5
Reine
Minerva turned left, and Sir Raleigh and I followed her along a wooded path that opened out to a public parking lot. Cars and SUVs occupied only about an eighth of the parking spots. As Karen had said, the Stone River Inn, a three-story hotel with a Tudor-style exterior, sat across the lot and behind a park with well-maintained grass and a playground.
A playground? In a place with no children? That piqued my curiosity enough to ask Minerva, “If your town is having a kid shortage, why is there a place for them to play?”
She didn’t seem shocked by my question. Had Agnes told her what she’d asked me to do? Was that why Minerva had followed me—to see if I was taking my mission seriously?
When she answered, her tone lacked the sorrow her mother’s had. “It’s for the tourists. We hav
