She slipped through the opening. The beam of her flashlight revealed a low-ceilinged tunnel. The claustrophobia closed in fast.

“Shit,” she whispered.

Harlan followed her and stopped long enough to slam shut the door to the old office.

“Run,” he ordered.

She ran.

CHAPTER 22

The muffled roar of the explosion shattered the murmurs and whispers of the forest. Harlan stood at the entrance of the cave and listened to the reverberations shuddering through the trees. The ground trembled.

“That was the house, wasn’t it?” Olivia said.

He glanced at her. She still had her handbag and she was not panicking. Impressive.

“Yes,” he said. “I can see some smoke.”

She patted her handbag. “If the notebook really is from the Vortex lab it is literally priceless. People would kill for it.”

“I think everything in that vault was from Vortex. It had a unique vibe.”

“The energy was different from the artifacts that have been recovered from the Fogg Lake lab. Different from what I’ve seen in Swan’s shop.” Olivia hesitated. “It felt like the vibe in my camera, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder Sefton protected it with that firestorm trap in the main gallery. If even a single pen or a coffee mug infused with Vortex heat hit the underground market, collectors and thieves would go wild.”

“To say nothing of Victor Arganbright and Lucas Pine.”

“Blake Sefton was one of the survivors of the Vortex lab, wasn’t he?” Olivia said.

“I think that’s a logical assumption.”

“Like my grandmother, except that the assassin got to her eventually.”

Harlan said nothing.

“And then someone murdered my mother.”

He waited for her to make the next connection.

“I’m next, aren’t I?” she said quietly.

He dug deep, searching for something reassuring. “I think whoever is after you needs you. I don’t think anyone wants to kill you, at least not right away.”

“Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”

Well, he’d tried.

“I’m not a doctor,” he said, unaccountably offended. “And I’m not Mr. Sunshine.”

“I noticed.”

“I’d like to say something cheery and optimistic, but I’ve got nothing,” he said. “This situation has been smoldering for a while and now it’s one very hot fire. Our only option is to keep moving forward.”

“I agree. But if whoever is after us doesn’t want me dead yet, that must mean the explosion in the gallery wasn’t intended for us.”

“The trap was installed years ago. It was intended for anyone who wandered into the gallery uninvited. But I don’t think it was intended to bring down the whole house.”

“That does seem a little extreme, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So what happened?” Olivia said.