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Arizona nodded "That's for das and journals for years, AZ," Nick said "Youaround the clock in shifts on the coistics haven't been easy, I can tell you Got to keep things running as usual at the bakery while we put the data online so we don't arouse suspicion Don't want anyone up at the institute to coo live with the Web site"

"We expect to have Project Log Book completed by the end of the suh all of this junk in addition to putting together a Web site project and operating the bakery" Nick shook his head at the enoret it done," Arizona assured him with her customary can-do attitude "No choice Future of the country depends on s are available to the concerned citizens of this nation The Internet is the only way to go"

"Uh, where are the pictures you wanted me to examine?" Octavia asked politely

"Behind that row of boxes," Virgil said

He led the way, forging a path through theroos in old, wooden fraloom, Nick could see that the first three were landscapes The fourth looked as if it had been splashed with a lot of dark paint

Virgil switched on the reading las "I suspect they're all worthless, but I wanted an expert opinion before we dumped them into the yard sale pile"

Nick watched Octavia's face as she studied the paintings She had the same expression of rapt attention that she'd had when she looked at Carson's pictures She was taking this seriously, he thought Given that two of the people who had asked for her opinion were conspiracy freaks and the third ran an adult bookstore, it was going above and beyond the call of duty to show such respect

She walked slowly past all four paintings and stopped in front of the one that looked as if it had been painted with a brush that had been dipped in chaos She looked at it for a long time

Then she crouched in front of it, heedless of the fact that the change of position caused her long, pale skirts to sweep across the dusty floorboards She gazed intently at what looked like a scribble in the right-hand comer

"Hmm," she said

Everyone went very still Nick was amused He could feel the sudden tension that had leaped to life in the rooot this picture?" Octavia asked, never taking her attention away froil shook his head "We found it with the others in a closet No way to tell how he ca at this point because I don't want anyone to get too excited"

"Too late," Nick said "We're excited Is this thing valuable?"

Arizona frowned "Looks like the artist dumped the contents of several tubes of paint on the canvas and sil smiled "That's mid-twentieth-century art for you"

Photon conte air "The longer one looks at it, the deeper it appears It is clearly an exploration of the absence of light"

Nick looked at hi head "It is a stateht and his simultaneous fear of its power"

Octavia rose slowly to her feet and turned around to face the others