George reached forward for another piece of pizza and said, “It’s seeming more and more like Beverly. Don’t you think, Nancy?”

“Hmm,” I said. “I don’t know. She sounded really upset about the missing people when I overheard her in the hallway. I still have so many questions.”

“Like what?” asked George.

“Like, if this is Beverly,” I said, “how is she getting the images of the missing people into those photographs? Wouldn’t she need the combination to open up the picture frames? And if she did kidnap Grace and Jacob, then where is she hiding them now? No one we spoke to today saw either of them leave the museum. And what is the end goal here? Is it all just to make sure no one has another DeSantos exhibit again?”

The three of just looked at one another. None of us had the answers.

“So what do we do next?” asked Bess, breaking the silence.

“Riley said she would e-mail us more information about Christopher DeSantos and his work partner, Terry Lawrence,” I said. “I feel like there’s something I’m missing in their story. I want to read through that information as soon as possible.”

“Too bad there’s no Wi-Fi in this hotel,” George grumbled. “Or good cell service anywhere around here.”

“Oh!” said Bess. “Lucas and I went to a coffee shop today. They have free Wi-Fi for customers. I can take us there tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect!” I said. I looked over to see George nodding enthusiastically. I suspected she was less excited about reading more on the subject of Christopher DeSantos and Terry Lawrence than she was just to get back onto the Internet in general.

CHAPTER SIX Coffee, Croissants, and Curses

THE NEXT MORNING BESS, GEORGE, and I headed over to the coffee shop Bess had mentioned. It was called the Bean and Briar Coffee Shop, and it felt more like an overfilled living room than a café. Instead of regular tables and chairs, there was an assortment of large, plushy sofas and coffee tables. We found a pair of couches, one large and one small, near the window. When we sat down, we all sank into them, and I knew it was going to be difficult to stand back up.

We also ordered some pastries for breakfast, and three cups of coffee. George pulled out her laptop and had it propped up on her knees. She was typing furiously.

“Did Riley send us anything?” I asked her, as I cautiously sipped my hot, steaming beverage.

George nodded from behind her screen. “Apparently she went to the library earlier this morning to do some more research and send us the resources. I think she’s caught the detective bug, Nancy.”

I laughed. “Well, that’s lucky for us.”

George spun the computer around so Bess and I could see the screen. There was a photograph pulled up of two men posing near a large canyon. I didn’t recognize one of them, but the other was clearly a young Christopher DeSantos. He looked younger than any image I had seen of him so far, like he was maybe in his twenties. I guessed that the man next to him had to be Terry Lawrence.