Relic

crazy as everyone said.

Frock smiled. “My dear, I make no assumptions. I will await further evidence. For the moment, I simply hope this unpleasantness will not influence your decision on whether to remain with the Museum. Oh, yes, I’ve heard about it, and I was very sorry to get the news of your father’s death. But you’ve displayed three gifts that are indispensable to a first-class researcher: a sense of what to look for, a sense of where to look for it, and the zeal to see your theories through.” He moved the wheelchair closer to her. “Academic zeal is just as important as zeal in the field, Miss Green. Always remember that. Your technical training, your lab work, has been excellent. It would be a shame if our profession were to lose someone of your talents.”

Margo felt a mix of gratitude and resentment. “Thank you, Dr. Frock,” she replied. “I appreciate the kind words—and your concern.”

The scientist waved his hand, and Margo said goodbye. But at the door, she heard Frock speak again.

“Miss Green?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“Please be watchful.”

= 7 =

Outside she nearly collided with Smithback. He leaned toward her, winking roguishly. “How about lunch?”

“No,” said Margo. “Too busy.” Twice in one day—she wasn’t sure she could stand such a full dose of Smithback.

“Come on,” he urged. “I’ve got some more grisly details about the murders.”

“It figures.” She quickened her pace down the hall, irritated that her curiosity was aroused.

Smithback grabbed her arm. “I hear they’re serving a delicious aged and oven-dried lasagna in the cafeteria.” He steered her toward the elevator.

The lunchroom was filled with the usual crowd of curators, beefy guards talking loudly, and assorted technicians and preparators in white lab coats. One curator was passing specimens around to a table of fellow scientists, who were murmuring in admiration and interest. Margo took a closer look. The specimens were pickled parasitic worms, coiled in jars of cloudy formaldehyde.

[40] They sat down and Margo tried to saw through the crust of her lasagna.

“Just like I promised,” Smithback said, picking up a piece in his hand and biting off a corner with a crunch. “Been on the steam table since nine o’clock this morning, at least.”

He chewed noisily. “Well, the police finally made it official. There were two murders here last night. Brilliant to have figured it out! And you remember all those questions the reporters asked about wild animals? Well, there’s also a chance they were mauled to death by a wild animal.”

“Not while I’m eating,” Margo said.

“That’s right. Literally shredded, by the sound of it.”

Margo looked up. “Please.”

“I kid you not,” Smithback continued. “And the heat is on to get this thing solved, particularly with the big exhibition coming up. I hear the cops have even enlisted a special coroner. Someone who reads gaping claw wounds like Helen Keller reads braille.”

“Damn it, Smithback,” Margo said and dropped her fork. “I’m sick of this—your cavalier attitude and your gory particulars while I’m having lunch. Can’t I eat first and hear about this stuff later?”

“As I was saying,” Smithback continued, ignoring the outburst, “she’s supposedly an expert on big cats. Dr. Matilda Ziewicz. Some name, huh. Sounds fat.”

Despite her annoyance, Margo suppressed a smile. Smithback might be a jerk, but at least he was a funny jerk. She shoved her tray away. “Where’d you hear all this?” she asked.

Smithback grinned. “I have my sources.” He shoveled another piece of lasagna into his mouth. “Actually, I ran into a friend who writes for the News. Somebody got the story from a contact in the NYPD. It’s going to be all over the afternoon papers. Can you imagine Wright’s face when he sees that? Oh, God.”

Smithback cackled for a moment before filling his [41] mouth again. He’d finished his own and was starting on Margo’s. For a thin guy, he ate like a beast.

“But how could there be a wild animal loose in the Museum?” Margo asked. “That’s absurd.”

“Yeah? Well, get this: They’ve got someone in here with a bloodhound, trying to track the son of a bitch.”

“Now you’re joking.”

“Hey, not me. Ask any of the security guards. There’s a million square feet in this joint where a big cat or something could be roaming, including five miles of forced-air ducts big enough for a man to crawl around in. And under the Museum is a warren of abandoned tunnels. They’re taking it seriously.”

“Tunnels?”

“Yup. Didn’t you read my article in last month’s magazine? The first Museum was built on an artesian swamp that couldn’t be permanently drained. So they built all these tunnels to divert the water. Then, when the original Museum burned down in 1911, they built the present Museum on top of the old Museum’s basement. The subbasement is huge, multileveled ... much of it isn’t even electrified. I doubt if there’s anybody still alive who really knows their way around down there.”