'I'm done with the desk,' Adam said. He sounded almost remorseful, as if he'd done something wrong. As maybe he had… in his imagination. Liz cut that thought off before her own imagination started supplying details.
'Then check out DuPris's bookshelf,' Liz ordered. 'Look inside the books, too, in case he's hidden something inside one of them.'
Liz returned to the file cabinet, and by the time she was halfway through the third drawer, she had a monster crick in her neck. As she reached deep into the drawer to pull the files and condense them so they opened more easily, her finger grazed something along the side of the drawer. Liz yanked her hand away. 'Ow,' she muttered. She stuck her index finger into her mouth, tasting the coppery flavor of her own blood. Paper cut.
But what had she cut her finger on?
With her other hand Liz reached into the space between the hanging files and the side of the drawer. And found a manila folder that had been inserted into that space sideways.
She pulled it out, her hand shaking with excitement. It could be a folder that had been dropped there accidentally, or it could be something DuPris hadn't wanted to be easily found…
Liz opened the folder. It contained a single photo.
A photo of a middle-aged guy in a military uniform shaking hands with Sheriff Valenti. Both men were smiling at the camera.
With a jolt Liz realized that she recognized the man in the uniform.
It was Mr. Manes.
Alex's father.
Liz's stomach lurched.
This doesn't have to mean anything, she told herself as she stared at the picture. Alex's dad is retired air force, and Valenti was the town sheriff. There could be hundreds of reasons why they were hanging out. It could be some kind of macho-guy barbecue.
But the scene in the picture didn't look like it was taking place at a barbecue. It looked like an office. Valenti's office at the Clean Slate compound, to be exact.
Liz's heart dropped to the floor. It can't be, she thought. But what other explanation is there?
If Alex's father was at the secret compound, he had to be a member of Project Clean Slate, too.
FIVE
Maria tried to open the front door to her house as quietly as humanly possible, but she wasn't doing a great job. The keys seemed to be making an incredibly loud jangling racket as she unlocked the door. It was late-very, very late. She'd still been on the road back from the ranch house with Michael at nine, and that was hours ago.
Not that it really mattered. Her mom was probably out somewhere wearing clothes that were way too tight for someone her age.
Maria stepped into the house and saw her ten-year-old brother, Kevin, standing on the stairs in his pajamas.
'You are in so much trouble,' he whispered, his mouth exaggerating the shape of his words.
'Why?' Maria whispered back. 'Is Mom-'
'Maria, is that you?' her mother called from the living room.
As Maria groaned, Kevin zipped back up the stairs. Little weasel, Maria thought without any real malice. Her little brother was an expert at getting out of the line of fire, a skill she wished she possessed.
Maria turned to see her mother swooping toward her across the foyer, a worried look on her face. She was wearing regular mom clothes-sweatshirt and jeans. Not a good sign.
And right beside her was Sheriff Kasey Dodson. A very bad sign.
For a second Maria thought her heart, trailing her entire circulatory system, was going to leap out of the top of her skull. Sure, she was late, but so late that her mom called the
Or what if Sheriff Dodson was Clean Slate, like Liz and Max suspected? What if she knew who Marias friends were and had come there to interrogate her?
'Where have you
'I was just over at Liz's,' Maria lied quickly.
She couldn't say she'd gone on a road trip with a guy-even Michael. Her mother would freak, and mentioning him in front of the sheriff seemed like a bad idea-just in case she did know who Michael, Max, Isabel, and Adam really were.
'We got sucked into a late movie and lost track of the time. It was some old horror flick about giant ants.' Maria knew that she ranked high on the list of the world's worst liars, but she could fool her mother if it was really necessary. Sheriff Dodson was another story. Maria glanced at the new sheriff to see how she was taking Maria's alibi.
There was a funny, small smile playing on Sheriff Dodson's lips, which could have been skepticism. But it was quickly replaced by a grim frown.
'You should call if you're out later than you expected,' the sheriff advised sternly. 'It's not fair to worry your mother when picking up the phone only takes a minute.'
Maria blinked, turning over the sheriff's words, searching for any hidden meaning. She came up with nothing. The sheriff's statement seemed clean.
'You're so right,' Maria told Sheriff Dodson, then turned to face her mother. 'I'm sorry, Mom. I should have called.'
'Next time, okay?' her mother replied.
'I will.'
Maria's mother let out a long sigh. 'Would everyone like some tea?' she asked. 'I even have some with caffeine that Maria doesn't know about.'
'Mom, you promised to cut out the stimulants,' Maria protested.
'Sounds great, Mimi, but I can't,' Sheriff Dodson interrupted, glancing at Maria. 'If everything's okay here now, I've got to get home to Julie. If she wakes up and finds I'm not there… Well, it wouldn't be good.'
Maria stared at the sheriff in confusion. Her mother's first name was Margaret, and only her close friends called her Mimi. What was going on? Why were her mother and Sheriff Dodson suddenly acting all buddy-buddy? And who was Julie?
'Some other time,' Mrs. DeLuca said. 'And thanks, Kasey, for helping me out tonight.'
'No problem,' Sheriff Dodson said as she headed toward the door. 'You know where to find me if you need anything.'
She walked out. It wasn't until after she closed the door behind her that Maria felt her heart rate begin to slow. Even though the sheriff hadn't said one word that seemed suspicious, Maria still felt like she'd just had a close call.
Mrs. DeLuca put her hand on Maria's shoulder. 'I could still make tea-some of your stuff,' she said. 'I could use a cup myself. Want any?'
'Sure,' Maria said.
She followed her mother into the kitchen and took two teacups out of the cabinet. 'Who's Julie?' Maria asked.
'Kasey's daughter,' Mrs. DeLuca replied. She filled a teakettle with water at the sink. 'That's why she came over this evening. Tonight was my night to host my MWP group, remember? We had a good turnout.'
MWP stood for Mothers Without Partners, a support group Maria's mother had joined after the divorce. So Dodson's being here really had nothing to do with Maria-probably.
Maria took a deep breath. 'That's great!' she said with a way-too-big smile.
'Kasey stayed after the meeting and helped me clean up,' Maria's mother said. She put the kettle on the stove and turned on the burner. 'Then she hung around to keep me company while I waited up for you.'
