Chapter 33

Julian stood in the center of the empty living room inside Caleb's General house, staring unhappily at a splatter of green gunk. The liquid sizzled as it ate through the floorboards, sending up a thin, acrid ribbon of smoke. He had managed to crack the safe, but the mechanical trigger inside was faster than his reflexes. Instead of a pile of incriminating documents, he had a puddle of dissolved pulp and wood. "Ten-foot pole," Julian muttered, wiping a stray drop of sweat from his forehead....