CHAPTER 24Mara’s father pulled the wagon along the front of a wood structure that reminded her of an old country store with a weathered porch covered by a roof of wide sloping planks. Two rocking chairs sat unoccupied on each side of the building’s front door at the center of the porch. To the right of the door was a single-pane window, large enough for a display at a retail establishment; however, this one had gold and black letters applied to it, arranged in an arc that read Police.
Dr. Lantern turned and said to Mara, who sat in the back with Ping, “To keep things simple, it might be best if you introduce Sam as your cousin from out of town. Everyone knows the progenitor doesn’t have a brother.” He glanced at Sam, sitting next to him. “That okay with you?”
He shrugged. “Whatever works
