One Grave Less

warn him, then call for more troops. Real troops.
    There were lots of weapons at the museum—hammers, nail guns . . . She could trip an alarm, or the fire alarm. And there was her security staff. They could bring down one guy, couldn’t they?
    Okay, she had some options. She could play it by ear and see what opportunity presented itself. Maybe she would get lucky and the ubiquitous museum snake that no one seemed to be able to catch would drop on him and it would turn out that he was deathly afraid of snakes.
    As they drove to the museum, Diane wondered why the night wasn’t lighter. There was a full moon. That’s when she noticed the trees moving in the wind. A storm was coming, she remembered now. There was supposed to be a storm every day this coming week. Great.
    He turned onto the road that led to the museum. It was a nice drive usually, but she dreaded every minute of it now. She wasn’t satisfied with her plans. Mainly because they weren’t plans. They were possible ideas . . . if she got a chance . . . and if everything went right.
    He parked in her spot and they got out of the car, but not before he warned her again that he loved collateral damage. On the way up the steps they met Andie and Liam coming down.
    “Hey,” said Andie.
    “What are you doing here so late?” said Diane.
    “You didn’t tell me being director is so time-consuming. Kendel isn’t back yet and it’s just me and the support staff.” Andie seemed happy. “What are you doing back this late?” She looked at the guy and smiled.
    “I’m interviewing for a new security position,” said Diane. “We need to beef it up after what happened in the Mayan Room.”
    As she spoke she made eye contact with Liam. Everyone told her she had no poker face whatsoever; perhaps she could telegraph her peril. If she had, Liam gave no indication that he understood. Then again, he was probably a better poker player than she. He could also come up with a plan. Liam, she suspected, was a match for this guy. Please, Liam, understand. Read my mind.
    “Sounds to me like a good idea,” said Liam, smiling at the guy. “You need some stronger guards, from what Andie tells me. We’re going to get some ice cream. Would you like us to bring you some?”
    “No. I won’t be here long. I’m just going to talk to Chanell about a new position,” said Diane.
    “See you tomorrow,” said Andie.
    Diane hoped that was true. She watched a moment while Andie and Liam went to his car and got in. Damn. She didn’t think he got the message. But then, if he did, he couldn’t let her know. Still . . . Diane felt depressed. She walked up the steps with mega guy.
    “Good story,” he said. “Logical. You do need better security.”
    “Thank you,” she said, and really did try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
    They entered the building. She waved to the security staff on duty and passed them, going through the Primate section to the bank of elevators midway between the east and west wings.
    “You didn’t tell that security guard why I’m here,” he said. “I don’t want them to get suspicious.”
    Diane stopped and looked at him. Mainly because she wanted to have any delay she could.
    “Andie is my assistant. I put her in charge until I could straighten this mess out. I share things like that with her. I rarely tell the staff why I come in the door, and they don’t expect me to.”
    He raised his eyebrows. Diane got the odd sensation that he respected that. Geez, what a relationship they had.
    Okay, what vault was she going to take him to? Geology. Mike Seeger was gone on one of his extremeophile trips and the people who worked for him wouldn’t be working late. She just hoped she didn’t run across anyone while she was here. This guy would kill them without a thought.
    “Why is it so dark in here?” he asked.
    “It’s the night lighting,” she said. “Many of the exhibits are harmed by constant exposure to light. We give them a break at night.”
    At the bank of elevators she pressed the up button and waited. Diane’s heart pounded against her ribs. Think, think, think .
    “What’s taking so long with the elevator?” he said.
    “It’s not taking long,” said Diane. “This is the way they work. Please be patient. I’m eager to give you the package you want. Surely you can see that no one here is a threat to you.”
    Diane punched the button again. The elevator was taking longer than usual.
    “Stairs,” he said. “This is