“Hey, speaking of mysteries, have you been upstairs yet? Was your dad there?”

Amy shook her head and went on to explain about the empty room upstairs and the change to their booking.

Ryan kept a steady face, doing his best not to smile too broadly when he realized what this news meant: that Amy would indeed be staying one more night.

“Question, please.” Chloe’s small face was scrunched in confusion. “What does ‘nefarious’ mean?”

“It means something bad—illegal, even—which is why you shouldn’t be getting yourself involved in this kind of thing.”

“Would we say it’s that bad?” Amy teased.

Ryan gave her another long, grinning look. “All right, maybe I’m overreacting. But, Chloe, you really shouldn’t be running about town trying to recruit people. Where are your parents?”

“Over in the square. Mom thinks I’m riding the teacups.”

“Probably best you get back, don’t you think?”

“Good idea. I will.” She sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Ryan’s middle, hugging him goodbye the same way she had that morning. “See you soon.”

“All right, take care.” He hugged her back and nodded to the door. “Now, go find your mother before she starts to worry. And say hi to her from me, okay?”

“Okay.”

She gave a smile and a wave to Amy, then spun on her shoes and skipped away.

“She’s fond of you,” Amy remarked as they watched her leave the lobby.

Ryan smiled. He waited to watch Chloe make safe passage across the street before turning his attention back to Amy. “So, it seems our town’s lucky enough to have you one more night?”

“Seems that way.”

“I take it you’d rather be heading home?” he asked, registering the flatness in her voice.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just confusing, this whole situation with my dad. He’s a workaholic for sure, but this isn’t like him. I haven’t got a clue what’s going on.”

Ryan looked around. “This might sound silly, but is it worth asking someone? Who knows, maybe someone saw him, or spoke to him? Anything that might shed a clue?”

“Tried that.”

“Didn’t get you anywhere?”

“No, all it did was raise more questions. To tell you the truth, I’m actually starting to feel a bit like Alice—every answer I get sends me deeper down the rabbit hole.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Nothing. I can only assume this has got something to do with work, but until he decides to show up or call me and actually tell me what’s going on, there’s not a lot I can do.”

Ryan turned to the door, where the lights of the festival could be seen shining through the glass. “Sounds to me like you need a distraction.”

“Is that so?” Her eyes lifted. “Sounds to me like you’ve already got something in mind.”