I felt a surge of relief that Denton was alive. At least for the moment.
“How long till The 1812 Overture?… Well, what’s playing now?… Hold up the phone, then … That’s the New World Symphony. We’ve got the rest of that and then the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and then boom! No, I’m coming out now. Meet me in the tent by the bandstand—the tunnel’s in the crawl space under the bandstand, and you get there through the tent.”
The tent. Surely someone would notice him when he came out. Unless, of course—
“I’ll be the one in the gorilla suit,” he said. “And remember—nothing goes boom till I’m safely out of here. Or you’ll never be sure I didn’t leave this incriminating little piece of paper behind in the fireproof safe.… How do you know there isn’t?… About fifteen minutes. Right.”
He hung up. He whacked the phone to bits and disappeared from our field of vision.
“Maybe we should just run out,” Phinny said.
But Hamish reappared almost immediately, carrying the gorilla suit.
I gestured to Phinny to wait.
A few moments later, Hamish had to put the gun down to wriggle into the suit.
“Go!” I said.
We slammed open the cell door and both launched ourselves at Hamish. My flying tackle was better, but Phinny’s wasn’t bad. We went down in a tangle of fur and loose papers. Hamish was facedown, half in and half out of the gorilla suit. I managed to pull both of his arms behind him.
“Get the gun,” I said. “And then find something we can use to tie him up with.”
Phinny scrambled to follow orders. Once we had Hamish’s arms and legs trussed up with heavy-duty packing tape—with a strip over his mouth to block out the foul insults he was hurling our way—Phinny and I stood up and took a deep breath.
“Of course we can’t just leave him here,” I said. “I’ll go out the tunnel first. Then you can put him on the cart and I’ll haul him—”
“I’ll take care of him, and myself,” Phinny said. “Just take these and go. Warn them. Save the courthouse.”
He reached into Hamish’s pockets, pulled out the various papers, and thrust them toward me.
I hesitated for a few moments, then nodded. It made sense. I shoved the papers into my pockets, grabbed Hamish by one foot, and began dragging him toward the tunnel.
“I said leave him,” he said.
“I will,” I said. “But I can at least leave him close to the exit. Up to you if you want to bring him out—”
“Or send him out,” Phinny said. “I keep a lot of fire extinguishers here. I’m going to gather them all, close the plywood doors, and maybe I can prevent any fire. Or contain it.”
I thought it was a crazy idea, but I didn’t think I should take the time to argue with him. I kept seeing all those people sitting on the steps of the courthouse. The deputies guarding it. Denton.
And if the courthouse really blew, how far would the destruction go? As far as the audience gathered around the bandstand?
As far as the roof of Muriel’s restaurant, where Michael and the boys would be waiting for the fireworks?
“Your decision,” I said. I had dragged Hamish with me into the cell that contained the tunnel entrance. I shoved him into a corner where he would be convenient for dragging farther, but not in my way.
“Wish me luck.”
“Most fervently,” he said. Then he dashed back into the main part of the basement.
Hamish wiggled a little, and tried to say something through the packing tape. I took a deep breath and got down on my hands and knees, ready to enter the tunnel.
“Let’s hope your friend really does wait for you to arrive before he sets off his explosion,” I said to Hamish. He squirmed slightly.
I climbed into the cart and set out.
“Slow and steady,” I told myself. Easier said than done. My arms ached by the time I arrived at the junction. I was about to send the cart back, so it would be there if Phinny changed his mind, when I heard the faint squeaking of the pulley wheels.
Someone was coming through the other tunnel toward me.
Chapter 43
I told myself that the person riding toward me on the cart didn’t have to be Hamish’s fellow thug. It was probably someone else. One of the Shiffleys, checking on some small detail of the construction. The chief, coming in person to find the documents. Rob, intent on talking Phinny into sneaking out to watch the fireworks.
But if it was a bad guy, the junction wasn’t the place to meet him. Especially since I’d left the gun with Phinny. I hopped back on the cart and pulled myself as fast as I could back to the cell.