Pacini turned back to Malik. “So she has you drop her at the library. What library, the one at the law school?”
“No, the Supreme Court’s library. She likes to get away from the drama of campus. And the court’s library is really quiet. Hardly anyone even uses the library—everything’s online now. I’m a law clerk and I’d never even been in the library until Abby took me there.”
“I’ve been to the downtown D.C. public library and it’s pretty crowded,” Pacini said.
Sean interjected, “The court’s library isn’t public.” Sean was no stranger to the Supreme Court building, and the kid was right, the basketball court on the top floor got more use than the court’s library. It must have been ten years since Sean had set foot in there. He knew Abby liked it, though. She’d told him she loved imagining all the justices of the past working by candlelight.
“If it’s not public, how’d Abby get access?” Pacini asked.
Malik said, “I thought her dad got her a pass.” His gaze shifted to Sean.
“I didn’t. She’s Jonathan Tweed’s research assistant. I think she said he got her a pass.” Sean looked at Pacini. “Jon’s a professor at Georgetown and an old friend of mine.”
Pacini moved closer to Malik. “The last place you saw her was the Supreme Court?”
“I dropped her off right out front of the building. I waited until I saw her go around to the side entrance.”
“If that’s right, how did her phone get in your house?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“You didn’t hear it ringing?”
“No.”
“Have you had anyone in your place since you had dinner with Abby?”
Malik shook his head again. “Just you two.”
“Any ideas how the phone got here?”
Malik looked at Pacini then stared intently into Sean’s eyes. “No idea. I swear.”
CHAPTER 13
Sean bumped a tire over the curb in front of the Supreme Court building. Pacini had called ahead, and the chief of the Supreme Court Police was waiting for them on the oval plaza. While Pacini spoke to the chief, Sean stayed in the SUV and called Emily. He’d missed three of her calls. He was surprised that she sounded calm. Ryan had woken up, she said. Sean realized that she was putting on a front for their son.
“Just tell him it’s my new job,” Sean said. “I don’t want him worried.”
“That makes sense. Don’t work too late,” Emily said. He imagined how hard she must be struggling to look and sound normal. He heard her say, “Everything’s okay. Just a work situation. You really need to get up to bed.” Then something muffled, then “Goodnight, sweetie.”
“Is he gone?” Sean asked.
“Yes,” Emily whispered. “Michelle texted me and said she hadn’t seen Abby since class on Friday. What did Malik say?”
Sean noticed that Pacini and the police chief were stealing glances into the SUV. “We’re still looking for her, but I can’t talk now. Frank is waiting on me. I’ll call you soon. I love you.” He clicked off. Nothing good would have come from telling Emily about finding Abby’s phone or that all of Abby’s texts, e-mails, and call logs had been wiped from the device. Or that agents had taken Malik in for questioning. Sean swung open the door and climbed out.
“Sean, this is Carl Martinez, the chief of the Supreme Court’s squad,” Pacini said. The chief was a buttoned-up Hispanic guy in his fifties, or maybe even sixties. It was hard to tell because he was one of those fit ex-military types, though he had a tired face—deep lines and serious bags under the eyes. He gave Sean’s hand a firm shake.
Although the Supreme Court community was like Mayberry (everybody knew everybody else), Sean had never met the chief. The court’s police force had more than one hundred officers and Sean vaguely recalled hearing that the former chief had retired recently.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” the chief said. “Sorry to meet under these circumstances.”
“I can’t thank you enough for coming in tonight.”
“I live nearby and it’s no problem at all,” the chief said. “I’ve spoken with the officers on duty last night. They don’t remember seeing your daughter, but there were a lot of people in the building for a function. The good news is that we have cameras, so we can check the video.”
Chief Martinez walked Sean and Pacini to the right of the plaza. The white marble steps that led up to the massive portico seemed to emanate light even at night. They went in through the southwest door, dumped their pockets into little baskets, and stepped through the metal detectors. The lone officer manning the entrance didn’t make eye contact with Sean.