Dead Hunt

said he was staying in his lab. Jin designed the DNA

lab that Diane had installed in the basement of the

west wing. In it Jin allowed room for two small bedrooms, each with two bunk beds and bathrooms.

Everything in them was either shiny metal or tile and looked so modern it could have been a cabin on a spaceship. Diane suspected that he often spent the night there. David said he probably spent hours just standing in the middle of the lab gazing in adoration

at the equipment. Diane halfway believed him. ‘‘Did you lose a whole day of work because of me?’’

Diane asked Frank on the way to his house. ‘‘No. I got more than a day’s work done at home.

I had to go over some account books and correlate

them with dates, and the quiet of my home is more

conducive than my office to that kind of work,’’ he

said.

‘‘That’s a relief. I hate to think that it’s come to the

point that you have to babysit me,’’ said Diane. Frank took her hand. ‘‘I’m having the Mountain

Rose deliver our meal tonight. I thought while you

are a guest I’ll take advantage of it,’’ he said, kissing

the palm of her hand.

‘‘Wow. I can’t wait for dessert,’’ she said.

When Frank was in full romantic mode it was better than a vacation at the beach, or the mountains, or even caving. Certainly better than a good night’s sleep. Better than a month of good nights’ sleep. Frank had a gift for romance. So when Diane arrived at the museum the next morning, she felt in control of the day.

She parked the museum car—which she’d had museum security deliver to Frank’s house early that morning— in her usual spot and went to security first. Chanell Napier was on her two-week vacation and her second-in- command was in charge. C. W. Goodman was waiting for her.

Goodman kept his hair cropped close to his head. It was hard to tell what color it was—premature gray or blond. He was a thin, boney man who had been in security all his working life, which Diane guessed was about fifteen years.

‘‘I figured you would come here right away,’’ he said.

Though he didn’t have a hat at the moment, she could visualize it in his hand as he stood in front of her. He looked unhappy as he offered her a chair.

Diane didn’t sit in the chair Goodman offered. Instead, she stood behind it and gripped its back with her hands as she spoke.

‘‘I know it’s hard to keep people out of a place that, for most of the day and some of the evening, is open to the public. I also know that there are hundreds of places to hide if someone is determined—and this attacker last night was nothing if not determined,’’ she said.

‘‘That’s true, ma’am,’’ said Goodman.

‘‘However, I thought there were procedures in place so that no one leaves the front desks unattended in either wing,’’ she said.

‘‘There are, and all I can say is Adam made an error in judgment. He knew he was going to be gone just a minute and didn’t want to bother another guard. I think he has learned his lesson. There is no such thing as just a minute. A lot can happen in a minute,’’ said Goodman.

‘‘Yes, it can. Reinforce in the personnel that they need to follow the procedures Napier has laid out.’’ Diane paused a moment. ‘‘I know this museum doesn’t seem like any kind of security risk, and the temptation to let some rules slide is great. This isn’t NORAD, but we still need to take security seriously. We have a lot of valuable things in here and a lot of people that need to be protected.’’

Diane was sure many in security thought that she herself was the only security problem. It certainly seemed that way to her. When she finished with Goodman, she went to her office. Andie was already at her desk, as usual.

‘‘Are you all right today?’’ asked Diane.

‘‘Am I ever. What a rush. I can see why you have so much fun,’’ she said.

Fun. Is that what I have? thought Diane. ‘‘Andie, thank you for the rescue. As for chasing the guy, don’t do anything like that again. He is very dangerous— whoever he is.’’

‘‘I know that, but I was just so full of adrenaline,’’ she said.

‘‘I understand, and I really appreciate your coming in when you did. I just don’t want you to get hurt.’’

‘‘Yeah, I know. That’s why I didn’t tell my mother,’’ said Andie.

Diane smiled. ‘‘So, anything going on this morning?’’

‘‘We are still getting phone calls and e-mail about the artifacts. Several contributors have called to say they are canceling their contributions. You know, that’s hardly fair,’’ said Andie.

‘‘No, it isn’t. But that’s their choice. Anything else?’’

‘‘Yeah, something really weird,’’ said Andie.

‘‘Must be, for you to call it weird. Weird is the norm for this place,’’ said Diane.

‘‘Well, you know I open your mail,’’ said Andie.