Free Echoes of Titanic by Mindy Starns Clark Page A

foot traffic to contend with. As she quickly covered the distance and neared the office building, she thought about going in through the back but decided to take a peek around front first, to see if the coast was clear.
    Fortunately, it was. From a discreet vantage point on the opposite side of the street, she could see through the tall front windows of the lobby that the only person in there at the moment was Ephraim, sitting at reception. Moving quickly, she crossed at the corner and then sprinted to the front door. It was locked, but as soon as he spotted her, he buzzed her in.
    â€œThanks, Ephraim,” she replied, stepping inside and pulling the door firmly shut behind her. “What are you doing here this late? Don’t you guys usually knock off around six?”
    â€œYeah. Not tonight, though. After all the mess this afternoon, I thought I’d stick around a little longer, just to be safe.”
    â€œWell, I’m glad you’re here—and happy to see that the crowds are gone.”
    â€œBeen this way for ’bout an hour now,” Ephraim replied. “Some of those people were pretty persistent, but Mr. Hallerman got ’em all out of here eventually, thank goodness.”
    â€œIs he still around?” Kelsey asked and was relieved when Ephraim said no, that Walter had gone back upstairs for a few minutes once everyone else was gone, and then he’d come back down and left for the night.
    â€œLooked bone tired to me,” he added.
    â€œI know the feeling. How about Gloria Poole? Have you seen her tonight at all?”
    Ephraim said no, that he hadn’t seen Mrs. Poole coming or going this afternoon or this evening. “’Course, there was an awful lot of confusion here, as you know. There’s a chance she came through and I just didn’t notice. That’s what I told her husband, anyway.”
    â€œVern? Was he here?”
    â€œYeah, ’bout an hour ago. He said she called and asked him to come to her office, so he did, right from work. But then once he got here and I let him up, he couldn’t find her. By the time he left, he seemed pretty mad.”
    â€œI can see why. Actually, she called me too. I’ll see if I can find her.” Kelsey couldn’t imagine where on earth Gloria could have gone. “You haven’t seen her on the security cameras anywhere? Not even on the ones for the fifth floor?”
    Ephraim shook his head. “The only security camera on fifth shows the elevator landing and the reception area, that’s it, and I definitely haven’t seen her come walking through there.”
    â€œWell, if by some chance she calls or comes down here, tell her I’m looking for her, would you?”
    â€œWill do. Holler if you need me.”
    Kelsey thanked him and went around the corner to the elevators. Thinking she might as well start by checking Gloria’s office first, she pressed the button for the fifth floor. Once there, she stepped out into the vestibule and turned left, toward reception, feeling strangely watched. At the door she punched in her security code, waited for the click, and then went inside.
    The Brennan & Tate fifth floor reception area was small but strikingly elegant, with a sleek mahogany reception station at the center and several groupings of chairs and low tables along the perimeter. The color scheme was pleasant, a muted mix of browns and yellows and greens with splashes of more vivid colors in the abstract artwork adorning the walls. The focal point of the room, however, was the mahogany-and-glass display case in the far corner, placed there as a memorial to Adele Brennan Tate a year or two aftershe passed away. Inside the case, restored to museum quality, was the clothing she’d been wearing the night Titanic sank.
    Artfully displayed on a dressmaker’s dummy, the outfit consisted of a pale blue floor-length dress covered by a darker blue overcoat with white fur trim, white