Page 85 of Pieces of Her (Andrea Oliver 1)

Danberry crossed his arms.

Jane swallowed back a flood of bile that rushed up her throat.

Nick asked Barlow, “Do you have a record of my attendance at this lecture?”

“According to her assistant, Dr. Maplecroft didn’t believe in keeping attendance.”

“Pity.”

“We’ll be talking to other students this week.”

“That must be quite an undertaking,” Nick said. “How many kids are at Berkeley now? Thirty, forty thousand?”

Barlow gave a heavy sigh. He opened his notebook again. He resumed the game, directing his words toward Andrew. “At the conference, when Mr. Harp approached Laura Juneau, who was at that time posing as Dr. Maplecroft, Mr. Harp mentioned attending one of Dr. Maplecroft’s lectures. The police officer and the girl working the check-in table both heard him say the same thing.”

Andrew said, “I wasn’t there for that part of the conversation, but I’m sure Nick can—”

“Are you aware that Mr. Harp has a drug conviction?”

Nick snapped, “Are you aware that Mr. Queller does?”

“Christ,” Jasper muttered.

“Just making sure they have the facts,” Nick said. “It’s a felony to lie to an FBI agent. Isn’t that correct, Mr. Danberry?”

Danberry kept silent, but Jane could tell he’d picked up on the fact that Nick had not been here when the agents had introduced themselves. Jane could’ve told him that he was likely listening at the top of the stairs. She had learned the hard way that Nick was a stealthy eavesdropper.

Andrew volunteered, “Two years ago, I was convicted for possession of cocaine. I performed community service in exchange for my record being expunged.”

Nick added, “That kind of thing doesn’t stay a secret in times like these, does it?”

Barlow quipped, “It does not.”

Jane tried not to wince as Nick ran his fingers roughly through her hair. He told Barlow, “I met Laura Juneau in the KLM lounge at Schiphol. We were both en route to Oslo. She approached me. She asked if the seat next to me was taken. I said no. She introduced herself as Dr. Alexandra Maplecroft. She said she recognized me from one of her lectures, which could be true, but honestly, gentlemen, I was stoned out of my mind during most of my classes, so I’m hardly a reliable witness.”

“Hardly,” Barlow echoed.

Danberry still said nothing. He’d made it to the Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand on the other side of the room. Jane tried not to bristle when he soundlessly glided his fingers over the extra bass keys.

Barlow said, “So, Mr. Harp, as far as you can recall, you met Dr. Maplecroft for the first time at the Amsterdam airport, then you met her for the second time in Oslo?”

“That’s right,” Nick agreed. Jane could have cried with relief when he returned to the script. “In order to be polite, I pretended to recognize the woman whom I thought was Dr. Maplecroft. Then I saw her again at the conference and again pretended in order to be polite.” His shoulder went up in a shrug. “I think the operative word here is ‘pretend,’ gentlemen. She pretended to know me. I pretended to know her. Only one of us had darker intentions.”

Barlow made a mark in his notepad.

Andrew picked up his part. “At the conference, Nick introduced me to the Juneau woman as Dr. Maplecroft. I recognized the name, if not the face. There aren’t many photographs of Maplecroft in circulation, as I’m sure you’ve realized now that you’re searching for her. I believe I said something to the fake Maplecroft about being on Father’s panel. She didn’t have a badge, so I asked if there was a problem with the check-in.” He shrugged the exact same way that Nick had shrugged. “That was the extent of my interaction with the woman. The next time I saw her, she was murdering my father.”

Jane flinched. She couldn’t help it.

Barlow said, “That’s a very tidy explanation.”

Nick said, “Most explanations are. The ones that are complicated are the ones I’d look out for.” He smoothed out the leg of his trousers. “But you know, gentlemen, it seems to me that I’ve already told this to your compatriots. We all have, endlessly. So, I think I’ll make my exit.”

Neither agent moved to stop him.

Nick hesitated only slightly before he kissed Jane on the mouth, then crossed the room in long strides. Jane felt her heart drop when he took a left instead of a right. He wasn’t going upstairs to wait for her.

He was leaving.