Kingsley found his voice first. ‘‘How did she escape?’’
Drew glanced over to Merrick, who nodded, and back to Kingsley. ‘‘As nearly as we can tell at this point in the investigation, she feigned illness and was taken to the infirmary, which is outside the maximum security section. From there the picture is a little hazy, but prison staff thinks she escaped on a delivery truck.’’
‘‘That seems rather common,’’ said Kingsley. ‘‘I would have thought prisons have pretty much blocked that escape route by now. How was she not detected?’’
‘‘They have not been able to establish that,’’ said Drew. He turned his attention to Diane. ‘‘According to prison records, you were her last visitor. Why were you there?’’
‘‘She asked me to visit her,’’ said Diane.
‘‘And you just dropped everything and obliged?’’ asked Drew.
‘‘No, not at all,’’ said Diane.
‘‘I asked her to go,’’ interjected Kingsley.
‘‘You’re the FBI profiler?’’ said Merrick as if profilers were the academics of the law enforcement world, and who knew what silly things they might be up to.
Kingsley nodded.
‘‘What did she want to see you about?’’ Merrick asked Diane.
Diane told them about the content of the letter and repeated her conversation with Clymene for the second time that day. The marshals took notes and listened with interest and what looked like a good deal of skepticism.
‘‘And you didn’t think it suspicious that she claimed to be motivated by concern for one of her guards?’’ asked Merrick. The look on his broad, fair face plainly said he did not believe that could be her real motive.
‘‘It didn’t matter,’’ said Diane. ‘‘She could have wanted to tell me the warden was possessed by aliens and it wouldn’t have mattered. It was a rare opportunity to see what she had to say.’’
‘‘Why was that important?’’ asked Drew. This time he directed his question to Kingsley.
‘‘Because she shows signs of being a serial killer that we know almost nothing about. She appeared seemingly from nowhere and killed in a very calculated fashion. We don’t even know her true identity,’’ Kingsley said. ‘‘We’re searching for clues.’’
‘‘What does that mean?’’ asked Merrick. ‘‘She’s not Clymene O’Riley?’’
‘‘We don’t know who she is. The murder investigation found no record of her existence prior to her marriage to Robert Carthwright—the husband who died in a tragic accident before she married Archer O’Riley,’’ said Kingsley.
The two deputy marshals exchanged worried glances. Diane understood—they just realized the object of their hunt was a lot more sophisticated than they had imagined and their job was going to be much harder than they expected.
‘‘No match on her prints, I assume,’’ said Merrick.
‘‘None,’’ said Diane. ‘‘She was run against every available database.’’
‘‘I see,’’ said Merrick. He looked around the room, then back at Diane. ‘‘Let’s back up for a moment. I’m aware that the crime scene unit is in this building and you are director of the unit. Why are we in the main office of the museum? Do they give you a key?’’ ‘‘Yes, they do,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I’m director here too.’’
Merrick raised his eyebrows. ‘‘We thought you were just having dinner here.’’ He smiled for the first time. ‘‘Is there anything you can tell us that might help us apprehend Clymene O’Riley? Any place she might have mentioned that we could look for her? Any person she might turn to? Do you think she will go to see this guard’’—he looked at his notes—‘‘Grace Tully?’’ He seemed to be asking either of them.
‘‘I don’t know,’’ said Diane.
Kingsley was shaking his head. ‘‘No. I don’t think she would.’’
‘‘Why?’’ asked Drew.
‘‘Because you would think to go there. Clymene is a planner. She’s probably been planning this escape since she was incarcerated and got a good look at her prospects. She already knows where she is running to, and it isn’t anyplace we are likely to know about.’’
‘‘You’re saying she’s smart,’’ said Merrick.
Kingsley nodded. ‘‘Yes. Very high IQ. And very detail oriented. That’s one of the things that makes her so dangerous.’’
‘‘She’s fluent in French and Spanish,’’ said Diane.
‘‘That expands the possibilities,’’ said Drew. ‘‘Anything else?’’
‘‘Yes,’’ said Kingsley. ‘‘I’m guessing she’s a master at disguises.’’
‘‘You guess?’’ said Drew.
‘‘I don’t know very much for sure. It was whatI... we were working on—finding out about her. We believe that Archer O’Riley was not her first victim.’’
The two marshals were quiet for a moment. Diane guessed they were absorbing the information— thinking about their next move.
‘‘You’ve given us some leads to work with,’’ said Merrick. ‘‘We thank you for your time.’’ He put two business cards on the table. ‘‘If you think of anything helpful, call us.’’
They were rising to leave when Drew turned and asked, ‘‘What do you think she will do if she’s
