He kicked off the pavement with a heel—and a moment later he was pedaling down the brick sidewalk as fast as the bicycle’s well-oiled gears could carry him.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

He actually did it,” Nick whispered, as the last echoes of the gunshot reverberated through the air. “Gotta admit, I’m more than a little surprised.”

Leaning forward over the brick ledge of the first-floor balcony where they were crouched, Hailey could see the nearest state troopers scrambling around the front of the State House, in the direction of the noise. She knew the distraction would only give her and Nick a little time; Nick had told her that the officers would circle back shortly after they’d assessed the situation—but it was the only chance they were going to get. Adrian had done his part; now it was up to them.

Hailey swung her legs over the ledge and turned herself around so she could lower herself down as far as she could with her arms. The backpack almost snagged on the stone detailing at the lip of the balcony—but Nick helped her free. She cast one last glance toward the ground below; it was still pretty high, maybe eight to ten feet—but there was some grass and shrubbery leading up to the low stone steps to the courtyard that contained the bell. Even if she landed wrong, the foliage should keep her mostly unbroken.

She gave a last look up at Nick, then released her grip.

She landed with a soft thud, her knees bending low to absorb the impact. Nick came right after her, hitting the ground so close that he nearly took off some of her toes. If the drop had exacerbated his shoulder, he didn’t let it show. Instead, he just nodded toward the courtyard. A moment later they were racing up the stone steps.

The courtyard was actually more of a low balcony, similar to the one from which they had just dropped. The ground was stone, the walls and pillars brick. There was a row of curved windows along one side, looking into the first floor of the State House, but the lights inside were out. Nick was trying to look through the glass panes, to see if anyone might be there to see them—but Hailey’s attention was already fixed on their quarry.

“It’s incredible,” she whispered.

The bell stood between two brick pillars, bordered on one side by a fence made of shoulder-high metal bars. The bell was much larger than she had imagined; suspended on an authentic-looking metal frame, it was as tall as she was, and though burnished by time and weather, it looked to be in near perfect condition. In fact, it looked—too perfect.

“The crack,” Hailey said. “There’s no crack.”

Nick turned away from the windows and stood next to her.