The Inner Circle - Brad Meltzer [328]
“Dr. Kelly,” said the short one, Finester—looking for the thousandth time at his notes—”we’re almost through here.”
“Praise be to God.”
This comment was met with a short silence. Then O’Grady waded in once again, looking at a freshly scribbled sheet that had just been handed to him.
“You are familiar with a Mr. William Smithback?”
Nora felt her annoyance giving way to a sudden wariness. “Yes.”
“What is your relationship to Mr. Smithback?”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
O’Grady turned the paper over in his hands. “We have a report here that earlier today, Mr. Smithback impersonated a security officer and gained unauthorized clearance to some high-security files in the Museum. Would you know why?”
“No.”
“When was the last time you spoke to Mr. Smithback?”
Nora sighed. “I don’t remember.”
Finester sat back in his seat, folded his beefy arms. “Take your time, please.” He had a shiny, paste-colored dome of a head, topped by a tuft of hair so thick and coarse it looked like a hairy island in the middle of his bald head.
This was intolerable. “Maybe a week.”
“Under what circumstances?”
“He was harassing me in my office.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to tell me that Agent Pendergast had been stabbed. Museum security dragged him away. They’ll have a record of it.” What the hell was Smithback doing back in the Museum? The guy was incorrigible.
“You have no idea what Mr. Smithback was looking for?”
“I believe I just said that.”
There was a short silence while O’Grady checked his notes. “It says here that Mr. Smithback—”
Nora interrupted impatiently. “Look, why aren’t you pursuing some real leads here? Like those typewritten notes of the killer’s, the one sent to me and the one left on Puck’s desk? Obviously, the killer is somebody with access to the Museum. Why all these questions about Smithback? I haven’t spoken to him in a week. I don’t know anything about what he’s up to and, frankly, I couldn’t care less.”
“We have to ask you these questions, Dr. Kelly,” O’Grady replied.
“Why?”
“They’re on my list. It’s my job.”
“Jesus.” She passed a hand over her forehead. This whole episode was Kafkaesque. “Go ahead.”
“After a warrant was put out on Mr. Smithback, we found his rented car parked on upper Riverside Drive. Would you know why he rented the car?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I haven’t spoken to him in a week.”
O’Grady turned over the sheet. “How long have you known Mr. Smithback?”
“Almost two years.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“In Utah.”
“Under what circumstances?”
“On an archaeological expedition.” Nora was suddenly having trouble paying attention to the questions. Riverside Drive? What the hell was Smithback doing up there?
“What kind of an archaeological expedition?”
Nora didn’t answer.
“Dr. Kelly?”
Nora looked at him. “Where on Riverside Drive?”
O’Grady looked confused. “I’m sorry?”
“Where was Smithback’s car found on Riverside Drive?”
O’Grady fumbled with the paper. “It says here upper Riverside. One hundred thirty-first and Riverside.”
“One hundred thirty-first Street? What was he doing up there?”
“That’s just what we were hoping you could tell us. Now, about that archaeological expedition—”
“And you say he came in this morning, gained access to some files? What files?”
“Old security files.”
“Which ones?”
O’Grady flipped through some other sheets. “It says here it was an old personnel file.”
“On who?”
“It doesn’t say.”
“How did he do it?”
“Well, it doesn’t say, and