He went back to the pull-out bed. It felt cold.
He decided to do some serious thinking—refine the plans for the trek to the Shadow Zone—but he fell asleep almost immediately.
—
A series of crisp, insistentknocks woke him shortly after dawn. He pushed aside the covers and grabbed the robe. He picked up the flamer and stuffed it into one of the pockets.
Alice sat up against the pillows, clutching the sheet to her throat even though she was still wearing the pajamas and the robe.
“The door,” she said anxiously.
“I’ll get it,” he said.
He checked the peephole and opened the door. A dapper-looking man dressed in a well-tailored suit, his hair gleaming from a touch of pomade, stood in the hall. He wore a pin with two crossed gold keys in his lapel.
He held out Sebastian with both manicured hands. “Good morning, Mr. March. I’m Ridley, the head concierge. I believe the lucky dust bunny is a guest who is currently staying in this room.”
“Sebastian.”Alice leaped out of bed and rushed across the room, the hem of her robe flying around her legs. She seized Sebastian from the concierge. “Thank you, Mr. Ridley. I was starting to worry.”
Sebastian chortled. His sunglasses were askew on his head. The crystals of his new necklace glittered in his fur.
“No trouble at all,” Mr. Ridley said. “Happy to be of service.”
Owen groaned and went back to the bedside table to retrieve his wallet.
“Where did you find Sebastian?” Alice asked.
“The hotel kitchen,” Mr. Ridley said without inflection. “Specifically, the bakery.”
Owen returned to the door. “How bad was the damage?”
“I was informed that approximately thirty breakfast pastries were consumed,” Mr. Ridley said.
Alice’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. There’s no way Sebastian could have eaten thirty pastries.”
Owen eyed the crumbs in Sebastian’s fur. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
“As it happens, the lucky dust bunny was not alone when he showed up in the kitchen,” the concierge said. “He was accompanied by a number of acquaintances.”
Owen sighed. “Put the pastries on my bill.”
“That has already been done, sir. Will there be anything else?”
“As a matter of fact, there is one more thing.” Owen took a couple of large bills out of his wallet, hesitated, and added one more. “We would like to take advantage of your private tunnel entrance.”
“Of course.” Mr. Ridley made the money disappear. “What time will you be leaving?”
“After breakfast.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alice tucked Sebastian under onearm and stepped off the sled. She followed Owen through the ragged crack in the glowing tunnel wall and waited while he used the code to unlock the vault door.
“About that note from Vinnie the Broker,” he said over his shoulder. “The one that was taped to the dashboard of the sled.”
“What about it?” she asked.
“It said, ‘No Charge.’ ”
