Page 18 of Rowe

The service elevator reached the ground floor behind the kitchen. Its doors opened onto a corridor lined with rolling racks of sheets. Heat breathed through the loading-bay entrance at the far end.

Behind the closed doors, Rowe pushed Mara out. The change in temperature struck her before they reached the door. Sweat formed beneath the surgical cap. Her fingers tightened on the blanket.

“Head to the cottage,” said Rowe to Beaux and Tucker.

“The cottage?” she asked. “What cottage?”

“The cottage,” Rowe said. “I’ll explain later.”

“They’ll look there.”

“Not before they look here. And believe me, they’ll never get to the cottage. They won’t even know how to get to the cottage.” Tucker went through the rear exit.

“Clear.”

Beaux took the handles of the wheelchair while Rowe opened the back door of a mud-colored utility van they’d purchased for just such covert escapes. The rear seats had been folded down. Blankets covered the floor. A medical bag waited beside two jugs of water.

Mara looked into the van.

“Subtle.”

“It belongs to the convent,” Beaux said. She seemed startled by that statement and then looked at Beaux again.

“That does not make it subtle,” said Mara.

“Sister Agnes says criminals don’t notice charity vehicles.” Tucker opened the passenger door.

“Sister Agnes also says turn signals reveal indecision.” Rowe slid one arm behind Mara’s shoulders and one beneath her knees.

“This will hurt.” She groaned and nodded at him.

“Everything hurts.”

He lifted her. She buried one sharp breath against his shoulder and did not cry out.

Inside the hospital, across from Miss Odette, the tall man put his dark glasses on the counter rather than his face. The gesture was neat, deliberate, and meant to suggest that he had decided to stay.

“You boys know who we work for?” Patrick bit into the doughnut and considered the question.

“The undertaker?” Christopher shook his head.

“Undertakers prefer breathable fabric. Even they know black in this heat leads to more business for them.”

“Regional theater?” Sonny offered.

“Too restrained,” Kai said. Jethro looked at the pale man.

“Pest control.” The pale man’s expression finally changed.

“You think this is funny.”

“Not yet,” Jethro said. “But Patrick has another sack.” The tall man pushed the glasses an inch across the counter.

“Our employer owns half the river traffic south of here. He has judges who answer his calls, deputies who return favors, and men who can close every business in this town before breakfast.” Patrick licked sugar from his thumb.

“Breakfast tomorrow, or are we working with a flexible deadline?” This banter was something they could do all day long. They wanted these men alive and returning to their boss to report exactly what had occurred.

“You should be careful.”