“Until this recent mess, I would have said yes. You must think it odd, that she’s here. Fears of nepotism and all that. Eric-have I got it right?-I know you must have heard what she thought of me a few years ago, but we’ve worked hard to get past that. When I offered her the job at Let’s Play, she was clearly the best qualified candidate for the position. She majored in business administration in college, but she took a minor in early childhood education. I was so happy when she joined us! And she’s done a great job! She handled Hadley so much better than I could have-I simply have no patience with that woman. Oh, Jason, there you are.”
Jason was slouching in the doorway. “Hi, Arabella. What do you need?”
“Jason, you probably don’t remember Nell Pratt, given the circumstances under which you met-she was here when you were hurt. And this is Eric…?”
“Eric Marston. I’m Nell’s administrative assistant. And I knew Caitlin years ago, at school in Virginia.”
“Jason, you haven’t heard from Caitlin, have you?” Arabella asked anxiously.
He shook his head. “Nope, and my cell’s been on.”
“She seemed fine, as far as I could tell, when she came by yesterday,” I volunteered. “Did anything happen after that, that might have upset her?”
Jason shrugged. “She got home a little late, but she seemed up. She mentioned seeing you, Nell, and she said you’d given her some good ideas. Caitlin’s worked really hard on this exhibit. She felt guilty about my accident, too, since she’s the one who brought me in to help-she knew I needed the work.”
“You’re a graduate student?” I asked.
“Yeah, at Penn. Money’s kind of tight, so when Caitlin said she needed some temporary help finishing up the exhibit, I jumped at the chance.”
“No aftereffects from your shock?”
“Nah. I had a headache for a day, but that’s about it. Caitlin takes this whole exhibit very seriously-it’s the first one she’s handled by herself, and I think she wants to prove herself. And she’s very detail oriented, which is why she was so bothered by the electrical shorts. That’s something that shouldn’t have happened, period.”
“Jason,” Arabella appealed to him, “do you have any idea where she might have gone? She didn’t say anything about an errand? Something she had to pick up? Did she talk to anyone after she got home last night?”
“I don’t… wait, there was a phone call, around nine. She picked up but didn’t talk long.”
“Did she say who it was?” I asked.
“I think she said it was her father.”
“What?” Arabella exclaimed.
I was equally, if more quietly, surprised. I tried to remember exactly what Nolan had said about contacting Caitlin, and remembered again how he’d kind of ducked the question. “This wasn’t the first time she’d heard from him, was it?”
Jason looked between Arabella and me. “No, I don’t think so. She’s been writing to him for months. Sorry, Arabella, she didn’t want you to know.”
I turned to Arabella. “She never told you?”
“No!” she snapped. “She knows how I feel about him. He abandoned us and never looked back. I’ve had nothing to do with him for years, decades even. How did they ever find each other? I wouldn’t have known where to look for him.”
“He’s never contacted her? He
“He never tried,” Arabella said. “Not that I would’ve let him when Caitlin was younger. I can’t say what went on when she was in college, but she never mentioned him to me.”
“I think she started it,” Jason said. “It’s not hard to find people with the Internet nowadays, and Ireland’s not that big.”
“Do you think that’s why he really came back-to see Caitlin?” I asked.
Jason shrugged. “I don’t know. She told me he’d been in touch, but she was kind of secretive about him. She didn’t want to bring him to our place, and I’m not sure she wanted him to meet me. It was like she wanted him all to herself, at least for now. Why, do you think maybe she’s with him?”
“She used to talk about him at school,” Eric said, speaking for the first time. I’d forgotten he’d even come along. We all turned to look at him, and he shrank back in his chair. “I got the impression that he was a sort of heroic figure to her. He was some kind of noble revolutionary who’d been forced to flee the country because he was being pursued by the authorities for his political activities-and because her mom pushed him away. The fact that he never got in touch with her meant she could idolize him without pesky reality getting in the way.”
Arabella looked devastated. I stepped in. “Do you know how to get in touch with him?” I asked her. “I think he needs to be part of this conversation. Either Caitlin’s with him, or he might know something.”
Arabella shook her head, her jaw tight. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask, when I saw him.”
“Jason, do you have any idea?”
“If I was home, I could look at the phone and see the listings for recent calls. Sorry-can’t do it from here.”
I thought for a moment. James no doubt had an address for him, but I didn’t want to drag the FBI into this situation-yet. Barney Hogan had said he knew Nolan slightly, had seen him around town recently. Maybe he knew where Nolan was hanging out these days. Shelby would have Barney’s number. I stood up. “Excuse me-I’m going to make a call.”
I stalked out into the hall outside Arabella’s office and called Shelby on my cell phone. When she answered, I said without preamble, “I don’t have time to talk right now, but can you give me Barney’s phone number? Does he have a cell?”
“Yes, ma’am-that’s how I reach him.” She read me off the number, which I copied on a scrap of paper.
“Thanks. I’ll fill you in when I have time.” I disconnected, then immediately called Barney, waiting impatiently through five rings. Thank God he finally answered. “Barney, it’s Nell Pratt. I can’t explain right now, but do you know where I can find Nolan Treacy at the moment?”
Barney, bless him, didn’t waste time asking stupid questions. “He’s made himself at home at O’ Reilly’s, on Chestnut. You want me to roust him from there? I’m only a couple of blocks away.”
“Would you? And if you don’t find him there, could you let me know, and spread the word that his ex needs to talk with him? It’s about his daughter.”
“I’ll do that.” He rang off. A no-nonsense man, exactly what we needed at the moment.
I went back to Arabella’s office, where three sets of eyes swiveled toward me. “I’ve got someone looking for him. It may be a while. Does anyone have any more ideas? Jason, any friends Caitlin might contact? Arabella, is she close to anyone here at the museum?”
They both hesitated, just as the phone on Arabella’s desk rang. She looked at it as though it were a snake, then reached out a hand and snatched it up. “Hello?”
I watched as her face fell. Not Caitlin, then. But not bad news, either.
“Nolan, you get yourself over here now! If Caitlin’s not with you, she’s missing, and you’ve got to tell me what you know.” Arabella listened for a moment, then hung up. “He’s on his way.”
CHAPTER 27
Arabella had calmed down a bit by the time the front desk called to say that Nolan had arrived. We’d spent the intervening time going over the same sparse information. Caitlin hadn’t called, and she still wasn’t answering her phone. I had no constructive ideas, so I devoted some of my time to watching the rain dribble down the windows of Arabella’s office. If the temperature dropped much, it would turn to sleet.
Nolan appeared in the doorway to the office, a cliche tweed cap dangling from his hand. Arabella didn’t rise to greet him. She was sending a clear signal: this was her domain, and she was in charge here. The rest of us nodded at him.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “Something about Caitlin?”
“She’s missing,” Arabella said flatly. “Would you know anything about that? I understand you’ve been in contact with her for some time. A fact you neglected to mention to me.”
