Kingdom Keepers III(29)

“Not so different than when we were here,” Maybeck said.

“Kind of…weird, you know?” Finn said. “Like we never left.”

“Yeah.”

They searched the interior, including the two bathrooms, a small office, changing rooms, and a control room filled with electronics.

Maybeck climbed a ladder well up into the catwalks and rigging above the soundstage. His voice echoed as he called out. “There’s no one here. We’re good.”

They admitted the others.

“We can make this work,” said Philby, exiting from the control room. “The cameras, video, sound editing—it’s all here. All we need is—”

“Don’t say it,” Finn said, interrupting.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

“It’s about the girls, isn’t it?” Wanda said. “They’ve been grounded, so there’s no way to get them out to help you here. But if they were like the five of you…well, that would change things.”

Finn didn’t like it at all that she could know this.

Charlene shot Finn a look that cautioned him not to try to stop her from talking. “It’s that, yes,” said Charlene, “and also that they’ve been put onto park Security’s watch list. There’s no way to get them out of the foster home or into the parks.”

“But if they were DHIs…” said Willa. “If they could cross over along with us…”

Finn bit back his tongue, furious that they were sharing so much with a complete stranger.

“I understand,” Wanda Alcott said. “But please, whatever you do, don’t forget the box.” She addressed this to Philby. “It must be important.”

“I promise to take a look at it,” Philby said.

“How did you get into the park?” Finn asked suspiciously. “How did you get past Security? Tonight? Just now? Why didn’t they stop you?”

“Finn!” Charlene chided. “She’s offering to help us.”

“It’s all right,” Wanda Alcott said. “I’d expect no less after everything my father has told me about all of you. You haven’t exactly had it easy. If you weren’t careful you wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Finn corrected. “You’ve misunderstood me. I’m just curious for my own reasons.”

“Because you need a way to get Amanda and Jessica into the soundstage undetected,” she said.

Finn withheld comment, but the surprise on his face gave him away.

“But when can you possibly do this?” Wanda Alcott asked. “The girls are grounded.”

“The woman who runs the foster home—” Willa began.

“Mrs. Nash. Yes, I met her,” Wanda Alcott said.

“—attends Mass every Friday night and every Sunday morning for two hours—nearly three including driving back and forth.”

“But the other girls…all they’d do is have to report them and—”

“They won’t report them,” Maybeck said, “because the other girls won’t be there. They’ve received complimentary sessions at my aunt’s pottery shop—to ‘a program on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings provided to deserving institutions in the Orlando area.’ I’ll be at the shop, keeping them busy and monitoring them.”

“I’m impressed,” Wanda Alcott said.

“We’ve learned to work as a team,” Finn said. “Maybeck talked his aunt into doing this. She doesn’t know the full story, only that she’s helping homeless girls.”

“She has a big heart,” Maybeck said.

“But none of it means anything,” Finn said, “if we can’t get onto the property without being seen. Same goes for Jess and Amanda.”

“If I remember right, my father gave you all employee ID cards.”

“Yeah,” Philby said. “But it’s a long way from either employee entrance to this soundstage. We can wear hats and glasses, but it’s still a pretty big risk.”

“You won’t need the hats and glasses,” Wanda Alcott said. “I can get you onto the property. The girls, too.”

“But how?” Finn asked.

“You’ll need to use your employee passes to get backstage. Name a time, and I’ll meet you at the costume shop,” she said.

Finn hoped for more of an explanation. He didn’t get much.

“Make sure one of you has Maybeck’s employee pass with you. If he’s going to be at Crazy Glaze, he doesn’t need it.”

“We can do that,” Finn said, but his voice revealed his skepticism.