her that Mr. Mickelson’s clock was the one Hannah had stepped out of, her portal back in time, so to speak. Hope that isn’t her only way back.
She returned to the counter and leaned over it, resting her head in her hands. She still had a couple hours before her half day of work was over. She picked up her phone, scrolled through her address book and tapped Detective Bohannon’s name.
He picked up on the first ring. “Mara Lantern. I was planning to check in on you and Mr. Ping this week to see how you are.”
“To be honest with you, I’m surprised we haven’t heard from you before now,” Mara said.
“My sources told me the two of you appeared unharmed after last week’s festivities, so I thought I would leave you alone for a while, considering.”
“Considering what?”
“Whatever it was that happened late Tuesday night. I get the feeling something squirrelly went down. I mean, there were dozens of those shedding victims within a block or two of that little shop where you work, before they all fainted and had a remarkable recovery. And the ones who didn’t get there were headed in that direction. I assume you dispatched Mr. Prado somehow?”
“I wish it were that simple. Let’s just say, it appears I’ve traded one set of challenges for another. At least that’s how it seems at the moment.”
“We got some pretty strange reports from your vicinity that night.”
“I don’t doubt it. Look, are you back on the job this week, now that Denton Proctor healed your leg?” she asked.
“I too wish it were that simple. You’re not the only one who has traded one set of challenges for another.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since I was already scheduled to be off for the next couple weeks, my lieutenant wants to keep me off the books, so I can continue looking into things, you know, unofficially.”
“You mean, checking up on some of the passengers from Flight 559.”
“Yeah, just in case there’s another Prado out there somewhere. Not that there’s much we can do about it, if we find one.”
“What if I go with you?” There was a momentary pause. For a second Mara thought she’d lost the connection. “Detective? Bo?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Why the sudden change in tune? Up until now I’ve had to talk you into helping out, or Mr. Ping has.”
“Let’s just say, I’ve come to a realization that, if I don’t meet these issues head-on, they are just going to keep showing up at my doorstep, one way or the other. If you don’t feel comfortable taking me along, I will understand. I’m still a minor, and you might not want to be responsible for whatever happens. Regardless I’m going to be checking up on the passengers myself. I just thought it would be more efficient, maybe even safer, if we worked together.”
“Just so we are on the same page, we would not actually be ‘working’ in the sense that I work as a cop. The point is to have a few conversations with people, just visit, look around. That’s all I’m doing, like when we went to see the Proctors.”
“That works for me. I’m free in the afternoons until New Year’s, and I can even get away in the mornings, if necessary,” Mara said. “When do we start?”
“I was going to spend this afternoon reading through reports from last week and over Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe that will give us a place to begin. If not, we’ll just go through the list of passengers we haven’t talked to yet. How about I pick you up at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon at the shop?”
“Perfect. See you then.”
* * *
Though the large panes of glass making up the storefront of Ping’s Bakery had been replaced, a large sign was taped to the front door, indicating that the business would not reopen until Thursday. Mara pushed on the front door, but it was locked. Since tape was still along the edges of the glass in the door, she decided to jog around to the back of the building and knock on that door instead. When she got to the back alley, she found the metal door ajar and knocked on it. Ping, dressed in bakery white, pushed open the door and waved her in.
“I just finished making our sandwiches. Have a seat.” He pointed to a small table in the corner of the kitchen across from his office. Two paper plates waited with hoagies stuffed with ham and cheese.