do, then? Talk to Arabella? Ask Caitlin directly if she’s killed anyone lately?”
“I don’t know,” Shelby said. “But it’s better to have the whole picture, don’t you think?”
“I guess.” I didn’t want to know this. I didn’t want to have to go to Arabella and ask her whether her daughter was a potential murderer, and I wasn’t about to complicate things by taking a vague suspicion to the police. So I made an executive decision: I would sleep on it. Maybe in the cold light of morning the situation would look clearer, or at least different. “I’d like a little time to think it over before I go to Arabella. She’s got enough to worry about right now as it is. Are you comfortable with that?”
Shelby stood up. “I think that’s fair, Nell. Maybe I’ll call Melissa tonight and see if she knows anything more.”
“Eric, are you good with this?”
“Sure. Let’s hope it’s just one of those weird coincidences.”
I hated that word.
CHAPTER 26
At home that night I kept vacillating. I was not a mother, and I had little insight into the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. But I had, of course, been a teenager once, and I knew it was a time of extremes, often hormone inspired, that led teens to say and do things that were overdramatic and sometimes irrational. Most of us survived the teen years and became normal, reasonable adults. Since Caitlin was working daily with her mother at the museum, I had to assume that they’d patched things up. I also had to believe that Caitlin was professionally competent; the exhibit planning and installation had gone smoothly… up until the point where someone had died, of course. And she’d managed to handle Hadley, which was definitely a plus in my opinion. Running a small museum was challenging under the best of circumstances-it seemed that the less money, the more internal clashes, as each department fought to defend its turf and compete for the small pot of available funds.
The next morning I woke up late. One look out the window and I decided that I couldn’t face walking to the station and waiting in the spitting icy rain and gusty wind, so I decided to drive into the city. I went to work and threw myself into the day, and by the time I looked up it was lunchtime. How did that keep happening? At least if I kept skipping meals like this, I might lose a few pounds, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. Of course, if I kept sitting at my desk digging through piles of papers that needed my signature or my sage comments, my derriere was going to spread far and wide-one reason why I tried to walk as often as I could around the city.
The phone rang. Eric answered it and then called out, “It’s Mrs. Heffernan.”
“I’ll pick up.” I matched my actions to my words. “Hello, Arabella. Thank you for sending the lovely gift basket. What’s up?”
The tone of Arabella’s voice immediately set alarm bells ringing. “Oh, Nell! Caitlin’s missing.”
“What do you mean, missing?” Had Caitlin suddenly decided that this whole museum mess was too much to handle? Had she and Jason fled to a happy island in the sun?
“Jason tells me that he saw her at breakfast and she seemed all right. Maybe a little stressed out, but we all are at the moment, aren’t we?” Arabella laughed ruefully. “But she never arrived at work, and she’s not answering her cell phone.”
Was Arabella overreacting? Caitlin couldn’t have been out of touch for more than a couple of hours. Maybe she had gone somewhere to clear her head. I stalled. “Is that unusual?”
“No, she’s usually very conscientious. And she told Jason she was on her way to work when she left. Oh, Nell, I’m afraid something’s happened to her!”
Since we still hadn’t figured out who or what the attacks at Let’s Play were directed at, it was all too possible that there was something sinister about Caitlin’s disappearance. Should Arabella talk to the police?
She had already thought of that. “I called that awful detective, and she said that Caitlin was an adult and we weren’t even sure she was missing, so there was nothing she could do. Then she hung up on me.”
That sounded like Detective Hrivnak, but I had to agree that from her perspective it was a reasonable response. So, we couldn’t expect any police help right now. “What do you want me to do, Arabella?” I had to ask, even though I had no idea what I
“Could you?”
“I’m on my way. See you in half an hour.” I hung up and stared at my phone.
Eric appeared in the doorway. “Trouble?”
“Caitlin’s gone missing. Maybe it’s nothing, but Arabella’s upset. It seems unlikely anything’s happened, but on the other hand, if there really is something wrong and I didn’t go over to help Arabella, I’d hate myself.”
Eric nodded in agreement, then said tentatively, “Maybe this is out of line, but do you want me to come along? Maybe I can help?”
It wasn’t a bad idea. He had known Caitlin during a difficult time in her life, and he might have some insights. “Okay, why not? After all, you know Caitlin, too.”
It was after two when we finally left the building, bundled up against the harsh wind. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still densely grey. Even so, I decided it was too much trouble to try to extricate my car from where I’d parked, since it was unlikely I’d find parking easier near Let’s Play, and all the cabs were occupied. “I guess we’re walking. Will you be warm enough?” Eric’s thin leather jacket was obviously intended for Virginia winters, not Philadelphia city gales, and the cheerful wool scarf wrapped around his neck wasn’t much help.
“Don’t worry about me-just keep moving fast and I’ll stay warm!”
We did. It took about twenty minutes to reach Let’s Play, and the young woman at the front desk sent us up to Arabella’s office. When we reached it, Arabella bounced out of her chair and came over to hug me before I’d even taken off my coat.
“Oh, Nell, thank you for coming! I know I seem silly, but I’m so worried. Oh, excuse me-who’s this?” She’d finally noticed Eric, hovering behind me.
“I’m Eric Marston, Ms. Pratt’s assistant. I was at Bishop’s Gate with Kathleen-Caitlin.”
Eric stepped forward and offered his hand, and Arabella shook it cautiously, studying him. A frown flashed across her face and disappeared quickly. “Did you know her well?”
“Not very, but I thought maybe I could help.”
I dumped my coat on a chair and turned to face Arabella. “Sit down and tell me what you think is going on. Why are you so worried?”
Arabella sat behind her desk and glanced briefly at Eric before starting to talk. “Caitlin’s very responsible, very organized. She always plans, and she always does what she says she will. She told Jason that she was leaving for work.”
“How does she get to work? Drive? Train?” Arabella had said something about Camden, across the river, when we first met, but I wasn’t sure what that commute would be like.
“Sometimes she takes the train. Sometimes she and Jason come in together, but not today. She drove her car today, and Jason took the train in later. He’s still taking it easy, and he’d just gotten up when Caitlin left.”
“You’ve talked to him?”
“Of course. Do you think we should include him now?”
Why not? The more the merrier. Although on some level I believed that Caitlin would walk in at any moment and ask what all the fuss was about. Maybe she was out somewhere picking up supplies for the exhibit opening- assuming, of course, that it was going to open on schedule. Arabella picked up the phone and called someone to track down Jason. “He’s still working here?” I asked.
Arabella nodded. “Just finishing up the last details. Thank goodness he wasn’t seriously hurt. Caitlin would have been devastated.”
“How long have they been seeing each other?”
“A year now?” Arabella said, clearly distracted. “Caitlin moved out of the house in June, I think, and they’ve been sharing a place ever since.”
“Does she enjoy working here?” I wondered if Arabella would be truthful.
