A Museum Mystery 1 - Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly

Author:Sheila Connolly [Connolly, Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780425237441
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2010-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

After another restless night, I arrived Tuesday morning to see that Charles had taken official notice of FBI agents prowling in our midst: when I arrived there were signs posted at the entry doors and elevator announcing an all-hands staff meeting at nine o'clock sharp, before we opened the doors to the public at ten. I noted with amusement that Charles had avoided any use of the term "emergency."

I figured there wouldn't be time for a serious talk with Charles before the meeting, so I filed into the boardroom along with the rest of the staff. There was a low buzz among the crowd: a few people looked bewildered, but most looked worried. Charles was already in place at the head of the long table. He was, as always, impeccably groomed, and was wearing a sober dark suit designed to send the message that he was serious and responsible. He waited until most people had managed to find themselves seats--some had to go back out and drag in some extra chairs--and looked at the crowd. Finally he cleared his throat, marshaling everyone's attention.

"Thank you for joining me on such short notice," he began. "I'm sorry to disrupt your schedules, but there is a matter of utmost importance that I need to communicate to you before we open today. Yesterday I was visited by an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who told me that he had received a complaint about items missing from the Society's collections, and that the complainant suspected theft." He paused to let that sink in. There was a moment of stunned silence and then an explosive babble of voices.

Charles raised a hand, silencing them, then continued. "Of course I have implicit faith in the integrity of all of my staff members, but as you can imagine, any complaint of this nature must be investigated fully. The agent in charge of the case is James Morrison--some of you may have seen him in the building yesterday. I ask you to give him and his colleagues your fullest cooperation, so that we can get to the bottom of this charge and resume our normal operations. And I don't think I need to tell you not to speak of this with anyone outside the building--and that most certainly includes any members of the press. Adverse publicity would serve no useful purpose and could damage the reputation of the Society, which I'm sure no one of us wants. If you are approached by a member, a researcher, or an outsider with any questions about an investigation, please refer all inquiries directly to my office--Doris will see that they receive an appropriate response. But to the best of my knowledge, this has not been made public, and I sincerely hope that it will be resolved before we reach that state. Thank you all for coming."

With that, he stood and exited, ignoring the surge of questions. That left the rest of us seated around the table staring at each other.

"What the hell was that about?" asked one of the junior librarians.

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