An Alarm Sounds

And that's when the alarm went off.

Tonya jumped and spun around as a shrill bell sounded. Then she shouted, "Laura, no!"

Laura waddled down the hall towards us, holding a painting in her hands. I realized belatedly that Chrissie and Tonya had concentrated so hard in subduing me that they had forgotten about Laura. And Laura had just announced our presence to every cop in Chrystal Heights.

Despite the shrill noise echoing through the museum, our heat continued to grow, but not fast enough. Tonya looked distressed, trying to figure out which way to go, but suddenly her eyes widened and she gripped her belly with both hands. She took two steps, then dropped to her knees.

Tonya started breathing rapidly. "It's...it's happening...ohhhh...ohhhh...ohhhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhhh.....!"