Pierce came out of the bathroom, immediately going into the kitchen and opening the cupboards to see what there was. In a burst of silver dust, Jenks popped from my bag. “You going to be okay here with Mr. Adventure?”

My gaze slid to Pierce, then back to Jenks. “Go have fun. Don’t let him kill you, ’kay?”

Jenks nodded, then tossed his head to get his long, curly hair out of his eyes. In a flash of dust, he had darted into Trent’s bedroom with a wad of clothes. I hadn’t seen him this excited about a run since Matalina died, and it was depressing in a happy way.

I wasn’t too keen on Jenks leaving. Every time he did, I got into trouble. That everyone would think Trent was still in the room might buy me some time—as long as I didn’t leave, either. But there were worse places to be a prisoner. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I stood, my gaze drawn to the window and the newly exposed bay.

Yep, there it was. I stood for a moment, twenty feet back from the window, and just looked at the dark blob that was Alcatraz.

The small clink of Pierce at the wet bar caught my attention, and I moseyed over to the kitchen. A little sandwich of overpriced crackers and cheese would wake up my appetite, and I made four of them. “Oh, this is ’ood,” I said around my full mouth, salivating as the salt and bite of the cheese hit the sides. “Pierce, you’ve got to try the white cheese. It’s sharp.”

Pierce gave me a noncommittal mmm, and I headed for Trent’s room with my napkin of goodies. I didn’t know where Trent wanted to be dropped. If I left it up to Al, he might leave them on top of the needle—the outside of the needle.

Trent’s door wasn’t shut, and I tapped on it with my knuckle. “Trent?”

I heard a buzz of pixy wings, and then Trent’s distant “Come in.”

It had come from somewhere deeper in the room, and after brushing the cracker crumbs off, I pushed open the door. “Hey, Trent. Where do you…Wow, this is nice.”

If the living room and kitchen were well appointed, the bedroom was opulent, with more pillows on the bed than we had in the entire church. Wallpaper and metal appliqués disguised the retrofit for the earthquakes, and I’d be willing to bet the canopy over the bed was sturdy enough to handle more than dust. I ate another cracker sandwich, wondering where Trent was until I heard him talking to Jenks from a room off this one.

“Trent?” I called, not wanting to walk in on him in his skivvies.

“In here.”

Having that as an invitation, I crossed the room, feeling the deeper carpet and noticing the lack of even a hint of an echo. It felt nice in here. The first room I peeked into was an office, but the second was clearly a bathroom. “You decent?” I asked, hesitating at the door.