Not quite four. They were still here somewhere. They just wanted to be sure to go home in time for the holiday, that was all, and who could blame them?She checked the ground-floor galleries again, and the basement archive. Mounting the stairs, she climbed past the ground floor to the upper level of the museum. Those galleries lay empty as well, except for the exhibits. She looked at a case full of oil lamps in the shape of Priapus. Their long cocks and eager expressions belied their being trapped in a plexiglass case.Glad you’re having fun, she thought.Laine returned to the lobby. Rounding the reception desk, she picked up the phone receiver, only to hear the weird vacuum of sound only a dead line could emit. Feeling foolish, she tapped at the button on the cradle, hoping the line would magically reconnect. She tried the local emergency digits, to no avail. A quick check of the cord showed the phone was plugged in. Magda’s phone in the office screamed the same dead silence.Beginning to feel dismay, Laine stepped back into the lobby and began scanning the doors and windows.
