Down in the lobby, the tables for last night’s wine tasting had been repurposed as a free-floating buffet, with baskets offering fresh muffins and single-serving boxes of cereal. “Eat up,” Jessie mumbled around the bagel half sticking out of her mouth. “Lot of miles ahead of us today.” I craned my neck, taking in faces, looking for anyone new. No notable faces, except an absent one: Nadine was nowhere to be found. Neither was Agent Lawrence, for that matter. It was 8:04, and he didn’t strike me as the kind of man who missed an appointment even by a minute. “I don’t like this,” I told Jessie. “Take a jog down to his cabin with me?” Spotting Bette and the other would-be satellite hunters, Jessie beckoned Kevin close. “Harmony and I are going to hunt down our esteemed colleague,” she told him. “Do me a favor: go have breakfast with your new friend, and keep your ears open.” “Got it,” Kevin said, nodding firmly. “I want to know where they’re gonna be at all times.
