���Trula,��� she called, as she came through the swinging door from the back hallway.
���She ran to the store,��� Susanna told her. ���Are you joining me for lunch?���
���No, I have to run out for a few hours and I won’t get back till later tonight. I was hoping to ask Trula if she’d pick up Chloe for me at school at five and let her hang out here until I get back.���
���One of us will get Chloe, and I’m sure Trula will be delighted to spend some time with her.���
Emme grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl Trula left on the counter for them and calculated how long she thought she’d be. If she left now and made good time, she could be there by four. She wouldn’t stay more than an hour at the congressman’s house-he made it pretty plain that he only has so much to say and when he’s done, the conversation is over. She doubted he’d have much to say to Ava, so an hour would be generous. Traffic permitting, she shouldn’t be too late. ���I think I should be back between eight and nine. Chloe can curl up on one of the sofas in the family room if she gets sleepy.���
���That one never gets sleepy when she’s around Trula, haven’t you noticed that? The two of them are like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump would say.���
���Tell Trula I’ll give her a call when I’m on my way home.���
���Sure. Don’t worry about Chloe. We’ll take good care of her,��� Susanna assured her.
���Thanks. I’ll see you later, Suse.��� Emme hurried out the back door and headed for her car. Nick’s Firebird was parked right next to hers and she paused, thinking maybe she should leave a note for him. They’d talked about dinner tonight, and she didn’t want him to think she was standing him up. She’d been looking forward to spending some time with him, but she knew he’d understand. She’d call him from the car and explain. Maybe he’d even wait for her.
She got into her car and took off. The last thing she felt like doing was driving to Ballard again, but if something happened to Ava while she was at Gardner’s house, she’d never forgive herself. Besides, if Gardner had been lying to her, she wanted to know. Her instincts had told her he’d been truthful, but if she was losing her touch, she wanted to be the first to know about it.
Mallory rubbed her eyes and searched the pile of applications for her misplaced reading glasses. Had she had them on earlier when she went down to the kitchen? She couldn’t remember. But they weren’t on the desk and they weren’t in her bag, and they had to be somewhere. Besides, it gave her an excuse to go down to the kitchen and see what was cooking. Literally. She’d bet on vegetable soup and lemon squares but she could be wrong.
���Oh, look who’s here.��� Mallory smiled when she saw Chloe on a chair at the sink. ���Are you helping Trula, Chloe?���
���Uh-huh. I’m helping Trula clean up. But I’m not Chloe.���
���You aren’t?���
Chloe shook her head, no.
���You look just like Chloe Caldwell, but if you’re someone else, who are you?��� Mallory asked.
���My name is Nancy Drew,��� Chloe said without turning around.
���Nancy Drew is the name of a famous girl detective.��� Mallory tried not to smile.
���I know. Like my mommy.���
���I think Nancy Drew was a little older than you, though.��� Mallory helped herself to a lemon square and sat at the table.
���Trula told me. She’s going to read one of the books for me ���cause I can’t read yet.���
���Well, they’re certainly fun books. I read them all when I was younger. Maybe not quite as young as four, though.���
���Chloe has very sophisticated tastes.��� Trula winked at Mal.
���Nancy does,��� Chloe corrected her. ���Nancy has��� what you said.���
���Oh, to be four again. It must be fun to just change your name whenever you feel like it.��� Mal looked beyond the little girl to Trula.
���You don’t have to be four,��� Chloe told her. ���Grown-ups can change their names, too. My mommy changed her name.���
���You mean, from Emily to Emme? That’s sort of shortening her name, like a nickname.��� Mallory licked confectioners’ sugar from her fingers.
���No, her name wasn’t Emily. It was Ann.��� Chloe held up her soapy hands and squished them together.
���Ann Caldwell?��� Mallory tried to remember if the application had shown Emily or Ann as a middle name.
���No, Ann Nolan.���
���Ann Nolan?��� Mallory looked across the room at Trula, who’d turned to stare at Chloe.
���Uh-huh. She changed it before we left California. She liked Emme Caldwell better and she said that sometimes you can change your name if you want to, if you find one you like better. I change mine all the time.��� She turned and grinned at Mallory. ���So you could have a new name too, if you wanted.���
���I think I’ll go upstairs and��� think about that.��� Mallory was still looking at Trula. ���I’ll be in my office��� looking up names, Trula.���
Trula nodded but appeared too confused to speak.
Mallory couldn’t get to her computer quickly enough. She entered Ann Nolan into Magellan Express and waited for the information to be retrieved. She watched in horror as pictures of Silver Hill, California, police officer Ann Nolan came onto her screen. The woman she knew-the woman they all knew-as Emme Caldwell was identified in caption after caption as Ann Nolan.
She read every article, then sat with her head in her hands. Who was this woman really? What was she hiding? Why had she lied?
And what were they going to do about it?
TWENTY-SIX
Well, you boys look like you had a fun day,��� Trula said as Robert, Kevin, and Nick filed through the back door.
���We had a great day.��� Robert kissed her on the cheek as he passed by, causing her eyebrows to rise. ���I found my car, Trula. The car I’ve been coveting for years.���
���Well, that’s nice.��� Trula turned back to the sink where she’d been cutting the stems off some flowers she’d just brought in.
���Hi, Mal,��� Robert said as Mallory came into the room.
���Hi. Um��� Robert, could I have a word with you?��� Mallory asked.
���Sure. What’s up?��� He went to the refrigerator and opened the door. To Nick and Kevin he said, ���Iced tea, guys?���
���Yes, thanks.��� Kevin got out glasses. ���Nick?���
���No, thanks,��� Nick said. All he really wanted was to see Emme.
���Privately.��� Mallory stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.
���What’s going on, Mal? Problem?��� Robert persisted.
���It’s business, Robert.���
���Sorry, Mal,��� Robert said as he poured tea into two glasses. ���I’m just so stoked about this car. I’ll be with you in a minute.��� He turned to Trula. ���You know, Prince Charles has a car like this one, only he had his converted to running on bioethanol fuel. He has it specially made from surplus wine.���
���Is that true?��� Trula asked, and Robert assured her it was.
���I don’t see Emme’s car.��� Nick looked out the back window, feeling a bit awkward. There was obviously something going on that Mallory didn’t want to discuss in front of him. ���Did she go somewhere?���
���Actually, you just missed her,��� Trula told him. ���She left about forty minutes ago.���
���Do you know how long she’ll be?��� he asked. ���I was hoping to say hi while I was here.�
����
���She’s planning on being awhile, wherever she went. Suse said she’d need one of us to pick up Chloe from school.���
���Oh.��� He hadn’t realized just how much he’d been looking forward to seeing her. ���Well, I guess I’ll be getting back to my shop. Robert, thanks for a fun day. My first time in a private plane. I could get used to it.���
���Hey, anytime you get a lead on a car like that one, we’re in.��� Robert slapped Nick on the back. ���Seriously. That Aston-Martin is a dream come true for me.���
���In its present condition, that might be a stretch, Robert.��� Nick grinned. ���But we’ll see what we can do for you.���
���I can’t wait.��� Robert shook his hand, and Nick said his good-byes to Trula and Kevin.
Nick went out to his car and rolled down the windows, thinking how nice it might be to have a new car with all the most up-to-date features like automatic windows and air-conditioning that blew really cold. He might have to break down one of these days and look into picking up something with air bags and antilock brakes. There was something to be said about the latest safety features.
He turned the Firebird around and drove toward the gates, waving to the guard as he passed by. He drove slowly and dialed Emme’s phone.
���Hey,��� he said when she answered.
���Hey, yourself. How’d the great car search go?��� she asked.
���Today Robert joined the ranks of classic car owners. He’s a very happy man. I’m thinking if you’re going to ask for a raise or a day off, today might be a good day to do it,��� Nick replied.
���We’ll see what kind of a mood he’s in when I get back there. I’m on my way to meet Ava at Congressman Gardner’s home.���
���Wow. There’s a pitch out of the blue. How’d that happen?���
���Ava called and said she wanted to talk to Gardner about his donor status, and asked me to be there with her. She said she thought my presence might make the meeting more official, and that she’d feel safer if I was there.���
���Safer?��� Nick frowned. ���Safer from whom? Gardner? He didn’t seem like much of a threat to me.���
���I agree, but she told me an entirely different story than the one we got from him. According to Ava, Belle told her that she had identified Gardner as Donor 1735 and that she was on her way to meet with him when she left the art museum in January.���
���What?���
���She said that she spoke with Belle while Belle was driving to Maryland, that Belle was going to Gardner’s house to try to talk to him. When Ava didn’t hear from Belle, she just figured Gardner wasn’t home when she got there and that Belle just continued on back to school. Ava said she’s been busy at school and figured that Belle was, too. Until she saw my emails, she wasn’t aware that Belle’s been missing all this time.���
���She didn’t try to contact Belinda at all?���
���It’s the same thing we’ve heard from all these kids, Nick. They get busy with their own lives, they back off for a while, they resurface when things are less hectic for them. Ava said she hadn’t heard from Belle, but on the other hand, she hadn’t been in contact with any of the others during that time, either.���
���So she doesn’t know if Belinda ever spoke with Gardner.���
���No, and it’s my guess she did not. I really thought he was being up front with us the other day.���
���So you said.��� Nick fell thoughtful for a moment. ���Any chance you’re wrong about that?���
���There’s always a chance that I’m wrong. But I’m pretty good at reading people. I didn’t believe he was lying at the time, and I still don’t.���
���Hey, you know, Ballard is only a little more than an hour away from me. Maybe we could meet somewhere and have dinner. I know a couple of really great seafood places on the bay.���
���I’d love that. I don’t expect to be with Gardner for too long. We both know the congressman doesn’t have a problem pulling the plug when he’s said what he has to say.���
���True enough. So what do you think, maybe a half hour there?���
���I doubt he’d give Ava any more time than that,��� Emme said. ���He made it pretty clear the other day that he doesn’t have any interest in these kids.���
���I know a great little place we can meet. It’s maybe a half hour from Ballard.���
���Perfect.���
���Call me when you get to Gardner’s, and I’ll know how much time I have to get there.���
���Will do. I should be there by four, so I should be leaving by about four thirty, probably no later than four forty-five. Do you think we should invite Ava to join us?���
���No. I want to see you, spend some time alone, public though it may be.���
���Sounds good. I was just trying to be nice, anyway.���
���You are being nice. You’re driving three hours to keep her company. I’ll see you later.��� Nick hung up, smiling. He knew it would be only dinner-she did have Chloe waiting for her-but even that was fine. He wanted to see her, wanted to be with her. They’d spent some time together since the day at the farm, but neither of them had spoken about what had happened between them. There’d been things he’d wanted to say, words that had just never made their way out of his mouth. He was hoping to do better tonight.
He turned on the radio hoping for inspiration. The best he could find was a station that played love ballads from the fifties and sixties. He sang along all the way to Khoury’s Ford.
He stopped at Automobilia to look over the mail and to check on what the other mechanics had done while he was gone. He finished making his rounds in the garage and looked up at the large wall clock over the door into the office. It was four thirty. He checked his phone for missed calls but none showed on the screen. Frowning, he dialed her number. She should have been there by now. Actually, according to her timetable, she should be leaving Gardner’s by now. Had she simply forgotten to call? Or had he misunderstood? Had she said she’d call when she was leaving Gardner’s?
Emme didn’t pick up his call, so he left a message that he was going to head over to the restaurant and gave her driving directions, then drove there himself. When he arrived at five fifteen and she still hadn’t called, he called her again.
Once again, the call went to voice mail. He got out of his car and walked to the end of the parking lot and back again. He pulled out his cell phone, scrolled down his contact list until he found the main number for the foundation, and called. Then he waited while the directory went through the staff names and extensions. He punched in the number for Robert, and waited, not confident that the call would be picked up. When Robert answered, he was caught off guard.
���Robert, it’s Nick. I really didn’t expect to get through to you but I’m glad I did.���
���I’m usually not in my office at this hour but something’s come up.��� Robert sounded distracted.
���I’m sorry to bother you. I was just wondering if you’d heard from Emme.��� Nick explained the situation.
���No, but let me ask.��� He put his hand over the phone and spoke with someone in the background. ���No, no one’s heard from her.���
���Maybe I should drive down there and see if she ever arrived.��� Nick thought aloud.
���I can tell you if she’s there,��� Robert said, ���if that would help.���
���How can you do that? She isn’t answering her phone.���
���She doesn’t have to for me to track it. The phones we had designed for the foundation have GPS in them.���
���I thought most c
ell phones had GPS.���
���A lot of them do. But ours have a system I can track on the computer myself. Hold on, Nick, let me see what I can do.���
Moments later, Robert came back on the line. ���I have her at 38 Pond Drive, Ballard, Maryland.���
���That’s it. So she is there.���
���Is there a problem, Nick?���
���Probably not. Thanks, Robert. Sorry to have bothered you.��� Nick hung up and walked back to the car. He was feeling antsy, unsettled, and wasn’t sure why.
Maybe things hadn’t gone so smoothly with Congressman Gardner after all. Maybe he should drive down to Ballard and just see for himself what was keeping her. He debated. If all was well, Emme might not appreciate him inviting himself to the party.
But if all was well, why hadn’t she called?
���
Mallory sat across the desk from Robert and studied his face. In the time she’d worked for him, she’d never seen him so confounded.
���You’re telling me that Emme Caldwell isn’t Emme Caldwell,��� he said, as if he had trouble understanding the words. ���Emme isn’t Emme, she’s really someone named Ann Nolan?���
���Yes. That’s what I’m telling you.���
���And you are absolutely, 100 percent positive of this.���
���I wouldn’t have come to you if I wasn’t certain, Robert.���
���But she’s still a cop, right?���
���Yes, she was a police officer in California.���
���Have you spoken to her former department about this?���
���I tried to,��� Mallory told him, ���but the chief of police is on vacation this week and I really didn’t want to discuss this with anyone else there.���
���Why would she lie about who she is?��� He frowned. ���And how could she get the chief of police to lie for her?���
���I’ve been asking myself those very questions.��� ���I guess you’re going to have to ask her point blank,��� Robert told her. ���I guess we’ll both have some questions for her when she gets back tonight. I want to know why she wasn’t honest with us.���
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