“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to split and search alone?” Seth asked, which saved Glenn the trouble of asking that question himself. “Why are we partnering up when there’s only six of us?”

“Mayor’s orders,” Joanne said, with just enough disgust in her voice to assure Glenn she thought this order was a stupid as the rest of Coleman’s decrees. “He specifically said we must search every house in town and do so with a partner. I valiantly attempted to explain that we could get the search done quicker by working alone, but he said we could spend all day if necessary.”

“How generous of him,” Chelsea commented dryly.

The mayor’s orders increased the nervous churn in Glenn’s stomach. There was no reason for Mayor Coleman to order the Town Guards to search in pairs. Even an idiot would understand the search would get done quicker if they worked alone.

For Coleman to give this order suggested he—or rather, Leo, who’d pressed Mayor Coleman into this search—suspected that not all of the Town Guards were fully on board with the charge to hunt down these fugitives. Or, specifically, the person who might be sheltering them.

In other words, Leo now suspected Glenn of possibly indirectly aiding Zack, even if only by intentionally doing his job poorly. This also wasn’t good. Despite his confident assurance to Anna last night that he could handle Mayor Coleman’s questions and liege law, this wasn’t good at all.

“Search the houses first, then any other structures in your area,” Joanne said calmly. “If anyone refuses you access to an area, remind them that your orders to search the town come from Mayor Coleman himself. As Town Guards, we are bound to comply with all decrees by the mayor.”

Which also ensured Mayor Coleman would get all the blame for this intrusive and early morning search. Joanne and every guard present was smart enough not to say that aloud. Given the mayor likely knew how much this effort would upset his constituents, Leo must have truly put pressure on Coleman to authorize this search. How had Leo managed all this?

Perhaps the threat of being reported for refusing to cooperate with a Blazer investigation would make even a man like Mayor Coleman agree to this search, despite the anger it might raise with his Townsfolk. Coleman’s ambitions ran beyond Wolfpine. He could afford to make the people here dislike him—a task he’d had no trouble with—if it meant saving his larger ambitions for the future.

“That’s it for my blathering,” Joanne said. “Get to it, and be as nice as you can about this business. You’re authorized to stop your search if some bright-eyed Adventurer comes to you with a tip on Alan Starshine or Anna Bronzelight, but after you resolve it, pick right up where you left off.”

Chelsea turned her full-face helmet to Glenn. “Shall we?”

Glenn wished he was as calm as her. His nervous stomach was now doing flips. He forced himself to nod calmly. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Since Chelsea had almost two decades more experience than he did, he wasn’t about to tell her how to conduct this search. Unfortunately, her leading their search would be another reason it would be harder than ever for him to help Zack. He knew Chelsea to be very good at her job.

Wherever Jenny Ambersun was now, Glenn hoped she was making good time on the Safe Road.

While Glenn had feared their search might prove combative, the first few houses they reached turned out to be unoccupied. He’d forgotten that not everyone worked out of their home, like his mother and father. The Classes chosen by many Townsfolk took them out of their homes during the day, and with their [Wolfpine Key]s, Glenn and Chelsea could simply let themselves into any house in town ... but only after Chelsea announced them with a loud knock, then waited for someone to answer.

Seeing inside the homes of other people was ... odd. Glenn had never actually searched anyone’s house before. He doubted Zack had hidden Anna and Alan in anyone’s home, but still paid close attention to how Chelsea handled each search. He never missed an opportunity to learn.

Chelsea moved through each house with careful, patient steps, opening doors and checking closets while taking care to disturb as little as possible. It felt wrong to be in someone else’s home when they weren’t, looking through all their stuff. Perhaps this was what those Shadowers who chose to steal felt when they slipped into a home looking for valuables.

Glenn could somewhat understand how one might get an illicit thrill from being in a space owned by someone else without their knowledge. For his part, it simply made him feel uncomfortable. He definitely wouldn’t want anyone wandering into his room unannounced.

When they reached the fifth house, Glenn belatedly recognized it. This was Ziva Willowbraid’s house and tailoring shop, which was also where Erika lived with her mother. Was she home?

Chelsea glanced his way. “Want to take the lead on this one?”

Given Erika’s involvement in last night shenanigans, there was the remote chance that something in her home might incriminate her in some way. If there was, it would be better for him to find it and hide it than for Chelsea to find it. Hopefully, Erika wouldn’t mind.

“Sure,” he agreed. “Have to start somewhere.”

“That’s the spirit,” Chelsea said cheerfully. “All right, Redwood. I’ll follow your lead on this one.”

Glenn knocked heavily on the closed door, waited a moment, and then spoke loudly through the door, projecting his voice as Chelsea had done. “Miss Willowbraid, this is the Town Guard.” Hopefully, using her name would make this intrusive search slightly more tolerable. “I apologize for the early hour, but we’ve orders from the mayor to search your home for a wanted fugitive. Please open the door.”

He waited as long as Chelsea had with no response. The silence from inside the house made him feel a bit better. If Ziva and Erika were both out, he wouldn’t feel nearly as awkward about this search.

He glanced to Chelsea as he reached for the key ring on his belt. “Sounds like the owner’s not home. I’m going to open it up.”

“Agreed,” Chelsea said.

Glenn inserted his [Wolfpine Key] into the lock and turned it. The lock opened effortlessly, and the way a single Enchanted key could open every lock in Wolfpine continued to impress him. Only Town Guards carried these keys, of course, and if he ever lost it, he would be in big trouble.

He entered the large from room of Ziva’s house, which doubled as her storefront. A colorful plush rug sat in the center and a familiar painting of deer against a forest backdrop hung on the back wall. Fine dresses fit headless dressmaker’s dummies along the back wall.

The front space was open, but Glenn still walked behind the counter to eliminate the ridiculous idea that Zack, Anna, and Alan might simply be hiding behind it. He found no one. He looked to the stairs to the second floor, which was where he knew Erika’s room to be. If there was anything that might incriminate her in last night’s escape, it would likely be in her bedroom.

Entering Erika’s bedroom without her here felt wrong. Yet letting Chelsea search it could get Erika in trouble. Uncomfortable though he might be, he had to keep his promise to Anna. He had to make sure nothing from their shenanigans last night came back to get Erika in trouble.

“Search the ground floor,” Glenn said. “I’ll check the upstairs.”

“Got it,” Chelsea said. She headed into Ziva’s kitchen.

Glenn took a moment, steeled himself, and walked up the stairs as loudly as he could manage. If Zack or someone else was hiding up here, he wanted to make absolutely certain they heard him coming.