“I mean-never mind.” He continued to worry his lip. “Now that I think of it, I suppose it could have been an illusion caused by the flashlight beams. All those moving shadows…”

“I can ask the others if they saw it.”

“Yes, do. No, don’t. We’ll keep this between ourselves. I shouldn’t want anyone to think…”He cleared his throat and drew himself up, recovering some of his firmness. “And need I point out that nothing about this outlandish affair need be repeated to our visitors? There is no reason in the world for Bruno Gustafson or anyone else connected with the foundation to know anything about-”

“Urn,” said Tiffany. She was trying to decide how-or whether-to break it to Haddon that Bruno already knew about the finding of the skeleton. He and Bea had provided the pizza and joined in its eating the previous night, and the discovery in the enclosure had naturally become the main topic of conversation once she, Arlo, and Jerry had arrived.

“Urn,” she said again. “There’s a slight problem-”

“Hi!” Bruno himself said brightly, appearing magically at the entry to the enclosure. “What’s going on in here?”

Haddon blinked and walked toward him, blocking his view. “Why, good morning, my dear Mr. Gustafson. I understood that you were flying to Abu Simbel today.”

“Nope, just Bea. I’ve been there before and it’s just-Hey, looka here-TJ, is that the skull you were talking about?”

Haddon glowered murderously at her.

TJ cleared her throat. “Uh, well, actually, Mr. Gustafson, it’s, uh-”

Haddon flung up his hands. “Never mind!” he shouted skyward. “We at Horizon House have no secrets. We are an open book. Tell all, tell all!” And he stamped off, his tuft of beard stiffly leading the way.

A momentarily crestfallen Bruno watched him go. “What did I say?”

TJ smiled. “Nothing, he’s been under a little strain, that’s all. It’s nothing personal.”