Arc 3: The Bluebell Files
Page 34
The Box from the Basement
The emergency meeting at Marco's Bakery had been going for an hour, voices overlapping, worry thickening the warm bread-scented air, when the front door swung open with a gust of cold evening. Harriet Bloom stepped in, slightly breathless, her white bun slightly askew, both arms wrapped around a heavy cardboard archive box. She pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up with one knuckle and surveyed the room without apology. "Sorry I'm late," she said simply. "I was in the basement." She set the box on the edge of Marco's big communal table with a decisive thud that silenced every other voice, dust rising faintly from the lid. Her hand rested on it like a quiet claim. "I believe this may be relevant." Chloe's notebook was already open.