Chapter 13: Pack Up

The woman in the long coat reached the top of the stairs with her flashlight already on.

Missy had her shirt buttoned wrong and Hyunjin's sweater over her arm.

Felix stood between her and the door.

"Hello, Hyunjin," the manager said. "Felix. Mrs. Larkin."

"Ms.," Missy said. "And you're trespassing in my lighthouse."

"I'm standing in a public building with a key you shouldn't have."

"My husband fixed that door. I'd say I've earned the key."

The manager looked at the three of them, then at the sketchbook on the floor.

"The Wick," she said. "Eight o'clock. All four of you, and you."

She went back down the stairs without hurrying.

Nobody spoke until the headlights swung away from the cliff.

"Well," Missy said. "She's got good boots."

Hyunjin made a noise that was half a laugh and half a sob, and Felix put an arm around his waist.

At five to eight the Wick was full, because the clip of Jisung's panic in the doorway had been up all night.

Missy had counted three phones pointed at the counter before she even turned the sign.

The one-eared tom stole a stranger's croissant.

The manager sat at the best table by the window with a black coffee she had not touched.

Chan sat across from her. He had not slept, and it showed in the line of his shoulders.

Jisung, Felix and Hyunjin stood behind him in a nervous row.

"Let me be plain," the manager said, in a voice that carried to every table. "The retreat is over."

"Pack the cabin today. A car takes you to the airport at four."

Chan opened his mouth.

"No," Missy said.

She set a pot of tea down in the middle of the table and everyone looked at it.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Larkin?"

"You can call me Missy. You're in my café."

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