“One person-even with a gun-would have a devil of a time tying up two people and doing what was done to them. And experience has shown us that women don’t kill the way these people were killed.”

Sweet Thing whimpered and scratched at the back door. Connor found the leash he’d earlier left on the counter and snapped it onto the dog’s collar. “I’ll be right back. She wants out.”

Daria washed the plates and forks and got rid of the paper trash. She had just dried her hands when her cell phone rang. By the time she located it in her bag, it had rung several times.

“Oh, Louise. I was just thinking about you.” Daria told her about the e-mails and the FBI’s imminent seizure of the library’s computers. “Yes, it’s definitely shocking, but you’re right. Yes, of course I’ll tell him…Oh. Please give her my best and tell her I’m looking forward to meeting her. I agree, now would not be a good time…I’m sorry this is breaking up your meeting…”

She hung up as Connor came back inside with Sweet Thing. “This dog would walk all night if someone would walk with her.”

“She’s an outdoor girl at heart, I guess.” Daria set her phone on the counter. “That was Louise on the phone. She was calling to ask me to come to her office for an impromptu meeting. Dr. Bokhari’s plane was earlier than expected, and she stopped in to Louise’s office just as Louise was meeting with the head trustee and one of the members of the board. She wanted to know if I could run over and meet everyone. Of course, after I told her about the FBI being on the way-”

“You told her that the computers were going to be confiscated?”

“Well, yeah. Don’t you think the president of the university deserves a heads-up?”

“Daria, we don’t generally do the heads-up thing,” he said.

“She’s concerned about the librarian on duty tonight. She wanted me to tell you that she’s an older woman and very excitable. Louise is afraid she could have a heart attack if a couple of FBI agents came in waving their badges and grabbing the computers. What’s the harm in letting the woman know?”

“It’s just not a good idea, Daria.” Connor appeared to think it over. “Actually, I think the library ought to be closed now. Would you mind getting Louise back on the phone? I think she’s probably the only person who has the authority to put the building on lockdown, and I think sooner, rather than later, is the time to do exactly that.”

13

“A s I told you on the phone, I’ll close the library as of nine tonight instead of eleven, and keep it closed until your people have finished doing whatever it is they’re going to do,” Louise told Connor when he and Daria arrived at her office. “Luckily, there are hardly any students on campus right now, and few faculty members stayed around over the summer, so we won’t have too many people to deal with.”

“I appreciate your cooperation, Louise. I’ve been assured that the Bureau will handle this as quickly and efficiently as we can and with as little disruption to the university as possible.”

“Thank you. I think we have more than enough to deal with right now, with these deaths. How long do you suppose that will stay out of the news?” Louise appeared concerned.

“Not much longer, I’m afraid. The detective investigating Damian Cross’s murder is holding a news conference tomorrow. He’ll be joined by representatives of the Philly and Radnor township police departments.”

“The departments that investigated the other two cases?” Louise asked.

“Yes. Radnor township investigated because Gladwyne doesn’t have its own police department. And it won’t be long before we hear from the department in Connecticut, so the press should have a busy week.”

“Which makes the appointment of a PR person all the more pressing. That was one of the issues we were going to discuss in our impromptu meeting tonight.” Louise sighed and reached for the phone. “I’ll try the library again. I’ve been attempting to get in touch with Gloria Weathers since we spoke earlier, but she’s not picking up. She must be away from the desk.”

“She isn’t the only person working there tonight, is she?” Daria asked.

“No, but she usually stays at or near the front desk. There should also be two student interns, the assistant librarian, and at least one guard. We generally have two during the school year, but we moved one to the museum.”

“I thought the bank had two guards on duty at the museum around the clock now,” Daria said.

“They do. But Nora Gannon-she chairs our board of trustees-thought we should have someone on the school’s payroll there as well.” Louise dialed the number and waited almost a full minute. “There’s no answer. I wonder if the phone is out.”

“Does the librarian have a cell phone?” Daria asked.

“If she does, I don’t have the number. And I don’t have the pager number for the guard.” Louise tapped her fingers on the desktop. “It’s time I left here for the night anyway. I suppose I could just stop there on my way back to the house and tell Gloria to send everyone home and to close up early.”

“We’ll walk over with you,” Connor offered. “It’s not out of the way.”

The campus was quiet, most of the buildings dark except for exterior lights. Those few students at Howe for summer school were all housed in the same dormitory at the opposite side of the campus. In the haze around the lights along the paths and in the parking lots, clouds of flying insects gathered. Across the common areas, fireflies winked in the darkness. As Connor, Daria, and Louise made their way from the administration building to the library, they passed only three students.

“I imagine you’re looking forward to the fall semester, when the campus is livelier,” Daria said to Louise as they neared their destination. “It’s almost a little eerie here at night, don’t you think?”

“You get accustomed to it after a few weeks,” Louise replied. “It’s almost welcome after the long school year. Our attendance has dropped over the past decade, but Howe is still a pretty busy place from the end of August right through the beginning of June. The summer months are a nice break.”

They walked together up the library steps and into the building.

“Louise,” Connor called to her as she started toward the main desk, “these surveillance cameras are operating, aren’t they?”

“We’ll have to ask security about that. I would think they would be, but how often they’re checked…” She looked around and said, “Well, I would ask security, but I don’t see the guard at his station. He must be making his rounds.” Louise continued on her way.

By the time Connor and Daria reached the front desk, Louise had already walked behind it, and into the stacks that lay beyond.

“Gloria?” she called. “Gloria, are you back there?”

Daria walked into the room to their right, where comfortable-looking chairs formed a circle and a pair of worn black leather sofas faced each other. The room was inviting and well lit and obviously designed to encourage discussion, but other than Daria, it was empty.

“You rarely see a room in a library designed for conversation,” Daria said when Louise joined her. “You always think of libraries as places where you never speak above a whisper.”

“It was designed for the occasional informal lecture,” Louise told her. “There are pocket doors that close the room off from the rest of the library. Another of Benjamin Howe’s ideas.”

“Any luck finding your librarian?” Connor asked when he joined the two women.

“No.” Louise frowned. “She could be in the basement, or on the second floor. Though on second thought, Gloria has problems with her knees. She rarely goes upstairs.”

“You said there were two students and an assistant working tonight as well?” Connor asked.

“That’s the usual arrangement.” Louise was still frowning. “I’m going to check around the desk. Maybe there’s a note or something.”