He’s right on every count. Don’t blame him for it, or this will go harder. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again.” Barrett turned his attention elsewhere. “And since I don’t want this situation to drag on any longer than it needs to, I’m going to ask you, one time, for your help to end this.”

Confused murmurs rippled across the pavilion. A good-looking man in his early forties, holding the hand of his wife, asked, “We didn’t ask for this. I’m just a dentist. How can I help you get out of here any quicker? You need a root canal?”

Barrett’s gaze fixated on the man, ignoring the sarcasm. “Easy. One of you, a resident of this lovely community of Hidden Refuge, took something that does not belong to you. It’s because of that one act that we are here tonight. Had the person responsible not done that, you would all be home asleep in your beds, blissfully oblivious to the existence of me or my friends. But instead, someone made a very bad decision, and you’re all paying for it.” Barrett let the words sink in, watching as the residents looked at one another as if they suddenly had the deduction powers of Sherlock Holmes.

“Here’s your sixty-four-thousand-dollar question: Who took the laptop that doesn’t belong to them?” A hushed silence fell over the crowd, the only sound the wind rushing through the trees or the occasional clicking of a bat using its sonar as it flew just out of sight in the lowest layer of darkness above their heads.

Barrett watched the people. Their expressions of confusion, anger, and frustration all appeared sincere. He hadn’t expected an answer. He’d told Griffin that whoever had it would likely stay in their house, too afraid to leave it behind. He counted to thirty in his head and continued.

“That’s kind of what I suspected the response would be,” Barrett said, and stepped so quickly to his left that there were several startled cries from the captive audience. He began to pace methodically toward the left side of the pavilion. “And that’s okay. There’s no harm yet, no foul. My men are searching for the laptop as we speak. We’ll find it, and then we’ll be gone.”

Barrett reached the railing, turned perfectly on his heels with military precision, and began to stalk back across the wooden floor. “But please hear this part, and hear it well. If any of you—and I do mean any of you—try to be a hero, we will kill you on the spot. This isn’t a game. I don’t like games. I don’t have time for them. They’re exhausting.”