Last Breath

He smiled as he pulled up to the stoplight, but he didn’t respond.

“Louise said Dr. Bokhari will be back tomorrow night. Maybe she’ll have some insights.” Co

“Dr. Bokhari, the archaeology professor at Howe?”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to meeting her, plus it will be interesting to see what she thinks about all this.”

“What do you suppose will happen with the plans to reopen the museum? Do you think they’ll go ahead with it?”

“That’s one of the things I spoke to Louise about. They’re definitely moving forward. They have armed guards at the museum now, and the meeting with the insurance people is scheduled for tomorrow. You were right. They are sending someone out to assess the building. Along with the risk manager, they’re sending a mechanical engineer to look over the systems, as well as a structural engineer. At the same time, a contractor hired by Howe is going to go through and see what renovations will be required.”

“Sounds like a full house.”

“I guess for me, the next logical step is to start pla

“Until he met Benjamin Howe. How did they meet, by the way?”

“Howe attended a lecture Alistair gave at the Wilmington Society for the Preservation of Antiquities. He’d always been interested in the past, and was looking for something that would give his college instant cachet. He spoke with Alistair after the lecture, and offered him a position, right there on the spot.”

“Lucky break for Alistair.”

“In every way. He found the funding he wanted and he found Shandihar. And he found the love of his life in Iliana. In one of his journals, he wrote about the first time he saw her. ‘My heart leapt within me at the very sight of her. It always would, ever thereafter.’ Isn’t that the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard?”

“Romantic, yes, but Alistair died young; didn’t he? Before he got to see his find placed on exhibit to the public?”

“He wasn’t so young; I think he was close to sixty when he died. Iliana was quite a bit younger than he was. And while he never did see his precious artifacts on display, he must have died knowing that he’d realized every dream he’d had. He left quite a legacy, in his work and in his family. I think he would have been very proud to know that his only grandson followed in his footsteps.”

“Not to mention his great-granddaughter.”

“Yes.” She turned her face to the window. “I like to think he’d have been proud of that. I’d like to think he’d have been proud of all of us. Dad, Sam, Iona, Jack. Me.”

“That reminds me. We need to talk about your brother Jack.”

“My mother is sending me copies of all the reports. Maybe the package will be here tomorrow.”

“In that case, maybe you can steal a little time away tomorrow to look it over with me. Just to see if there’s anything else I need to know that’s not reflected in the PI’s reports.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind? It could get complicated.”

“Complications don’t scare me. Besides, I’ve been thinking about taking a few weeks off. Now’s just as good a time as any.”

“I’ll bet you could think of better places to spend your vacation than Howeville, Pe

“Oh, I don’t think so.” He glanced at her across the front seat. “I think I’m exactly where I want to be…”

10

I t was close to midnight when the Porsche parked in the visitor’s lot. The lights were still on in the president’s house and the museum, but Daria was too tired to care too much about what might be going on in either. With the exception of those two buildings, the campus was totally dark.

Before she opened the car door, Daria snapped the leather leash onto Sweet Thing’s collar. The dog hopped out eagerly and immediately began to sniff the ground. Co

“I’ll walk you down to the house,” he told Daria as he took her arm.

“I’m not afraid to walk back alone,” she replied. “After all, I have a ‘pit bull’ here to protect me.”

“I think you were right about her personality. She really is more of a lamb than a lion.”

“It will be nice to have her in the house. We always had dogs when we were growing up.”

“What did you do with them while you were all globe-trotting?”

“My mom’s sister kept whatever menagerie we had at any given time. She never had kids of her own, and was a really good sport about stuff like that.”

“I guess it’s hard for you to have a pet these days.”

“Actually, I have a parrot. I had him when I was in grad school. He got passed around from my brother to my sister and back again when I started spending more time out of the country than in it. These days, H.D. spends most of his time with my parents.”

“H.D.?”

“Hound Dog.” She gri

“These days?”

“Not so much.”

They reached the end of the path leading to her door. Set between two enormous evergreens, the house appeared forbidding in the dark.

“Let’s get you and the dog inside and get some lights on.” Co

“I’m fine, really, Co

“Give me the key, and I’ll unlock the door.”

It took him a minute to find the lock and then the keyhole in the dark, but he managed to turn the key and open the door. Once inside, she snapped on the overhead light in the hall.

“Want the dog food in the kitchen?” he asked.

“Yes, but you don’t have to-”

“Sure I do.” He smiled and walked ahead of her toward the back of the house.

Daria unhooked the dog’s leash and let her roam free to investigate her new home.

“Do you have anything to use for dog dishes?” Co

“I think there are some glass bowls in this cabinet,” she told him. She found two-one for water, one for food-and turned to place them on the floor. She hesitated for a moment, a curious look on her face.

“What?” He followed her gaze to the back window where Sweet Thing was sniffing with great purpose.

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I just thought…”

She waved a hand dismissively.

“What?” he asked again.

“I thought I closed that window when I went to bed last night. I don’t remember opening it this morning. Of course, after the day we’ve had, I guess I’m lucky to remember my name.”

He went to the window and peered out.

“The screen’s gone,” he told Daria. “It was definitely on the window when I opened it last night.”

Co

He pointed to the ground. “Here’s your screen. It didn’t jump out of the window by itself.”

“You think someone broke in?” She frowned.

“Looks that way to me. Sweet Thing, too, judging from her reaction.”

The dog was scratching and clawing at the screen. When Co

Co