The Dead Room

“Eileen, I’ll keep you posted,” he promised her. “And if you think of anything at all that might be of help, tell me. Please.”



“A black sedan, you said? A nice sedan?” she said.



“Yes. Why?”



“There are black sedans parked all over the financial district on a daily basis,” she said dully.



“I’ll be in touch,” he promised.



He reached the dig right at eleven. Both Adam and Nikki were standing outside the grid tapes but near the crypt, waiting.



“What’s going on?” he asked them.



“A minor argument,” Nikki said, her eyes sparkling. “I think Leslie is winning. Somehow she’s gotten Brad on her side.”



“And you stayed to watch the fireworks? What about your flight?” he asked Adam.



“I’ve rebooked,” Adam told him. “As has Nikki.”



“Oh.” Joe wasn’t sure if he was relieved or a little dismayed. Would she still want him at the house if Adam and Nikki were there?



“I can put things off for a few days,” Adam said.



“And I have a very understanding husband,” Nikki told him.



They both sounded cheerful, but he had the feeling that if they were staying, it was because they were worried.



“That’s great,” he said, mostly meaning it. He had things he could be doing, and he wasn’t meeting Brad until that evening.



“You’re going to stick around the site, then?” he asked the other two.



“One of us will be with Leslie at all times,” Nikki assured him.



He nodded again. “Great. So what’s the argument about?”



“Leslie wants the remains of a woman and a child interred together. A mother and child.”



“Laymon has a problem with that?”



“Laymon usually wants the bones he finds studied and cataloged, but this time, he doesn’t want the graves in the crypt walls disturbed.”



A moment later Leslie emerged from the crypt, looking triumphant. Brad was right behind her. She didn’t notice Joe’s arrival at first as she turned and flashed a giant smile Brad’s way, squeezing his arm. “Thank you,” she told him.



“My pleasure. But let’s spend the day dusting and cataloguing and making the old ogre happy, huh? That was great, convincing him that you could make him out to be such a wonderful and compassionate man, not just digging into the past, but doing his best to lay it properly to rest.”



“I shall enjoy every long and tedious moment of the day,” she promised. “Hey, if you run over to the trailer, I bet you’ll find Hank Smith. Fill him in on what we’re doing. It will be good P.R. for Tyson, Smith and Tryon, as well.”



“Where are those TV cameras when you need them?” Brad teased, running his fingers through his hair to smooth it back.



Leslie laughed, then saw Joe. She lifted her chin, clearly defying him to accuse Brad of anything as she walked over to where he was standing with Adam and Nikki.



“I hear you have another success story going,” he said.



“I’m happy. I think we’re doing the right thing,” she said.



“Good. And Adam and Nikki are staying, so I’ve been told.”



Leslie frowned at that, looking at the other two. “I don’t like holding you guys back,” she said.



“If it weren’t fine, we wouldn’t be doing it,” Nikki said.



“Well, then, I’m off to see a man about a map—a bunch of maps, actually,” Joe said. He didn’t touch Leslie, not in that company, though he longed to. “I want to check out some public records,” he added.



“I see. And you’re meeting Brad for drinks this evening?” Leslie asked.



“Yes. Can I find you all for dinner after?”



“You’ve got my cell phone number,” she reminded him, studying his eyes. She was obviously still worried about his upcoming conversation with Brad.



“And you can call me if you need me. Anytime.” He looked from Leslie to Nikki to Adam, then back to Leslie. She was smiling again. She appreciated his concern, he knew, and he thought she really did like having him around.



With a wave, he left.



His ultimate destination was the office of public records, but he didn’t head straight there. Instead, despite the traffic, he found himself driving around the area, putting together a mental map that included the prostitutes’ street, the position of the dig, Hastings House and the subway. There was a lot of ongoing construction in the area. There were cranes, scaffolding and temporary wire fences on several blocks. Finally he headed past the tenement where he had talked with Heidi Arundsen and Didi, then he continued on at last to his destination.



Leslie was pleased with the day’s work, especially because Laymon had accepted the ongoing help of both Nikki and Adam with little question once he’d discovered that they knew how to move delicately and that Adam was a whiz at deciphering records. Besides, they were free labor, the professor had said with a smile.



They never left the site for lunch but sat in the shade and ate sandwiches from the back of a truck. When five rolled around, they were exhausted.



“That really was a good day’s work,” Leslie murmured, stretching her back, ready to call it quits.



Laymon sniffed. “The first in several days,” he commented.



Leslie grinned at Nikki and Adam as they all cleaned up as best they could in a hurry. Brad actually seemed eager to meet with Joe.



“Well…have fun,” she told him, refraining from telling him that Joe suspected he might be a maniacal killer.



By the time she, Nikki and Adam walked back to Hastings House, it was closed to the public for the day, and the staff had all gone home. Adam excused himself, saying that he wanted to rest before dinner. Leslie and Nikki showered to rid themselves of the dust from their work in the crypt, and then Leslie said, “Want to go for a walk?”



“Sure. I’m up for whatever you think will help.”



A few minutes later, they left the house.



“What?” Leslie demanded, seeing the troubled look that had suddenly come over Nikki’s face.



“Nothing.”



“What?” Leslie insisted.



“I…I might have seen Matt,” the other woman said softly.



Leslie frowned, grabbing her arm. “Where? When? Why didn’t I see him?”



She didn’t realize what a death grip she had on her friend until Nikki gently removed her hand. “I…I’ve been at this longer, I guess. And I’m not certain at all. It was such a pale image.”



“What was he doing?”



“It was as if…as if he was guarding the front door,” Nikki said. “And…”



“And what?”



“He reached out for you as we were leaving.”



Leslie stared at her, then went running back up the steps to the house. She opened the door, almost forgetting to turn off the alarm as she burst into the entry hall.



“Matt?”



Nikki waited outside, behind her.



“Matt, please!” Leslie said urgently as she walked farther into the room. Suddenly she thought she felt it. Something gentle against her cheek, her hair. She stood there, waiting. She couldn’t leave.



Nikki came back inside, closing the door behind her.



“Do you see him?” Leslie whispered.



“No, I’m sorry.”



Leslie couldn’t see him, but she felt him. She was sure of it.



As she stood there, she suddenly heard the sobbing again. She spun around to stare at Nikki. “Do you hear it?”



Nikki frowned. “I’m…I’m not sure.”



Leslie still couldn’t see Matt, but she could hear him then.



Ignore whatever you think you hear, please. It’s…it’s dangerous for you. I’ll find a way to help, I promise, but you have to get out. You have to leave. Dear, God, Leslie…



Ghosts were supposed to be accompanied by a chill, but all she felt was warmth. The warmth of his love. She shook her head. “I can’t ignore it,” she said aloud. “I can’t, Matt.”



She turned and started walking through the house, through the kitchen, to the servants’ pantry. She lifted the hatch.



“Leslie, what are you doing?” Nikki demanded from behind her.



“Listening.”



The crying sound floated faintly in the air, hollow, haunting.



“Are we going down?” Nikki asked.



Leslie spun around to face her. “Don’t you hear it?”



Nikki looked back at her and sighed. “Yes, I hear something, like a keening. But it isn’t real.”



“Not this time,” Leslie said. Then, decisively, “Come on. We’re going for that walk.”



She closed the hatch and started back toward the front of the house. Nikki followed her, questions in her eyes, but patient.



Leslie let Nikki leave first, then looked back into the house.



“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “Matt…don’t leave me.”



She set the alarm, then closed and locked the door. “I want to go around the block, if that sounds okay to you.”



“Wherever you want to go,” Nikki assured her.



They started walking.



There was no way out of the fact that a lot of investigative work was time-consuming and tedious. Such had been Joe’s day.



But by the time he was due to meet with Brad, he had discovered several new links. For one thing, he now knew that Genevieve had almost certainly known Hank Smith well.



Furthermore, the building where Heidi Arundsen lived and Betty had once resided wasn’t owned by a single man. It was managed by a drunkard with a record, a man named Sylvester Swanson. But Swanson was paid by something called the Jigger Land Corporation, which had been purchased by a megacompany two years ago.



Tyson, Smith and Tryon.



He had sifted through facts on the building and the facts on cars. Laymon drove a white Ford SUV. Brad had a refurbished classic Mustang. Hank owned a Mercedes, a Rolls and a Jaguar. Ken Dryer wheeled around in a beige Infiniti, and Robert Adair had a ten-year-old Buick. None of them owed a black sedan.