Marina stared. Why hadn’t she thought of that? If she could reverse wrinkles with no surgery, she could be rich as Caesar. The million dollars wouldn’t matter at all. Why hadn’t any of the Seekers before her figured that out?

Then she took a closer look at Halcyon. The skin under her eyes, which had been smooth and evenly pigmented the day before, was slightly elevated and the color a tiny bit darker than her cheeks. The laugh lines that Marina had erased were back. Much smaller, but back.

“What’s wrong?” Halcyon asked.

“It’s going away. Your skin is returning to normal.”

Halcyon jumped off the stool and ran to a mirror hanging in the living room.

“Shit!” she yelled. “What happened?”

Halcyon clutched her cheeks and got inches from her face, scanning it. “Yours is still perfect,” she said. “What gives?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I got an instruction manual. Maybe the effect doesn’t last on other people because it’s not in you. That, and I touch my own face every day.”

Halcyon flopped onto the stool. “Well, that just sucks. And totally honks my super special beauty cream idea.”

“I suppose I could still do something like it, but it would have to be only done by me, none to take home, and would only last for a special occasion. Do you think anyone would be interested in that?”

“Probably, but not at ten grand a pop, which is what I was figuring you could charge for permanent changes.”

“Wow. That’s a lot.”

“It’s still cheaper than Botox for forty years. And a lot more comfortable.” Halcyon sighed. “But I guess the dream is over before it even began. And the average household income in Last Chance doesn’t support a healthy income stream for a temporary situation. If you were in New Orleans…”

“It might work there,” Marina agreed. “But I can’t exactly move, open a business, and get customers in the time frame we’re working with.”

Halcyon shook her head, rubbing her finger under her eyes. “And either you have to lay hands on me every day or I have to suffer like the rest of society.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I told my boobs to stay upright night before last and they haven’t shifted so much as a millimeter.”

“Then I guess we best find this ring so you can collect your retirement.”

“More like my current than my retirement. If the world doesn’t end, this thing with Avery could end up costing a fortune. Before and after the trial.”

“I’m pretty sure a hit man would be cheaper than a trial.”

“Not if my list keeps growing.”

“God, isn’t that the truth. Okay, what about this—we put together what money we can, but if we find the ring and know we won’t be able to swing the cost or, God forbid, it belongs to someone like the LeDoux, we steal it.”

“But what if it’s someone nice and we’re taking a very valuable item from them?”