One Grave Less

suppose I must have seen the love. Interesting. I’ll have to go back and look at my Vermeers with that in mind. It puts art in a whole new perspective.”
    “Neva, if I call Vanessa and the two of you can get access to Madge’s home and her workspace,” said Diane, “can you go through her drawings and paintings and see if there is someone who was special to her? It may be a person of interest we need to talk to.”

Chapter 63
    Andie caught Diane midstride as she was leaving the Pleistocene Room heading for the basement.
    “There’s a storm coming,” said Andie.
    “Looks like it,” said Diane. “The wind is really whipping the trees back and forth out there.”
    For the middle of the day, it was looking dark.
    “You look a little anxious,” said Diane. “Is everything all right?”
    “I just wanted to run some things by you,” said Andie.
    “All right,” said Diane. She led Andie to one of the benches and they sat down.
    “We’ve been having some cancellations because of the weather forecast—a lot of them,” said Andie. “Some are rescheduling for later, like next month, but some aren’t.”
    “Cancellations in bad weather are expected. We’ve had them before,” said Diane.
    Andie nodded. “I know. It’s just . . . cancellations on my watch are a little scary. And some of the staff—not many, but a few—wanted to know if they could bring their families and sleeping bags and sleep in the basement tonight if the weather turns really bad. It’s a little unusual, I know, but I told them they could. I was thinking they can set up in that big room that’s finished but not decorated. The bathrooms nearby are finished, and that seems like a good camping place.” Andie stopped and took a breath. “Is that all right? I mean, in an emergency? But then I got to thinking about insurance, and now I’m not so sure. But then, I can’t turn people away.”
    “I think, for a few people who have nowhere else to go, that’s fine. You’re right. We can’t turn our staff and their families away in an emergency. Is the weather supposed to get that bad? I haven’t been listening to the news.”
    “You know how weather reports are. They like drama. But all week we are supposed to have lots of rain, lightning, tree-uprooting wind, and possible tornados,” said Andie. “Then again, maybe it’s just drama.”
    Diane raised her brow. “I didn’t know. By all means, they need a place to come. The basement is a good idea. We’ll need to try to control the level of kid activity.”
    “I sent Ami to the museum store for some games and toys. I thought it would be a good idea to have something to do. We can lock all the exhibit rooms, of course,” said Andie.
    “Sounds like you have things under control,” said Diane. “You are in charge, remember.”
    “Yeah, of the museum, but you are still the primate curator,” she said.
    Diane frowned. “Is there an issue with the primate exhibit?”
    “Sort of . . . ,” she said.
    “Is Kendel back yet?” asked Diane.
    “That’s the thing. Kendel is still in Mexico. She thinks she can get them to go ahead and loan us the Mayan exhibit. But the price is, they want a loan of our”—Andie made a face—“our primate exhibit—the new resin figures in their habitats. Kendel said she wouldn’t normally think of it, but it would go a long way toward fixing the little PR blip we suffered. And it will look really good in their advertising to see ‘Mexico Special Primate Exhibit On Loan From RiverTrail. ’ Lots of coverage. Their museum is way bigger than ours and has more visitors from all over the world.”
    Diane nodded. “It’s a good point. All right. We need to have something to replace it with that’s a little different. I’ll work on an idea and we’ll get the planners on it.” She smiled at Andie. “How do you like being director?”
    “How do you know if you’re making the right decisions?” said Andie.
    “Sometimes you don’t,” said Diane. “You make the best decision with what you know, keeping the goals of the museum in mind. And always keeping in mind the possible consequences of your decisions.” Diane smiled. “Sometimes you just call it like you see it.”
    “It’s those consequences that are the little devils,” said Andie.
    “You’re doing fine,” Diane said.
    “Are you all right?” asked Andie. “A lot’s happened to you.”
    “Pretty good, considering,” Diane said. “Liam was terrific.”
    Andie