They paused long enough for Hatch to clamber into the back of the SUV. He collapsed next to the case of bottled water.
“Thanks,” he gasped.
Luke floored the accelerator.
The explosion occurred a short time later. The towering red rock canyons that enclosed the small valley contained most of the energy but the force of the blast sent shock waves through the desert floor. The road heaved and twisted beneath the wheels of the SUV. Pavement cracked and buckled.
Sophy put an arm around Bruce, who was not strapped in, and held him close. In the cargo bay Hatch yelped as he got tossed around. They all hung on while Luke fought for control of the vehicle.
When things settled down Deke glanced back through the rear window.
“The town of Fool’s Gold will be okay,” he predicted. “The authorities will probably write it off as an earthquake that, in turn, caused a fire. Luckily for all concerned, the art colony was evacuated shortly before the emergency occurred.”
“Nice work coming up with a sanitized version of events,” Luke said. “You might want to consider a job in the marketing division at Wells.”
“No thanks,” Deke said. “I’ve got other plans. I’m going to work for the Shop on Hidden Lane.”
He reached one hand over the seat. Bea smiled, grasped his fingers briefly, and squeezed.
Luke flashed a quick grin. “I can’t wait to hear what Grandma has to say about that.”
Sophy gave Bea a stern look. “Just how long have you and Deke Wells been—” She broke off, aware that she was flushing. She waved one hand. “Never mind. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Good idea,” Bea said. “Because it’s a long story.”
“With a happy ending,” Deke said.
“Even if we almost got killed,” Bea added.
Sophy looked out the rear window. The smoke was growing pale and starting to thin. “Whitley can’t have survived the explosion.”
“No,” Deke agreed. “The lab wasn’t built to withstand those forces. Nothing is.”
“I wonder if the Tuxedo Twins and the fake librarian made it out of the blast zone.”
“I hope not,” Hatch said. He grabbed a bottle of water and opened it. “Like I said, I got played.”
“Talk,” Luke ordered.
Fifty-Six
“The bastards left me behind.”Hatch slumped in the cargo bay, legs stretched out in front of him, and gulped some water. “I always knew my so-called security team couldn’t be trusted. Whitley insisted that I hire them. Never liked him, either, but I thought I could handle him. I guess it was his assistant who made sure the security team got hired. Shit. She was running the whole show all along from behind the scenes. She seemed so sweet. So innocent. So nice.”
Sophy almost felt sorry for him.
“She’s obviously a powerful reflection talent,” Bea said. “The ability is a lot like a talent for hypnosis.”
Hatch slugged down some water and then shook his head. “I never thought I could be conned like that.”
“No one does,” Luke said from the front seat.
He did not sound sympathetic, Sophy thought. He sounded annoyed—with himself.
“How did you get involved in this mess?” he asked.
Hatch groaned. “Whitley—in hindsight I realize it was theassistant manipulating him—made me believe I was fulfilling my lifelong dream.”
“I’m guessing that wasn’t a dream of supporting the arts,” Bea said.
