Relief washed over Oscar. “That makes sense. Even so, I think we’ll sleep out on the porch, maybe with some Faraday cloth set up around us and attached to something to ground it.”
“There’s a small tent in storage, including stakes,” Ethan said. “If we set up the tent out of the wind, you can drape the cloth over it and pin it to the ground with the stakes.”
“Great idea. Thanks.”
“I’ll unpack the tent and bring it out, then.”
“Once the tent is up, we should all get some sleep,” Lawson declared. “Though we might take shifts, just in case I’m wrong about Gloria. After her display, she hopefully won’t have the strength to try anything, but better safe than sorry.”
“I’ll send Tina in once we have the tent up,” Oscar said. Meeting Montague’s eyes, he added, “We’ll do everything we can for Robin tonight, I promise.”
Her eyes were like steel when they met his. “See that you do, Mr. Fox. See that you do.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
The sun remained hidden as it rose behind a gray line of clouds. Nigel sat in one of the folding chairs on the sand, his hair blowing in the wind that now came steadily from the east, heralding the approaching storm. The waves broke against the shore with a hungry roar, as if they wanted to devour the island and everything on it.
His face hurt despite the Tylenol from the first aid kit, which had also contained some wound closure strips, and exhaustion dragged at every limb. He needed to sleep, to recuperate, but there was no way he was closing his eyes until the sun was farther up. Though how much help it would be given the weather, he didn’t know. According to Andy, Gloria had first appeared on a rainy day.
“The tent is set up,” Oscar said, coming from the direction of the house. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Nigel lied. He didn’t want Oscar to feel bad about cutting him, doubly so since it had been in the course of saving his life.
Oscar took the other chair. “We grabbed as much stuff as we could from the house, including the laptops.”
That got Nigel to sit up straighter. “You went back into the house?”
“Chris was with me. And if Lawson’s right, and the PolterPal’s body protected Gloria, our usual precautions would work on her if she’d attacked us.”
“I’m hearing a lot of ‘if’s’ there.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you beforehand.”
Nigel scowled at him, but before he could say anything, Tina joined them, Chris trailing after her.
“I’m going to the trailer to sleep,” she said. “You wanted to talk to me, Oscar?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back in his chair, causing it to creak softly. “We know Ethan took something from the desk in the storage room. When it’s your turn at watch, while everyone else is asleep, do you think you could search the trailer for his briefcase?”
Her eyes widened. “Could I? Hell, yes! I always wanted to be a spy.”
“I’m not sure this counts as spying so much as stealing,” Chris said.
“Let me have my dreams, Chris.” Turning back to Oscar, she said, “It’ll be tricky with Ethan asleep in the same room, but I’ll just have to be sneaky. I’ll bring it to the tent once I have it.”
“Please be careful.” Nigel wasn’t entirely sure this was a good idea. “If Ethan took it at Montague’s orders, we’ll be stealing from our employer.”
“Borrowing,” Tina corrected. “Wish me luck.”
She took the laptops with her to plug in at the trailer, and the rest of them bunked down inside the tent, which was now draped with Faraday cloth. The tent was spacious enough for four people, provided they didn’t mind close quarters, though with their backpacks and Chris’s shoulder cam, the three of them ended up crowded together anyway.
Oscar volunteered for first watch, and Nigel was too tired to argue. He expected to toss and turn, his mind replaying the trauma of being smothered by the comforter, but the needs of his body overrode everything else and he dropped off almost as soon as he stretched out.
It seemed as though he’d just fallen asleep when Chris shook him awake. He sat up blinking, and found Tina had rejoined them, the briefcase in her hand.
“I volunteered for second watch,” she said, glancing back at the trailer. “The bench seating lifts up for extra storage—he’d put it in there. It feels like there’s more than one thing inside.”
