~Amelia~
By the end of the day, the whole pack had that strained hush sitting over it, and I was moving through it with a suspect list in one hand, a headache in the other, and Lily’s nursery still on my mind even though I had already checked the barriers twice.
Clara had pulled me aside earlier with another one of her serious faces, and this time she did not waste ten seconds building suspense.
She said, “I checked again.”
I had already known from her tone that I was not about to enjoy the rest of the afternoon, so I asked, “And?”
She folded her hands in front of her and said, “The mole problem is real.”
I stopped walking. “You’re sure?”
Clara gave me that steady stare she used when she wanted me to stop hoping for a softer answer. “Yes,” she said. “I saw the same faces, the same routes, and the same hidden movements, and this time the picture held.”
My stomach tightened. “Same people?”
