Memory Lane

by Vella Munn

  The woman volunteer Kim had met yesterday was setting up brochures when Kim walked in the door. Kim had meant only to acknowledge the woman’s presence, but the volunteer stopped her. “I wish I’d known yesterday. You’re Margaret’s granddaughter. That woman. She talked me into coming here, and now I’m hooked.”

  “Grandmother can be like that.”

  “Don’t I know it.” The woman smiled. “I don’t mind. I just wish Margaret could get here more often. Years ago she used to be here all the time. But then she stopped coming. I guess other things took up her time.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Kim said by way of explanation. “She’s involved in too many things for her own good. You wouldn’t know where Mr. Coffers is, would you?”

  The woman frowned. “I’ve been in one of the storage rooms. I’m sorry. You might try down the hall.”

  Kim headed toward the conference room, her footsteps echoed. Before she’d gone more than ten feet, she felt cut off from the only other person sharing this part of the museum with her. She should have waited, come here when there were visitors to take away the silence.

  The conference room was empty; for a moment Kim fought an impulse to turn and walk back out the way she’d come. It was ridiculous. Just because the lighting in the room was poor was no reason to wonder what might be in the shadows. Shrugging off her unease with a shaky laugh, Kim closed the door behind her and retraced her steps. She found the volunteer’s presence comforting, but she couldn’t stall what had to be accomplished today. No one was in the room outside Rogan’s office. Kim slid her hands down her thighs, unnecessarily straightening her skirt. It was time to see if Rogan had changed his mind about having her here.

  Rogan was on the phone. Kim thought hostility and not surprise touched his features when he looked up at her, but the mood lasted such a brief period of time that the look was gone before she could be certain. Rogan pointed to a chair and then returned to his conversation. Kim didn’t pay much attention to what he was saying, something about an upcoming conference and Rogan’s inability to commit himself to attending.

  “Meetings,” Rogan muttered after putting down the receiver. “Meetings because someone thinks there has to be a meeting. Always something taking me from my work. You’re here early. What can I do for you, Ms. Revis?”

  Kim reminded Rogan that he had promised to find the building’s blueprints for her. “I have to have them if I’m going to know where structural beams and the wiring system are. I was hoping I could get started today.”

  “I wish you’d called.” Rogan began shaking old pipe tobacco out of his pipe. “I just had a few minutes to look yesterday. I didn’t find anything. I told Stephan that springing you on us when we’re so busy—”

  Kim almost pointed out that the museum director should know where important documents were stored, but held her tongue. The man was already hostile toward her. It wouldn’t do to further fuel his mood. “Then I guess the next best thing would be for me to meet with the security guard. I’d like to know what he considers the most vulnerable areas.”

  “William isn’t here.”

  “He isn’t? What time does he get to work?”

  Rogan consulted his watch. “Visitors don’t usually start showing up until about ten. I don’t punch a time clock for William. Ms. Revis, I know you believe you have a job to do, but I have a full schedule today.”

  The only thing Kim wanted to do was get out of Rogan’s office, but if she let herself be dismissed, it might set a dangerous precedent. “I understand.” She made herself smile. “I have a fair idea of how much responsibility lies on your shoulders. I thank you for your time, Mr. Coffers. If you find the blueprints this morning, I’ll be in the building.”

  Rogan was no longer playing with his pipe. “What are you going to do?”

  For the first time since she walked in, Kim felt she held the upper hand. “I need to familiarize myself with the physical plant.”

  “We did that yesterday. I showed you around.”

  “You gave me a cook’s tour.” Again Kim made herself smile. “I appreciate that. I also understand that your time is at a premium, and what I need to accomplish will be time-consuming.” Kim slowly got to her feet. It was important that Rogan believe she wasn’t at all bothered by his dismissal of her. “If you’re interested, I’ll give you a report on my preliminary findings. Of course you’re so busy—”

  “I’ll make time for you this afternoon.”

  Kim wasn’t ready to give herself a pat on the back, but she did believe she’d made her point with the museum director. She was an independent consultant. She didn’t have to wait around for the staff to find time for her.

  An hour and a half later Kim had a much clearer concept of the pluses and minuses of the Comstock Museum from a security perspective. Because the museum had only one public entrance, Kim would be recommending an electromagnetic locking device for the door. She still hadn’t come to a final decision about recommendations for protection of specific displays. That would have to wait until she’d talked to the guard and business manager, and seen the wiring blueprints. She’d been looking for both William and Garner while wandering through the museum but hadn’t seen either man.

  She was debating whether she would have to ask Rogan to find the men for her when Garner appeared at the opposite end of the hall. For a moment he stared blankly at Kim. Then, his smile unfolding slowly, he acknowledged her presence. “I’ve been outside,” he explained as they met in the middle of the hall. “My eyes haven’t adjusted to the dark. If I’d known you were going to be here— Where’s Rogan? I thought he was supposed to be helping you.”

  Dismissing her uneasy reaction to the way the large man dominated the dark hall, Kim explained that Rogan was busy. Garner’s hair was damp, and he smelled of Ben-Gay. It must be nice to have the kind of job that allowed a workout in the middle of the business day. “I was hoping you and I would have time to discuss things.”

  “What kind of things?” Garner leaned forward, giving Kim a whiff of breath mint. “If I may make a suggestion—” He rested his hand on Kim’s shoulder. “Now that we don’t have to put up with the others—”

  Kim slipped out from under his hand. There was so much strength in him— “You made it clear yesterday that the budget for security is limited. I need to know what kind of money I’ll have to work with.”

  “On a gorgeous day like this? Wouldn’t you rather sit out on the lawn?”

  Kim would but not with this too-confident man. “There are national grants specifically earmarked for museum security,” she pointed out. “Given the record of thefts here, I don’t believe you’ll have trouble qualifying for them.”

  Garner leaned away. Kim was all too aware that he was looking at her only from the neck down. “I hope you know how long it takes to process those grant applications. And there are so many strings attached to those grants—”

  “Are you saying you aren’t interested in applying?” At this moment Kim would welcome anyone who walked down the hall. She’d prefer to keep this man at a distance.

  “Kim, I can apply for grants in my sleep. I’ve done it enough times.”

  “Then—”

  “Let’s talk reality. Even if I put in an application this morning, it’ll be months before a decision is reached. In the meantime, we’ve paid your retainer and have nothing to show for it.”

  “The museum will have even less to show for it if nothing is done. There’s no way these thefts can be kept out of the news much longer. When that happens, people are going to be asking why the staff did nothing.”

  “We haven’t done nothing. We hired you.”

  “You didn’t. The board did.”

  Garner’s plastic smile turned to stone. “You’re a hard lady.”

  “Just realistic, Garner. Are you going to have time to sit down with me and talk finances?”

  “Not today. Maybe not until next week.”

  Kim bit back a retort. She was well within
her rights to point out that if he had time for a workout, he had time to meet with her. But any more antagonism between her and the business manager wasn’t going to solve anything. Still, she had to make her point. “I don’t believe this can wait until next week. When would be the best time for you tomorrow?”

  “Evening. Over drinks.”

  Kim pretended to consider Garner’s offer. In truth, that was the last thing she wanted to do. “I’m sorry. I’m busy. We could come here early tomorrow morning. Maybe around seven?”

  “I never get to work that early. This museum might pay my salary. It doesn’t own me.”

  “When then? Could you make it around eight?”

  Garner wasn’t interested in that time, either. He finally agreed to meet with Kim in the afternoon. He repeated his suggestion that it would be more pleasant for them to hold their meeting in a cocktail lounge. “You’re single. I’m single. Don’t forget that.”

  Somehow Kim managed to refuse graciously. She returned to the foyer and was about to ask the volunteer whether she’d seen William when the phone rang. After a moment, the woman turned the receiver over to Kim.

  “I was going to leave a message for you,” Mark was saying. “I have to be in Camp Oro this afternoon. If there’s anything you need—”

  He was thinking of her. Somehow that made the whole day better. “I appreciate the offer. But you’ve already done so much by providing me with a car.”

  “I don’t want you stuck at that place without transportation. It’s going all right?”

  “Fine.” Kim was mindful of the receptionist.

  “Your grandmother called me this morning.”

  “She did?” Kim took note of her practical tennis shoes. Someday, somehow, she’d like to be dressed up when she saw Mark. “What did she want?”

  Mark’s answer was slow in coming. “Not much. We got to talking about getting some of the furniture to her. She says the stuff she’s using is driving her crazy. Maybe, I was thinking, there might be some way we could get some workmen to carry at least her bedroom set out to the road. They could take that over and set it up for her.”

  Kim forced her thoughts on to practical matters. Yes, she didn’t see why they couldn’t get someone to get the bedroom set around the cave-in. Since she didn’t know anything about the local labor force, she agreed to leave that up to Mark. “We can talk about it tonight,” she offered. “If you want, I could cook dinner.” They could sit out on her grandmother’s porch and get to know each other better.

  “Tonight? There won’t be time.”

  “Why not?” Kim didn’t care what the receptionist might be hearing. “Don’t you want—”

  “Unfortunately the town council meeting is tonight.”

  How could she have forgotten? Laughing to cover up her embarrassment, Kim thanked Mark for reminding her. It wasn’t until he’d said goodbye that Kim faced reality. Being around Mark did things to her she didn’t understand. It would be much safer to see him in a roomful of people.

  Like Garner, William Lynch said he was too busy to meet with Kim. “You should have asked me earlier,” he said when she finally located the guard in the mining exhibit room. William nodded at two middle-aged couples. “I’ve got to keep an eye on those folks.”

  Kim was ready to dispute that claim, but if she did, the visitors might overhear. “I really need your input,” she stressed. “I’m sure you know more than the others about what I’ll be dealing with.”

  “I do. Not that they’d admit that.”

  The police chief had said something about William requesting security training and being turned down. Maybe that explained the tight line he was holding his mouth in. “I’m the one you’ll be working with,” Kim stressed.

  “Maybe.”

  “What do you mean, maybe?”

  “Maybe we’ll be working together. Maybe we won’t.”

  Almost before she knew she was going to say them, the words were out. “There’s no maybe to it, William. Your cooperation is imperative.”

  “Is that so? That’s a new one.”

  Kim managed to get the older man to commit to a meeting at four in the afternoon. “Are you sure you’ll be there?” Kim questioned. “You were late this morning.”

  “I’ll be there.” The security guard wasn’t looking at her. “I had business to attend to this morning. Business you wouldn’t understand. Ms. Revis, I’ve got work to do.” He turned away, putting an end to the conversation.

  Kim decided to forgo the temptation of another meal at the ice-cream parlor. Instead she ran into the grocery store for a few items and then parked as close to her driveway as possible. To her surprise, she found only a trio of elementary-school-age boys around the cave-in.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Kim asked as she was getting her groceries out of the car.

  “Our teacher said it was all right,” explained a boy with enough cowlicks to drive any barber to despair. “He said it was part of our history lesson.”

  Kim doubted that, but it wasn’t her job to herd the boys back to school. Besides, their loud voices, bumping and pushing, and off-the-wall suggestions about what had caused the street to cave in almost distracted her from the hold the maw had over her. Although they hadn’t solicited her opinion, Kim explained that a dynamite blast had been ruled out as a cause. “There are old mine tunnels all around this part of town,” she explained. “One of them collapsed.”

  “Yeah?” The largest of the three boys dropped to his knees a few inches from the opening. “Do you think there’s gold down there?”

  Kim placed her groceries on the hood of the car and stepped forward. The boys’ enthusiasm was catching. She’d once been their age. But it was only a hole in the ground, not a prop from a Stephen King movie. “Probably. I don’t know how much. Not enough to make us rich.”

  “You don’t know that. There could be millions down there.”

  “There could.”

  “Just waiting for someone to pick it up,” the boy with the cowlicks offered. “You know what I’d do? I’d buy me a car. An Indy race car.”

  “What would you do with it?” the boy who’d been quiet so far interrupted. “You can’t drive. And there’s nowhere in this hick town you could go that fast.”

  “I wouldn’t live here. I’d move to Chicago.”

  “Chicago?” Kim asked. “It gets pretty cold there in the winter.”

  “I like the cold. And their football team.” The boy leaned on the barrier, staring into the dark. “I wonder how cold it is down there.”

  “Probably not too cold,” Kim offered. The conversation delighted her; for a few minutes she felt ten years old again. “It isn’t that far down.”

  “I wonder if anyone’s been inside.”

  Kim didn’t think so. “I think they’re waiting for a decision on what to do with the hole.”

  “I know what I’d do with it,” the boy leaning over the opening said. “I’d let people explore it. Wouldn’t that be something? Just like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.”

  “That was a cave,” Kim tried to explain.

  “So what. Boy, I’d love to go down there. Wouldn’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” Kim started to say, but the boys weren’t interested in her answer, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell them that, for her, climbing into the hole wasn’t a simple matter. The three were already arguing over the best way to lower themselves into the opening.

  How wonderful it was to be young and full of enthusiasm. Still, as much as she enjoyed the company, Kim was concerned because the boy kneeling next to the hole was inside the barriers. She was searching her mind for a tactful way to get him to retreat when Mark’ pulled up in his Blazer. Still smiling, she joined him. “We’re having a discussion about whether there’s enough wealth for all of us down there,” she told him. Mark was wearing new slacks, a pale green shirt and a darker green tie. He looked wonderful.

  “Philip Dunham, you get away from there. Can’t
you read?” Mark gave Kim a wink before heading toward the boys. “I know what your dad would do if he caught you here.”

  “How do you know my dad?”

  “I know everything. Now unless the three of you are so brilliant that you’ve already graduated, I suggest you hightail it back to school.”

  Kim watched the three boys depart. She was a little sorry that their fun had been interrupted. “You’re a spoilsport.”

  “I know. I also know that something’s got to be done before some kid hurts himself.”

  “Does that mean—” Kim risked another look at Mark. His smoke-green eyes now sparkled. She wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him tear off his tie and lower himself into the hole. In fact, the child still lingering in her wanted him to do exactly that. “Are you going to recommend that they repair the street?”

  “You know it isn’t my job to make recommendations, Kim. Despite what Anthea said, I do not control the council. What are you doing out here? Playing hooky?”

  “I might as well.” Kim hadn’t been able to place enough distance between herself and Garner Dillon. But any space between her and Mark felt like too much. “It’s a repeat of yesterday. Everyone keeps putting me off.”

  Coming out to Camp Oro this afternoon had been a mistake. True, he had a professional reason for being here, but that reason faded before Kim’s influence on him. He couldn’t deny that trying to sleep after waving Kim off had been an exercise in futility. Mark, who practiced the ethic of weighing every word, every movement, had done something completely spontaneous last night. He didn’t want to talk about it; he didn’t even want to think about how good it had felt just to be around Kim. “Putting you off?”

  “Stalling. You said you had business out here. What is it?”

  In a tone he didn’t recognize, Mark explained that he would be meeting with an engineer in less than a half hour. “I don’t know what we’re going to find, but I don’t want to go into that meeting tonight knowing no more than I do now about what’s down there.”