When he got back, I ran the conversation for him. He listened, took a deep breath, and told me he’d talk to him. He asked if we had any hot chocolate brewing, got one, and took it upstairs. After a while he came back down. “I called him,” he said.
“What did you tell him?”
“That we were investigating an artifact and not Ms. Bannister. That it was potentially of historic significance, so we couldn’t simply walk away from it. I told him that we were willing to listen to what she had to say, and if she could give us a good reason to stop, we would.”
“What did he say?”
“He wasn’t happy.”
“Alex—”
“Yes?”
“I’m not either.”
“I know. This is hard on everybody.” He sat down. “I’m sorry. I wish we’d never seen the tablet.”
SIXTEEN
Eagles commonly fly alone: they are crows, daws, and starlings that flock together.
—John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
Next morning, Alex was waiting for me when I arrived at the country house. “We may be getting close to Conover, Chase.”
Tuttle’s compatriot. The guy who inherited the logs and, later, dropped out of sight. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know. But I think we may have located someone who can tell us where he is.”
“Who’s that?”
“Pinky Albertson. Back in the good times, she was his bartender.”
“His bartender?”
“What can I tell you? A lot of people have mentioned her. Some say if he was going to keep in touch with anyone, it would have been Pinky.”
“Ummm. Was he a lush?”
“No. Apparently, they were just very good friends.”
“So where is she?”
“That’s the problem.”
“You don’t know.”
“No. It’s just that it’s a long way. We’ll need the Belle-Marie.”
“Where are we going?”
“Starburst.”
“We’re never going to be able to manage this, are we?” Robin asked, when I told him I was headed out again.
“I don’t know. I guess I could get a job as a bookkeeper.”
“I make more than enough for the two of us.”
It’s an enlightened age, fortunately. Teachers are well paid. But—“I can’t see myself just hanging around the house, Robin.”
“You’d make a pretty good teacher.”
“Don’t have the patience. If you want me, you’re going to have to take me as I am.”
“You mean missing for weeks at a time—”
In the morning, minutes after I’d arrived in my office, Audree called. “It’s okay,” she said, when I told her I’d connect her with Alex. “I don’t want to bother him. I know how busy he is right now.”
“Sure. What can I do for you, Audree?”
“You guys haven’t gotten any more odd packages, have you?”
“No. We haven’t found out what that was about.”
“Fenn still doesn’t have anything, I guess?”
“If he does, he’s keeping it quiet.”
She looked subdued. Worried. “You think it has anything to do with the tablet?”
“What’s Alex telling you?”
“He doesn’t want to talk about it. Says it’s still an open matter.”
“That’s pretty much what I’ve heard, too.”
“What do you think, Chase?”
“I don’t know. We tend to make a few enemies in this business. Sometimes, just putting a buyer and a seller together can irritate somebody you didn’t even know was in the mix.”
“But this was more than somebody’s being annoyed.”
“Well, maybe. For what it’s worth, Audree, I only know a few lunatics, and all of them have a passion for artifacts.”
She laughed. “Are you guys actually going to find out what this is all about? The tablet, I mean.”
“There’s a decent chance.”
She was in her office at the Geologic Service. “Chase,” she said, “are you by any chance free for lunch? My treat?”
“By all means.”
“Girls’ day out.”
“Sure,” I said. I smothered an impulse to suggest we invite Alex.
We met at Cooley’s on the waterfront. I got there first, but had just sat down when Audree strolled in. She saw me, waved, and swept past the host’s station. We resumed our conversation where we’d left off, which made it a discussion about the tablet. “I honestly wouldn’t care one way or the other,” she said. “I mean, we’re talking about little green men, for God’s sake. What does it matter? But it means so much to Alex.”
I ordered chicken and rice; I don’t recall what Audree had, mostly because she seemed distracted by more than little green men, and that had the effect of distracting me. But I let it go, knowing that she’d get to whatever was bothering her in her own good time.
Cooley’s had been her suggestion. The food was okay, the ambience relaxing, and we could watch sailboats tacking past. But I think the critical element for her was the music. They had a pianist, and the guy was superb. “I wish I could play like that,” she said.
I’d heard her play. “You’re not bad, Audree,” I said. “If you had the time, I think you’d be at his level. You’re close enough now that I’m not sure I could tell you apart.”
“Chase, you’re very kind.” Her eyes glittered. And I watched her making up her mind. “Got a question for you.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“I think I might be falling for Alex.”
I looked at her. Smiled. Took her wrist. “You could do worse,” I said.
“Would it create a problem?”
“You mean for me? You mean are he and I emotionally involved?”
“Yes. I mean, I know Alex says there’s nobody else, and I think—”
“Audree, I love Alex. But I don’t mean romantic love. Sure, I’m emotionally attached. And I wouldn’t want you to grab him and take him off someplace where I’d never see him again. But other than that, I’d be delighted if you became a permanent part of his life.” I stopped, weighed my next words, and decided what the hell. “Of our lives.”
She seemed relieved. “I was wondering because—”
I knew why. The long rides, just the two of us, Alex and me, in the Belle-Marie. And the shared missions, generally. The media treated us as if we were a couple. Nobody ever said that flat out. But the implication was always there. My folks had even pressed me about it, several months earlier, trying indirectly to find out when Alex and I would be getting married. When I told them it wasn’t going to happen, they behaved as if I was being coy. “How’s he feel about it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He’s noncommittal. He may be cautious around women generally, or it may just be me.”
“I think that’s his disposition. I know he likes you quite a lot. Does he know how you feel?”
Her eyebrows lifted. “I don’t see how he could have missed it. But you know how guys are.” We finished the main course, and the dessert arrived, strawberry shortcake for me, chocolate pudding for her. When the server was gone, she continued: “He’s one of a kind, Chase.”
“I’d agree with that. And I wish you luck with him.”
“Thanks.”
I couldn’t resist: “If I’d staked a claim to him, you wouldn’t really have backed off, would you?”