Let's Play Dead Read Online Free Page B

hung up with no further ado, probably to start brewing tea.
    I sat back and smiled. Arabella was a sweet and charming lady—and ran a good institution, much beloved by more than a generation of Philadelphia children and parents. And touring an exhibit aimed at small children would be a welcome change from the very serious documents that the Society housed.
    Despite the disruption to my schedule, I found I was already looking forward to that afternoon’s excursion.

CHAPTER 3
    The next time I looked at the clock (a handsome, Philadelphia-made eighteenth-century number with a rather ominous face that looked disapproving to me), it was well after one, and I remembered that I’d promised Shelby lunch. That was happening more and more often: I kept losing chunks of my day. Too much to do, too little time. I stood up and gathered my coat from the closet outside my office, and went down the hall to retrieve Shelby.
    I found her at her desk, file folders covering its entire surface. That made me feel better, since in my day (was it really only two months ago?) it had often looked like that, covered in piles of paperwork. I rapped on the door. “Shelby, are you starving?”
    She looked up and slid off a pair of reading glasses. “That time already? My, time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?”
    “It does. Would you rather not interrupt what you’re doing?”
    She stood up quickly. “No, ma’am! My mama told me never to say no to a free meal.”
    “What kind of food do you feel like?” I asked as Shelby pulled her jacket from the hook on the back of the door.
    “You pick. I don’t know this part of town all that well.”
    I decided on a nice place around the corner. “Since I never saw your résumé,” I said as we walked toward the elevator, “where is it you live?”
    “Down toward the river. John and I bought a nice little row house when we moved here. I love the neighborhood, and it’s convenient. How ’bout you?”
    “I live in the burbs—Bryn Mawr. I like to keep work and home separate, and I enjoy the train ride, most of the time. Gives me time to read, or think, without anybody interrupting me.”
    “I hear you!”
    We descended the Society’s front steps, and I guided Shelby toward Broad Street, a long block away. The January air was harsh, but I was happy to get out and move, given all the time I spent sitting at my desk, where my major exercise was tearing out my hair. “Are you that busy already?”
    Shelby laughed. “Oh, I’m not complaining. A few folks stopped by to introduce themselves—just curious about the new kid. They were all real nice. Maybe if you could point me to an organization chart, I could figure out who’s who?”
    “Sure. Remind me and I’ll email you one when we get back. But it’s your own fault, showing up out of the blue yesterday. If we’d known you were coming, we’d have had things sorted out.”
    “You think I mind? I’m happy to have the job, and these are just little wrinkles that we’ll get smoothed out in no time. Is this where we’re going?”
    I’d stopped in front of one of my favorite local places—good food, and not too expensive. “This is it.”
    Inside the vestibule, Shelby sniffed appreciatively. “Smells great.”
    “It is.” We followed the hostess to a table for two and settled ourselves. A waiter appeared promptly and handed us menus, and Shelby took no more than two minutes to make up her mind. I ordered what I always did, a chicken Caesar salad. When the waiter had left, I sat back in my chair. “So, any second thoughts yet?”
    “Nell, I’ve been working at the Society a total of four hours. It might take me a little longer to make up my mind about you all.”
    “Take all the time you want. Was there something you wanted to know? Or maybe the question should be, what do you know?”
    “You worried about what’s been said in the news?”
    “What have you heard?” I parried. We’d had some lessthan-ideal press