“That’s not a long-term solution, Marty.” Lucy paused. “Also, things have gotten a tad worse.”

Marty raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

She told him about the FBI’s Most Wanted List, as well as the fact that the hotel received a fax with his information on it.

“They’re going to be looking everywhere for you. I’m betting every ferry is being watched, too.”

The color drained from his face. “I’m going to die in prison, aren’t I?”

“No!” said Lucy, as convincingly as she could. “Listen. There has to be something we can do, something we can figure out. Let me go and talk to your coworker.”

Marty shook his head. “You can’t. You’ll get in trouble.”

“I won’t get in trouble.” Lucy waved a hand. “Also, we need to find a better place to hide you, and I think I know where.”

“A treehouse?”

Lucy frowned. “No. The Grand Madrona Hotel! They don’t know about you yet, and if I reserve a room for you, they’ll never know any better.”

He stared at her. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“It’s just for the short term,” she said, pulling out her phone. “Whats that guy’s name? Marilyn Monroe?”

Marty smirked and shook his head. “David Marilyn.”

She typed his name into her phone. The first result was his profile on the company website. “He looks nice.”

“He’s not that nice, and he’s not going to help me.”

Lucy drummed her fingers on her chin. “You don’t know that. We at least have to try. What other options do we have?”

Marty, who’d taken a seat on the couch and was hanging his head low, popped back up after a moment. “I have no idea, but please don’t try to talk to him.”

She sighed. “Fine, I won’t. But you can’t stay here. We need to go, okay? Pack your bag.”

He hesitated, but after a moment said, “Fine.”

Lucy beamed. She didn’t have a full plan yet, but they could figure it out along the way.

Chapter Twenty

Her meeting with Chip came to a natural end when he got an incoming call from a plumber. Claire was able to excuse herself and check her phone. She had a message from Ken – something about dreaming big and acting bigger – and one from Lucy about hotel emails.

It confused her at first, but then she realized what Lucy meant. Claire had access to the hotel’s email account, so she acted quickly. Her laptop was in her bag, guarded by Gigi, and she fetched it before settling into a seat in the lobby.

The internet connection was agonizingly slow, but sure enough, there was an email with a warning about Marty. Claire deleted it, cursing the invention of the internet.