The B Girls (17 page)

"And why didn't he?" Jane asked.

"Because, contrary to what you are determined
to believe he's not a total dick?"

"Or maybe because
he's
the kidnapper and he doesn't want any other cops
involved."

Lucy gave her a quelling look.

Jane threw up her hands in surrender. "What? I
mean think about it. He admits to possibly being the last one to see Belle
before she went missing and he knows this place better than anyone. Maybe Belle
couldn't resist telling her big story to him. Maybe he's been letting us
stumble around so he can find out things, like where exactly the homestead is
or where your ancestor hid the cookie tin."

"Then why give us the map?" Lucy asked.

"Because he didn't want us going over his
head, making waves."

"If he had the map, why call us and tell us to
go find the Declaration? Why not just find it himself?"

Jane frowned in confusion. "I don't know.
Maybe he hopes we'll kill ourselves in that cave."

"Or maybe, he was trying to keep us from doing
just that. And why admit to seeing Belle at all? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe," Jane said.

"It doesn't matter any way. We still have to
get the damn thing. It's the only way to get Belle back."

"So, what next?" Mae, the ever-cheerful
asked.

Jane looked like she wanted to continue the
argument but after a few seconds she shrugged and waved for Lucy to go ahead.

"From the little I saw of the cave and the
map, we're going to need some climbing equipment," Lucy said. She'd think
more about what Jane said later but for now her brain could only manage one
major problem--getting her hands on the Declaration.

"Do you know anything about rock climbing or
caving or whatever?" Mae said.

"No. What about you Jane? Didn't you date some
guy who took you climbing?"

"I did, but it was mostly stand still while I
clip this safety thing on you then we'd climb up the equivalent of the bunny
slope at a ski resort."

"Well we don't have time for lessons. We have
to get everything we need tomorrow so we can finish this by the Thursday
deadline," Lucy said.

"I think we can buy equipment that's foolproof
enough to get us through," Jane said. "They make some amazing shit
nowadays."

"Good. First thing in the morning you and Mae
can go shopping."

"Where will you be?" Jane asked.

"I'm going to UGA to see Professor Dawson. I
think we need to know a little more about Perry Thiel."

"We need to study this map now that we have
it," Jane said.

"And we will. Tomorrow afternoon when we have
our supplies and more information," Lucy said. She wanted to put off
thinking about the cave as long as possible.

Driving through the UGA campus to the building
housing Dr. James Dawson's office was like entering a time warp.

This was her native habitat. The place she'd been
formed. Not this specific campus but a series of college campuses where her
parents had been employed.

They'd assumed she'd follow them into academia.
Maybe biology instead of English or sociology instead of history but without
doubt she'd find a home in the world of ideas and theories. A world where it
was easy to loose sight of the concerns of people who produced things instead
of ideas.

Lucy sighed. She'd married a car salesman instead
and left the insulated world of intellectual snobbery behind.

Her parents had never forgiven her.

Lucy wasn't sure she'd forgiven herself.

At twenty she'd been sure she was on her way to
making the next big discovery in archaeology. Not in Egypt or even South
America but right here in the good old USA. Somewhere out west, New Mexico or
maybe Arizona.

At twenty-one she'd put on her cap and gown to
accept her BA in history.

A week later she'd put on her wedding gown and
promised to love Gary until death did them part.

Well, they were parted and neither of them was
dead.

Now she was going to have to decide whether she
wanted to hide out in academia or find a way to make a living in the real
world.

Franklin Hall was apparently one of the few places
on campus where parking was only nearly impossible rather than completely
impossible and Lucy lucked up on a space in her second pass through the lot.
She parked Belle's BMW and headed for the building.

Except for the threads of gray sprinkled in her
unruly red hair, the frown lines on her forehead, and the glasses perched in
her hair to help her aging eyes, Lucy would have been indistinguishable from
the students moving from building to building. She'd never perfected the art of
dressing like a respectable suburban mom. Maybe because she'd never actually
felt like a respectable suburban mom. She was dressed in her usual jeans and
whatever shirt had the least wrinkles--today that was a faded red polo shirt.

The smell of books and overworked brains smacked
her in the face as soon as she stepped into Franklin Hall. The smell of the
first half of her life.

Professor Dawson's office was on the second floor.
His graduate assistant had promised to pencil Lucy into his office hours this
morning. The girl hadn't been a fountain of information when Lucy asked about
Perry. Apparently he was spending a lot more time locked in a room with his
dissertation than on campus.

Slipping into the stream of students moving through
the halls and up the stairs, Lucy didn't feel any different than she had when
she'd been an undergrad working her way through her class schedule. When
exactly would she start to feel her age? She still found herself considerably
surprised to be in her forties and wondering when it would sink in that she was
an adult with--probably--more than half her life behind her.

The slide-in nameplate beside the door identified
Dr. Robert Dawson's office. The door was ajar and Lucy knocked lightly.

"Come in."

Not the voice of an aging professor but a deep,
vigorous, baritone.

Lucy pushed the door open and stepped into a neat,
well-organized masculine space presided over by a handsome man of about her
age. He stood and offered his hand across his desk. "You must be Lucy Deen.
Tanya told me you called."

No tweed and elbow patches for Dr. Dawson. He had
on jeans and a lightly starched blue button down.

They shook and Lucy took a seat when he gestured
her to a chair. "Did she mention why?"

Lucy had been debating the best way to approach
this interview. Announcing that Belle was missing and his PhD candidate might
be the nutball behind it didn't seem the way to go. On the other hand asking
how Perry's research was going wasn't likely to give her the information she
needed.

"Something about Perry Thiel?"

"Yes, he seems to think my family might have a
valuable copy of the Declaration of Independence."

Dawson sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"Has he been making a nuisance of himself?"

Lucy was a little startled by his assumption.
"Why do you ask?"

"Perry has been a little obsessive about the
new ground he was going to break in his dissertation. I encouraged him to focus
on a more traditional line of research but he insisted on pursuing his theory
about that signed draft." He steepled his hands and tapped his index
fingers together. "I'm afraid I've been a little out of touch with him
recently. My wife's been ill and Perry's dissertation slipped a few notches
down on my priority list."

"I'm sorry to hear about your wife."

Dawson waved off her concern. "I think it's
possible Perry has gone even farther off the reservation while my attention was
elsewhere."

Not exactly comforting words. "Just how
desperate do you think Perry is to prove his theory?"

The professor's gaze sharpened and he leaned
forward, putting his elbows on the desk. "Has something happened?"

Dawson seemed like a nice enough guy but with
Belle's safety on the line, Lucy didn't want to say too much. "I'm not
sure. My aunt has been helping Perry with his search. I haven't heard from her
for a couple of days and I'm worried."

"You're asking if Perry's capable of harming
your aunt to get the information he needs?"

Lucy nodded. "I suppose that's what I'm
asking."

Dawson frowned. "I wish I could tell you there
was absolutely no way Perry would do such a thing. Unfortunately, I don't know
how far he'd go to prove his theory. My gut tells me he wouldn't hurt anyone
but I just can't be sure."

Given the tone of the conversation, Lucy wasn't
surprised at his answer. And she supposed if she was forced to deal with a
kidnapper better someone like Perry than a career criminal. She'd bet lot's of
money that Perry would have a hard time inflicting physical pain on another
human being. "I appreciate your candor."

He shook his head. "I wish I could be more
helpful."

"Do you think it's possible he's right? About
the signed draft?"

"Anything is possible but I don't think it's
very likely that document has survived--if it ever existed beyond July 4,
1776."

"And if it did survive? I suppose there
wouldn't be any way to put a price on it."

"I'm not sure Bill Gates could afford
it."

"Pretty big incentive for unscrupulous
behavior."

"Only if you believe Perry's theory."

Lucy rubbed her collarbone in a nervous gesture.
"Which Perry does."

Dawson didn't reply.

Lucy stood. "Thank you for your time."

"I wish I could be more help. Have you
considered involving the police?"

Lucy shook her head. "I think it's a little
early for that."

"Well, if you think of any more questions
you'd like to ask. Please call me."

"I will. Thank you."

Lucy left the office and went out to the parking
lot wondering if she was any more prepared to deal with the next thirty-six
hours than she'd been before.

She sighed and unlocked the BMW. At least Dawson
hadn't come right out and said Perry was a wild-eyed lunatic. If he was behind
Belle's kidnapping--and it didn't seem likely anyone else even knew about the
theories in his dissertation--he was probably more misguided than dangerous.

Lucy rolled down the windows and turned the AC on
full blast before pulling out her cell phone. She'd had a debate with herself
about whether to make this call but she couldn't stand the thought of being
here and not at least trying to get in touch with Ryan.

He was probably asleep or in class anyway.

He answered on the first ring before Lucy had a
chance to prepare herself. "Mom? Are you okay? I've been trying to call
you. Where have you been?"

"I'm fine and I haven't had any missed calls
on my cell."

"Your cell? You never answer your cell. I've
left messages at home."

"Oh. I've been staying at Aunt Belle's but it
just so happens I'm on campus now."

"You're here? I knew you weren't okay. Dad
told me what happened."

Lucy was surprised Gary had had the balls to tell
Ryan he'd left. She'd figured Gary would leave that to her.

"Why would you do something like that?"
Ryan said.

His words took a second to register. Why would she
. . . "What is it you think I've done?"

"Dad said you asked him to leave. That you
wanted a divorce."

At that moment Lucy wished with all her heart that
she'd shot off Gary's dick when she had the chance. For about ten seconds she
considered going along to spare Ryan's feelings. Fuck that. "Your father
is a lying ba--, jac--, sh--. . . " Ah hell. "Your father lied to
you."

"Are you really here? On campus?"

"Yes, but I'm headed back to Belle's. There's
something I need to take care of."

"Meet me at the Varsity. I'm on my way."

He disconnected before she answered.

###

The Varsity was a legendary fast food place where
they still had carhops. The food was greasy, delicious, and very bad for you
and the students loved it.

Lucy didn't think her nervous stomach was going to
react well to chili dogs or onion rings so she found a table in the corner and
waited for Ryan.

He walked in two minutes later and Lucy sucked in a
breath at the sight of him. He was handsome, her son, and seeing him here the
fact that he was now a man hit her with the force of a freight train.

This was the moment she finally realized she was an
adult.

She would do her son the courtesy of treating him
as an adult as well.