottle, "I guess we'll have to drink you warm. That sucks."
Karen Black walked down the narrow stairway from the second floor, the stairs creaking with each step.
"It's not great in a firefight," she said. "Too many windows. And there's no back way off the property except by foot."
"If it gets to a firefight, we'll already have screwed the pooch," I said. "The whole idea is to not get seen."
She nodded, giving me the point. Chogyi Jake came in the back as Aubrey and Ex, black wooden chest between them, came in the front. The chest had arrived at the hotel that morning. Ex and Aubrey put it down, and Aubrey stretched his back with a grunt.
"We're going to need to get some things," Chogyi Jake said. "Fresh salt. Charcoal and oak for ashes. Local honey."
I nodded.
"Can you pick up a couch and refrigerator while you're at it?" Aubrey asked.
"And groceries," Ex said. "Lots of them."
"DVD player and TV," I said. "I don't guess the place has Internet access?"
"The order's in," Aubrey said. "It probably won't be up for a week, though. No phone service either."
"And again with the suck," I said.
We had all spent time in hiding before. The long days besieged in a warded house had taught all of us what we needed. Karen caught the mood. She was wearing dark silk slacks and a pale yellow blouse, but she shoved her hands in her pockets like they were blue jeans.
"I don't think we'll need to stay underground too long," she said. "A week. Ten days at the most. Once the rider's lost its victim, it should be more vulnerable. All this is more for Sabine than for us."
"I don't know," I said. "It seemed pretty butch when it came after me."
"We can take it," Karen said. I bristled a little at her dismissive tone, but I let it pass. She knew what we were up against better than I did.
"Okay," I said. "What's the next step."
Karen leaned against the wall, her hands still in her pockets and twitching restlessly. The rest of us gathered. Aubrey sat on the chest, Chogyi Jake on the floor beside him. Ex stood by the front window, his posture unconsciously mirroring Karen's. I put down the champagne.
"We have to find the girl," Karen said. "The rider knows we're here, and it knows its own vulnerabilities. It's kept Sabine well hidden."
"You got to the little sister through her school," Ex said. "What about trying that with Sabine?"
"She doesn't go to school," Karen said. "Dropped out three years ago. After the hurricane, it was easy to fall between the cracks. As far as the system knows, she might be one of the people that evacuated and never came back. Or she might have died. There were thousands of people reported missing after the storm. No one knows how many were unreported. If the bodies got washed out to sea..." She shrugged.
"But someone must be checking up," Aubrey said, though his voice didn't have the weight of conviction. Ex coughed.