He opened his door but didn’t move. “Is Harlowe sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong?”
Travis looked up into his rearview mirror. “Find out.”
“See you in an hour, then. TGIF, huh?”
“Just do your job.”
Huck got out and walked down the shaded sidewalk to Quinn’s building. He had to shout his name into the intercom system and explain why he was there before the starchy receptionist would buzz him in. Even then, she didn’t seem thrilled by his presence. Rising from her desk, she kept her hand near the telephone, which probably had 911 on speed dial. “Quinn’s not expecting you, is she?”
“No, ma’am. It’s a spur-of-the-moment visit.”
“You’re the bodyguard from Yorkville, aren’t you?”
Huck gave her his most charming smile. “That’s me. Mind if I go on up to see her?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I do.” Thelma reached for her phone, then glanced back at him, a slight catch in her voice. “How do you know her office is upstairs?”
“I figure it wouldn’t be down here with you and the stuffed birds.”
“Ha-ha,” she said, rallying as she lifted the old-fashioned phone, pressing two buttons. “Quinn? Huck Boone is here to see you. Shall I send him up?” She frowned into the receiver. “Quinn?”
“Just shocked the hell out of her, I’ll bet,” Huck said.
Cradling the phone, Thelma turned her frown on him. “Quinn will be right with you.”
“Mind if I look around?” He showed her the bottom of his shoes. “I haven’t stepped in dog poop or anything.”
“Just take a seat, Mr. Boone.”
She pointed at an ornate wooden chair against the wall across from her desk. “I feel like I need a crown to sit in that thing. Mind if I use your phone to make a call? It’s local.”
“Please, make yourself welcome.” Her gracious words didn’t match her frosty tone. “Dial 9 for an outside line.”
Huck ignored her hostility and stepped over to the front of her desk, turning the heavy old phone to him. At least it was Touch-Tone. He dialed 9, then one of a handful of Washington numbers he’d committed to memory. He didn’t want any of them showing up on his cell phone, in case Vern and the guys got hold of it.
Nate Winter answered. Huck quickly interrupted. “I’m in D.C. at the American Society for Plants and Animals. I can’t talk right now. Something’s up. Everything okay there?”
“Everything’s fine.” Winter sounded tight and impatient, but he always did.
“Here, too. I’ll talk to you soon.”
When Huck hung up and turned around, Quinn Harlowe was there, apparently having slipped down the thickly carpeted stairs without him noticing. In her slim skirt and stretchy top, she looked smart and professional and even prettier than she had in Yorkville. Her black hair was pulled back, so that all the angles of her face stood out, and her eyes shone brighter, more intense.
“It’s the American Society for the Study of Plants and Animals,” Quinn said, cool, obviously suspicious.
“Isn’t that what I said?”
“You left off ‘the study of.’”
“Oh.”
“It changes the meaning entirely. Who were you talking to?”
“Dry cleaners.”
Thelma returned to her oak swivel chair behind her desk. “I can hit redial and find out.”
Nate would know what to do. Huck shrugged. “Go ahead.”
“It’s okay, Thelma,” Quinn said, giving the older woman an affectionate smile. “Thank you. I’ll take Huck upstairs-”
He remembered his orders from Lubec. Take her for a walk. He could think of worse tasks. “It’s Friday. It’s beautiful outside. Let’s get out of here for a little while.” To drive home his point, he touched a fingertip to her pale cheek. “You’ve been sitting up in your garret all morning, haven’t you?”
“I naturally don’t have a lot of color in my face. But you’re right, it is a beautiful day, and I’d love to take a walk. Thelma, I have my cell phone if you need to reach me.”
This was another way of telling Thelma to stick close to her phone, in case Quinn needed her. Considering how they’d met and the dubious circumstances under which he was in Washington, Huck thought she was being smart.
She’d have been even smarter, though, to have shown him the door.
Thelma clearly didn’t like the idea of Quinn going off with him, but she kept quiet. Huck decided not to worry about her. They weren’t leaving Thelma alone-the building was full of Society staff. As he headed for the front door, however, he couldn’t dispel his sense of uneasiness. He would have preferred knowing where Travis and Company had gone.
Quinn trotted down the steps ahead of him. “Where do you want to go?”
“We could have coffee somewhere.”