I set down the skull, inserted and turned the key in the lock. The cylinder popped and the drawer opened.
Ben dropped to a knee beside me. Together we flipped through files as quickly as possible.
"Six minutes." Ben's voice was beyond tense.
I checked folder after folder.
Equipment. Expenses. Employee evaluations.
"Hello!" Ben held a file labeled Active Projects--LIRI. Inside was a spreadsheet, its latest entry dated this week.
I speed-read the contents. Lab Six had its own column. Within that section was printed: Closed--out of service. The closure stretched back to mid-February.
"I knew it," I whispered. "Karsten's project isn't registered. The University doesn't know about the parvo experiment."
What was Karsten's game?
Ben opened the bottom drawer. The files it contained were unlabeled. We tore through them, ears alert for signs of the Dragon.
"Three minutes," Ben hissed. "We need to bail."
"What's this?" I held a folder containing bank deposit slips. The name on the account was Dr. Marcus E. Karsten.
"Wow. This one's for fifty thousand dollars!" I flipped through the stack. Dozens. Each for the same amount. "Every check is from the same company, Candela Pharmaceuticals."
"Look." Ben lifted the bottom slip. "The first deposit took place six months ago."
"The checks are made out to Karsten, not to the University," I said. "They must tie in somehow."
The outer door opened, clicked shut. The Dragon's humming drifted from just outside Kartsten's door.
I stuffed a slip into my pocket, then, moving as quietly as possible, locked the cabinet and slipped the key back into the skull.
Ben and I snuck to the door and peered out.
Hoke's desk was directly between us and the outer doors. She sat behind it, unwrapping a box of Godiva chocolates.
We were trapped.
We couldn't wait an hour. Karsten would return. Catch us. Call the cops. My pulse raced at the prospect.
Suddenly I felt heat. The sensation of falling through a long dark tunnel.
SNAP.
Bolts of light flashed in my brain.
I heard Hoke's fingers thundering through candy papers. I smelled chocolate, walnuts, and caramel. Sweaty polyester. Chantilly cologne.
My eyes focused to laser points. I saw lacy dust particles riding the air. Mites clinging to the wooden desk. Tiny grooves embedded in the chimp's skull.
Ben was beside me, flexing and un-flexing his hands. Our eyes met. His irises gleamed gold. Like mine.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. Ben nodded, right there with me.
I cracked the door. Crouched.
Ben coiled at my back, ready.
Finally, Hoke bent and reached for something beneath her desk.
Like desert wind, we shot from Karsten's office. Blew past the Dragon. Slipped soundlessly into the hall.
Out.
Free.
Puzzled by the sensation of moving air, Hoke glanced toward the suite's entrance. The double doors were slowly drifting shut.
Odd.
The Dragon lumbered to her feet and stuck her head out into the corridor.
Empty.
Shrugging, she returned to her desk and resumed the serious business of snacking.
CHAPTER 49
Leaving the library, Hi and Shelton began the fifteen-minute hike to the marina.
"I hate walking through town at night," Shelton said. "There's hardly anyone else out here."
"It's barely ten o'clock and we're in the tourist district," Hi replied. "You afraid of getting mugged by a granny from Jersey?"
"It's dark. I'm just saying."
"I'm not worried." Hi gestured to the storefronts. "I think it's safe between Abercrombie and Lacoste."
A half block up the streetlights died, drowning the sidewalk in gloom.
"Okay," Shelton whispered. "How about now?"
"Keep moving, wimp."
Hi picked up the pace. Seconds later, he spotted two men idling at the corner of King and Hasell. Both wore tight black clothing. Neither spoke.
Without a word, both boys stopped.
"Shelton." Hi's silent alarm was blaring. "Something's not right here."
"So not right."
"Let's go another way."
"Another way sounds great."
They crossed King and headed east up Hasell Street. The wrong direction, but neither minded the detour.
"My temple is up ahead," Hi said. "We can cut over on the next block."
At K. K. Beth Elohim, they turned and checked the murky darkness at their backs. The street was empty.
"That's what I get for making fun of you," Hi said. "Now I'm spooked for no reason."
Shelton laughed. "Yeah, we're not exactly Jason Bourne, are we?"
Feeling foolish, the boys turned right. Two blocks south, they arrived at the old marketplace. In the dark the structure looked like a giant sea serpent running down the center of Market Street, creating narrow alleys along both sides.
"Crap," said Hi.
The two men now stood on the opposite side of Market. One was smoking. Both were watching Hi and Shelton.
"Holy buckets," Shelton whispered. "Haul ass!"
The boys fired down the alley to the north of the market. After they turned, the structure blocked the shady duo from view.
"We're going the wrong way!" Shelton's voice wobbled with the effort of speed-walking.