Diane tried to smile as she met his gaze. “No. It’s my parents. I had to tell them that what happened to Mother was my fault.”
“How was it your fault?”
“Did Neva tell you about any of this?”
“A little. Something about identity theft and someone’s hacking into police records causing her to be put in prison for a week.”
“It was really much worse for her than that. It was done to get me out of town, away from the crime scene evidence. Mike, I shouldn’t be telling you this. I’m sorry. Did you need something?”
He shook his head and sat down in the stuffed chair across from her desk. “No. I just dropped by. Andie wasn’t at her desk, so I just came in-I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
“It’s all right, really. You look better. How is your recovery?”
“Better. The doctor put me on an exercise program that Neva and I can both live with,” he said flashing a brief smile.
“She’s just looking out for you.”
“I know, and she’s doing a good job of it. I’m a lousy patient. My mother used to say that when I was sick as a kid, she got me well in self-defense.”
“It sounds like you have nice, caring parents.”
“They are. They live way out in the country on a farm. Dad grows grapes, muscadines and scuppernongs. Dad’s always been a farmer. Mother’s always been a housewife. They’re just plain folk.”
Mike’s small talk sounded awkward, not like his usual confident, glib self. She’d made him uncomfortable. Tears leaked from her eyes again. She imagined his parents loved their son very much. She envied him.
“What happened couldn’t have been your fault,” he said.
“Look at everything, Mike-my daughter is murdered, Frank is shot, you are shot
“No. None of it.” He leaned forward. “I certainly don’t hold you responsible, and if I remember right, what happened to Frank wasn’t because of you at all; it was to stop
Mike reached out and took her hand. His touch was warm and safe-feeling, and right now human contact felt good. She squeezed back. After a moment, Diane slipped her hand from his.
“My mother told me she hates me for what I did-for what I am.”
Diane didn’t mean to blurt it out that way. After complaining about information leaks, she was becoming a faucet.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
In his world he probably couldn’t imagine a parent hating her child. But her mother had suffered horribly, and Diane could see her mother’s point of view. If she had been the daughter they wanted, if she weren’t involved in solving crimes, all that happened wouldn’t have happened. And in that, her mother was right. The small headway she had made with her family was now irreparably damaged. Even Susan was angry with her again. She had been with her parents when Diane called and she couldn’t resist weighing in with her opinion of Diane’s guilt.
“Diane-” he whispered.
“I’m fine.” She cut him off, stopped him from saying anything further.
Frank was right; she could see it in Mike’s eyes. He cared very much for her. Diane had no doubt he cared for Neva, too. But right now Diane was vulnerable, and she could see that Mike was ready to step in and try to fix whatever was wrong. She stood up.
“There are some things I need to do.”
“Sure. Let me know if I can help.”
“I will. I’m going to be closing the museum. . only for a few days, I hope.”
Mike looked startled. She started to give him the reason that she and Kendel had come up with, but she found she couldn’t lie to him.
“I can’t tell you why. And if you will, please don’t mention it to anyone. I’m going to tell the staff.”
“No, of course not. Neva asked me if I ever mention to anyone what goes on in the crime lab. I don’t know much, but I never talk about what little I do know.”
“I didn’t think you did. We may have a leak, and I had to ask everyone. I’m asking Frank, too. I’m also looking at myself. The wrong people may have overheard me talking.”
“Is everything all right here?”
“No, Mike, it’s not. But I intend to make it right.”
“I want to help you.”
“I know you do. But now, though, I must ask you to work at home, since I’m closing the museum for the weekend.”
Mike started to leave. He didn’t want to; she could see him hesitate, search for something else to say, make some other offer of help. Finally, he turned and walked out.
She called David and asked him to meet her at the feeding dock on the swan lake-the large pond with a family of swans that was the centerpiece of the nature trail.
The nature trail was a half-mile loop in the midst of a wooded garden in back of the museum. It was part of the museum’s exhibits, only outside, growing, and ever changing with each season. It was filled with trilliums, bluet, violets, azaleas, rhododendrons, berries, trees, shrubs, birds, butterflies and more plants than she could remember, and it was always beautiful. She didn’t want to imagine it filled with smoke. Damn whoever was behind this.
She stood on the feeding platform and threw the arriving swans bread crumbs she had picked up in the restaurant. She heard footfalls come onto the bridge and looked up to see David approaching. She left the swans and walked with him deeper into the trail.
“Why do I feel like I’m in a James Bond movie?” he said, and sneezed.
“Because I’ve gone completely paranoid. I don’t want to be overheard. David, how do you feel about sleep?”
“I don’t need that much. What do you want me to do?” He sneezed again. “Next time we do cloak-and- dagger, can we meet at McDonald’s or someplace like that?”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you’re allergic.” Diane told him of her suspicions and outlined the plan that had been working in her mind. “I think Lane Emery is involved in some way. I’m going to ask Garnett to help search the museum tonight and try to catch Emery or the kidnappers in the act tomorrow. Can you stay at the museum a few days?”
“I can do that. Why do you think it’s Emery?” said David.
“A hunch really. First of all, there had to be a third person involved in kidnapping me. Going to the elevators, I saw Emery when I left the osteology lab. He could have signaled my kidnappers that I was coming.” Diane looked over at David watching the swans. She couldn’t tell from his face what he was thinking.
“Do you have any more than that?” he asked, not taking his eyes off a particularly feisty swan.
“I was speaking with Kendal, Andie, Chanell and Emery earlier-asking their advice. . ” Diane hesitated for a moment. The reasons for her suspicions did sound weak. “He’s the one who suggested we close down for the weekend. There was just something in the way he said it. . I don’t know.” Diane was beginning to feel silly.
“If there’s a bomb threat, it makes sense to close down.”
“There’s not a bomb threat. The guys who kidnapped me said they would burn the museum down. It was Emery who suggested bombs. He said that was about the only way to effectively burn the building.”
“He has a point,” said David.
“Yes, he does. I said all I really had was a hunch. But it occurred to me that the kidnappers had no real expectation that I would just hand over evidence-they didn’t even ask for all the evidence. However, if they made a threat like the one they made, there was a very real expectation that I would close the museum for a couple of days. That way they could just take what they needed without a problem-especially if they had the head of security on their side.”
“Okay, I’m starting to buy into it,” said David. “But what if you are wrong about him?”
