Nerds Are From Mars (25 page)

“No, my lady.” Her Page, who had been watching her with a smile, sobered immediately, as if belatedly remembering his duties. “In fact, if you’ll allow me to store your phone, I would appreciate that very much.”

“I’ll be happy to store yours, as well, Dr. Bradbury,” said the other Page.

Nolan glanced at the guy. “I gather that’s more of a demand than a request?”

“Yes, sir. Mr. Harcourt doesn’t allow visitors to retain their cell phones for security reasons. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course.” Nolan handed his over, and Darcie did the same.

With many creaks, clangs, and groans, the drawbridge slowly lifted, raised by an unseen motor, no doubt. Nolan couldn’t imagine Fagan making somebody do that by hand for authenticity’s sake. They were officially inside the fortress.

Nolan understood and appreciated why Fagan was doing this. He had no children, and soon after their association had begun, he’d started calling Nolan son. He wasn’t about to lose an adopted son of his to a murderer. Until the person responsible for this behavior was caught and behind bars, Fagan would keep Nolan and Darcie safe in this jewel box.

Nolan’s Page cleared his throat. “We’ve been instructed to offer you both the utmost in hospitality. Therefore I must ask whether you would prefer two chambers or one.”

Nolan and Darcie spoke almost in unison. “One.” Then they looked at each other and smiled.

“Excellent.” The Page seemed pleased by that. “Mr. Harcourt anticipated that you might, so he asked us to prepare the Queen’s Chamber. It’s the second most elegant one in the castle.”

“Let me guess.” Nolan winked at Darcie. “The most elegant is the King’s Chamber, which is reserved for Fagan.”

“Precisely. Come along. Follow me, everyone. The elevator’s to the right.”

“Elevator?” Nolan gestured toward the winding staircases. “Shouldn’t we just walk up?”

“Oh, no. You’re going to want to take the elevator. This way.”

Nolan shrugged and did as he was told, but he saw no sign of an elevator anywhere. Then two slabs of stone, obviously faux, slid apart, and he understood why the two Pages would want to show off the elevator.

For one thing, it was taller than normal, but that was necessary to leave room for the crystal chandelier hanging from the roof of it. The multi-faceted chandelier cast rainbows on the etched glass walls of the elevator, which depicted scenes of knights either jousting or saving damsels in distress, mostly from fire-breathing dragons.

He and Darcie behaved like visitors at a museum, circling the walls in speechless wonder. The elevator started upward, but Nolan was in no hurry to get there. He’d be willing to ride several more times while he admired the intricate art work in the glass.

“We’re here, Dr. Bradbury.”

He glanced up to see that the elevator doors had opened onto a hallway that offered even more wonders in the form of richly patterned carpets on the floor and gilt-framed oils on the walls. Taking Darcie’s hand, he walked out of the elevator and his feet sank into the carpet. “Can you believe this?”

“If I hadn’t met him, I wouldn’t believe it. But since I have, I understand.”

“Do you? Because I’m blown away.”

“He’s a Leo. That says it all.”

“I can’t even imagine what this Queen’s Chamber is going to be like.”

“Oh, I can.” She gave him a secret smile. “You’re going to love it, Dr. Bradbury.”

He caught the gleam in her eye and no longer cared that beyond these thick walls a killer lurked. For now he was safe and he would spend the night in the Queen’s Chamber with Darcie.

From somewhere a voice crackled, and Nolan finally figured out that his Page had a phone of his own. Of course he would have in a place this big.

The guy pulled out his phone from a cloth satchel tied at his waist. Nolan had to laugh at that. When a guy wore tights, he didn’t have a lot of places to put a cell phone, now did he?

“Yes?” The Page answered quickly. “We’re almost there. I’ll arrange for that right away. Thanks.” He looked over at Nolan. “Mr. Harcourt is ready to have a video conference in the Queen’s Chamber.”

“From Brazil?”

“His private video network is extensive, as I’m sure you know.”

“I suppose I did know that. I’ve just never had reason to have a video conference with him.” Nolan was eager for any communication from Fagan if he had info from the lab’s security cameras. “Did he say what this is about?”

“He’s identified the person who set up the explosion.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Darcie barely had time to take in the opulence of the blue and silver Queen’s Chamber as she and Nolan were guided over to an ornately carved wooden desk. Two blue velvet straight chairs were positioned in front of the desk by one Page. The other took an electronic tablet from a desk drawer, typed in a code, and propped the tablet on a stand. Once Darcie and Nolan were seated at the desk, the Pages left the room.

In seconds Fagan appeared on the screen, drink in hand. “Hello, you two.” He took a sip from his martini. “Good news. Well, good news and bad news, I guess you could say.”

“Who is it?” Nolan sat on the edge of his chair, his expression intent.

“This will be hard to believe, but the person caught by the security cameras is . . . Jan Upton.”

“No way!” Nolan’s denial came instantly. He turned to Darcie. “She works with me. She would never do something like this. There’s been a mistake. It’s someone who looks like her, who stole her access card, disguised themselves to look like her. Jan would never –”

“We have her dead to rights, son.” Fagan’s voice was gentle and a little sad. “There’s no doubt it’s Jan. I wouldn’t have guessed her, either, but it’s all there on video. She’s cleared out of her apartment, in case you still can’t believe it.”

“Maybe she decided to move.”

“Oh, she’s on the move, all right. We haven’t tracked her down yet, but we will, and an arrest will be made on the evidence we have. It’s hard to refute what the cameras saw. I’m sorry, Nolan.”

Darcie watched Nolan’s body language. He remained stiff and defiant. Clearly he refused to accept what he was hearing.

She cleared her throat. “Why don’t you think it’s her, Nolan?”

He turned to look at her again. “Because she’s a decent person, and I can’t imagine why she’d want to sabotage the team like this, let alone . . .” He swallowed. “Try to take me out.”

Darcie put a hand on his arm. He was shaking. Finding out a trusted colleague had plotted to kill him had to be traumatic, but his instinct seemed to be telling him she wasn’t to blame. Darcie trusted instinct over supposed factual evidence.  She glanced at the screen. “Any ideas why she’d do such a thing, Fagan?”

“Not a single one.” He took another swig from his martini glass. “We’ll have to wait until we find her and get her to tell us.” He shrugged. “People are complicated. They do things that make sense to them but don’t make sense to the rest of us. Unfortunately, sometimes it involves violence.”

”I thought she liked me. To think she’d want me dead is . . . crazy.”

“Son.” Fagan spoke with gentle authority. “Think about it. Anyone capable of blowing up a lab along with a person they worked with every day is by definition crazy as a bedbug.”

Nolan sighed. “True.” He tunneled his fingers through his hair.

“At this point, we’re only guessing what’s going on in her confused mind,” Fagan said. “My security team traced her into Mexico.”

Nolan’s head snapped up. “You pulled your team out of the castle to chase her down?”

Fagan chuckled. “No, no. That team stays put. Right now they’re guarding you. This is my international team. I thought she might leave the country, and that’s what she’s done. But they’re on it. They’ll find her.”

“When they do, I . . . I’d like to talk to her if you can arrange that with your video network.”

“I’ll make that happen,” Fagan said quietly. Then his tone changed, lightened. “So what do you think of my castle? Pretty cool, huh?”

Darcie could see that Nolan was still processing the news about Jan Upton and might not be able to inject enough enthusiasm into his response, so she answered. “It’s fabulous. I’m awestruck, Fagan. The courtyard, the stained-glass windows, the elevator, this bedroom . . . I mean
chamber
. . . it’s all amazing.”

Fagan grinned. “I think so, too. I wanted it to look like a piece of history on the outside, and to some extent on the inside, too, but all the modern conveniences are state-of-the-art. For instance, all the bathroom floors are heated and the plumbing is top-notch, water-saving, and all of that. Each bathroom has one of those gizmos that instantly creates hot water.”

“Sounds great.” Darcie smiled. “I can’t wait to explore more of it and see what you’ve done.”

“Good. What about you, Nolan?” Fagan seemed touchingly eager to get Nolan’s opinion.

“It’s beautiful. Everything’s really gorgeous.” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair again. “Listen, did Jan ever complain about how I treated her at work? I just can’t believe that she’s capable of something like this.”

Darcie’s heart ached for him. If only there was some way she could help him to understand. And then it came to her. She actually could shed some light on Jan’s behavior and maybe it would help Nolan. She faced the small screen. “I have a big favor to ask. I don’t know if you’ll agree, though.”

Fagan’s gaze sharpened. “What’s that?”

“Do you have Jan’s birth certificate on file?”

“Yep. I have birth certificates for all my employees. It’s part of the background check I put them all through.” He nodded. “I’m way ahead of you. You want to do her chart.”

“Yes.” She felt Nolan’s questioning gaze on her. He might think this was a ridiculous waste of time, but now that she’d come up with the plan, she wanted to follow through for whatever it might be worth. “Unfortunately I don’t have my computer program or my books.”

“My people can get you the program and set you up on a computer. Are the books digital?”

“Most are.”

“Then give them a list and they’ll download them for you.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Fagan.”

“Happy to. I’ll be curious as to what you come up with. When do you want to start?”

Darcie glanced over at Nolan. His expression was unreadable. “As soon as possible.”

“I have to warn you, the computers and printers are in the dungeon and I like to keep it that way. Preserves the ambience.”

Darcie laughed in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“Seriously, that’s where I keep the electronic stuff except for the little tablets, which would be awkward for your purposes. The monitors for the perimeter cameras are down there, too. I made it look like a dungeon because that appeals to my warped sense of humor.”

“That’s fine. If you can provide me with Jan’s place and date of birth and have someone download the program and a couple of books for me, I’ll be a happy woman even if I have to work in a dungeon.”

Fagan looked at Nolan and shook his head. “You found yourself a strange one, boy, but then, I’m a strange one, too, so I guess that’s your lot in life. You find people who march to a different drummer.”

For the first time since they’d sat down, Nolan smiled. “Yeah, I’m lucky like that.”

“That’s how I see it.” Fagan nodded toward Darcie. “Don’t let her work the whole blessed night, okay? Both of you deserve to take advantage of Harcourt Castle’s amenities.”

“I’ll do my best, but she’s like me when she gets into her work. Total concentration.”

“I figured as much after meeting her. Be resourceful. There’s an excellent champagne in the wine cellar, which isn’t all that far from the dungeon. Or maybe you’ll want a nice Cote de Rhone. I’ll put you in charge of the wine selection. After all, you were taught by the best, which happens to be me.” He laughed and lifted his martini glass. “I’ll be back in touch when we have more news. Over and out.” The screen went dark.

Nolan turned to her. “Are you sure you want to spend hours in a place decorated to look like a dungeon? Fagan’s got her on video doing it, so maybe it doesn’t matter why.”

“Yes, it does.” She met his gaze. “When I first thought of this I wanted to do it for you, but now I also want to do it for me. She almost took you out, but she almost took me out, too. That’s awful to think about, but it’s also . . .” She paused, not sure how he’d take what she was about to say.

“Morbidly fascinating?”

“Yes. But I don’t know her. You’re very close to the situation, so you –”

“I’m morbidly fascinated, too.” He sighed. “That’s part of what I’ve been wrestling with. At first I was shocked and sad, but that’s why I wanted Fagan to arrange for me to talk to her. How does a perfectly normal astronomer become a crazed killer?”

“I can’t promise that I can tell you conclusively, but after I create her chart, I’ll have some possible explanations.”

“Then let’s do it.” He stood and glanced around at the bedroom. “Although it’s a damned shame we’re leaving this place to go sit in a dungeon.”

“We’ll be back.” She left her chair, too, and took a moment to admire the lavishly decorated room. The walls were a pearlescent shade of blue. A huge canopy bed, bigger than a king, was draped with a velvet material that glowed like hammered silver in the firelight dancing on the tiled hearth.

Pillows of blue and silver were piled on the bed and also on a small blue loveseat positioned by the fire. Offsetting the cool colors of the walls and bed draperies were end tables and an armoire made of warm cherry inlaid with what looked like abalone shell. She’d never been in a room anything like it.

No windows looked out on the mountainside, but that didn’t surprise her. The castle was designed as a fortress, and Heather had called it
impregnable
. But the room didn’t feel claustrophobic because French doors opened onto a balcony that looked down on the courtyard three floors below.

Nolan stepped closer and drew her into his arms. “Are you sure you want to spend time on the birth chart of a homicidal maniac when you could roll around on that bed with a lusty astrophysicist?”

“Can’t I do both?” She slid her arms around his neck and lifted her mouth for his kiss.