“Great,” I said. “Thanks, George.”

She hopped down off the chair, and Bess carried it back to where George had found it. I made my way over to the STAFF ONLY door and placed my hand on the door handle.

“Ready?” I asked, glancing at Bess and George behind me. They both nodded.

The staff hallway looked even more crowded in the dark. I pulled my phone out again for the flashlight, but we still had to keep our eyes down and step carefully to avoid tripping over anything. I could feel all the dust back here tickling my nose again.

When we reached the bookcase, I turned to Bess and George. “We’ll have to squeeze through one at a time,” I said. “And we should try to be as quiet as possible. We don’t know who might be back here.”

My two friends stood silently as I went first, sliding in between the bookcase and the wall. The keypad above the door handle looked identical to the one on the outside of the building. I typed in Beverly’s combination. I held my breath, but I didn’t actually need to be nervous. Once again, there were the flashes of green light and the sound of the door unlocking.

“We’re in!” I whispered back to Bess and George. At the edge of the bookcase, I could just make out Bess giving me a thumbs-up.

The door opened to the closed-off wing of the museum. I wasn’t worried that anyone would be able to see light back here, so we all pulled up our phones’ flashlights. The room was filled with what must have been statues or sculptures, all covered by large white sheets. There were also a number of boxes and crates stacked against the walls. Two doorways led out of the room: one was directly across from me, and the other was to my left. As I waited for Bess and George to come through the door behind me, I looked around and couldn’t help but find it all very spooky.

Bess, apparently, agreed with me. As soon as she stepped through the door, she said, “This place is really creeping me out.”

“Same,” I said back, as George came through the door next. “But don’t forget to whisper.”

Bess nodded, and I watched as she pulled out her pepper spray and held it in front of her. She noticed me watching her, so she shrugged and said, “What? It’s come in handy before.”

I couldn’t really argue with that. I started to walk forward, when George whispered my name from where she was hunched near the wall on our right side. “Look at this,” she said.

I made my way over to her and crouched down next to her. It was a rectangular vent, and when I looked through it, I had a clear view of the DeSantos exhibit. I raised Riley’s camera to my left eye and looked through the vent. I smiled.

“Nancy?” asked George. “Why are you smiling? This is so creepy.”