Nancy thanked the bellhop and said that Humphrey must have stayed the night with a friend, forcing a smile until he left. Then she did a more thorough search of the room once she was alone. His luggage and clothes, toiletries, were all still there. The last time she had seen him—Nancy closed her eyes tightly and thought back to the night before, when he had followed her onto the elevator. Pale yellow polo shirt and black pants. She remembered thinking that the yellow really didn't do any favors for his complexion.
She sighed and shook her head. The polo shirt wasn't in his discarded clothes, so wherever he was, he was probably still wearing it.
And if he had a one-night stand and he's on the way back now...
Nancy didn't really care. She had already waited too long, and she had a bad feeling that the night before he had run into trouble, but hadn't figured it out in time to call her. And if the murderer had him...
Don't think about it, she told herself. He's okay. And I'll find him.
While it would have been awful to find his phone in the room, at least that way Nancy would have a record of his recent calls. Since the hotel charged for calls using the room phone, she doubted she could find out that way. Frustrated, she glanced around the room again and spotted a blank pad on the desk. If he had sat down there and jotted down anything...
She sat down quickly and ran her fingertip over the surface of the pad, then held it up and angled it into the light, but didn't see any impressions, even faint ones, on its surface. Hurriedly she dug through her purse and pulled out a small pencil, then gently ran the edge of the lead over the surface of the paper. She made out a few faint lines, but when she picked up the pad and scrutinized them, they were only rectangles and triangles. Someone, maybe not even Humphrey, had probably idly doodled them while on the telephone.
Nancy let out a frustrated groan. The government lead was the most promising one she had, and she needed to research it, but it would probably be even faster to locate Humphrey. Nancy flipped the security bar so she could get back into Humphrey's room, then quickly retrieved her own laptop with its bag and power cord and brought them back.
He had spent of their time in New York hanging out with Cantoni, and maybe they had made a date for Sunday, one she didn't know about. Nancy didn't have Vincent's card, though, since Humphrey had handled contacting him. She found a number that looked promising online, and after thirty minutes of working her way through the labyrinth of contact information, she managed to leave a message with his secretary to have him call her back as soon as he possibly could, about a business matter.
Once she hung up, she felt so frustrated and anxious that her hands were trembling a little. "Okay, focus," she murmured. "He'll walk through that door just as smartass as ever any minute. In the meantime, though..."
Nancy went through her papers and found the list of primary investments for each of the partners. She pinned her hair up, uncapped a highlighter and went to work, and when she was finished, she had at least tentatively eliminated Parker and Nickerson from her suspect list. Neither of them seemed to have side projects that the government could possibly be interested in, or at least not ones that seemed to cross Mark Armstruther's interests. Mark was far more interested in tech, but tech with consumer applications, from everything she could see. Ned, she noted with a smile, had invested in projects with NASA applications, but they were strictly non-militaristic.
She wasn't sure why, but she had a hunch that it hadn't just been a government project, but one with military applications. That would explain Mark's reluctance. She was just considering calling Mark to see if he would confirm her logical leap when her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Miss Mallory?"
"Yes," Nancy answered. "This is she."
"This is Vincent Cantoni. You called?"
"Yes... Humphrey and I had an appointment for breakfast this morning, and he missed it. I just wanted to see if you had heard from him, or if you were planning on seeing him later on today, and if so, just to tell him to contact me."
"Oh. No, I haven't heard from him today. I spoke to him yesterday, but I didn't have plans to see him today. Did you try his cell phone?"
Nancy bristled just a little at Cantoni's tone, but when she replied, her voice was even. "I have, but I guess he let the battery die," she said with a light laugh. "Well, I'm sure I'll hear from him soon. Sorry to bother you."
"It's no problem. If I hear from him I'll be sure to call you. Is this a good number for you?"
"It is," she replied. "Thank you so much. Sorry, again."
"It's fine."
Once they hung up, Nancy made a face at the phone. At least now she had a way to call him back quickly.
Interregnum. She considered calling Cantoni back and asking him if he could place the reference, but before she did, she looked down at her phone. Maybe Ned had figured out where he heard it.
Nancy flushed a little as she imagined calling him again, then forced herself to tap his name in her contact list before she changed her mind. He was probably on the way to his business trip, anyway—
He picked up on the second ring. "Hello, beautiful. I was just thinking about you."
"Oh?" Nancy flush deepened, and she had to force herself to remember why she had called. "Um—I just wanted to ask if you'd remembered where you heard Interregnum."
"Believe me, I stayed up entirely too late last night trying to remember," he told her. "That, and remembering how incredibly sexy you looked in my shirt. Are you still wearing it?"
Nancy couldn't believe how warmly she was blushing. "I had to take it off for my shower," she told him, before she could stop herself.
Ned groaned, his voice low. "Oh, you should have called first. I definitely would have come over for that."
Nancy closed her eyes. "Ned," she whispered.
"Sorry. I'm sorry. And no, I haven't placed it yet, but I'm still thinking about it. You want to brainstorm over lunch? I can put my flight off, and tell Louis you'll be coming over. His eyes light up when I tell him that. I think he has a crush on you, and he always does his best work for you."
"Well, he definitely has a gift," Nancy teased Ned. "And a man who can cook like that..."
"You're breaking my heart," Ned told her. "I don't stand a chance, do I. So you'll definitely come over for lunch, so I can try to impress you some other way? My skills in the kitchen might be a little lacking, but I can definitely make up for it other ways."
Nancy glanced down. "As tempting as your offer is," she said, "I have a bit of a problem, and Louis will just have to impress me with his incredible talent some other time."
"Well, even if Louis and his cooking aren't enough of a temptation, I notice that I'm still on the list," Ned murmured, his voice low and almost dark, and Nancy felt a shudder go all the way down her spine.
"Would you mind coming over to brainstorm with me? I've just... uh, misplaced my associate, and I don't want to leave the hotel if he could walk back in any minute and explain why he's been AWOL all morning."
"Ahh. And he's not answering his cell phone, I'd guess."
"He's not," she confirmed.
"I'll be right over, then. Maybe I'll even get Louis to whip up a little snack first."
Nancy actually let out an audible moan at the suggestion. "Really? I was going to have to get room service, and I haven't had anything to eat yet today."
"And I'm too much of a gentleman to let a woman in need starve to death." Ned chuckled. "I'll come over and have him send over something spectacular for us."
After they hung up, Nancy tried to focus on doing research, and went over the information in front of her. All of it was public record or information she and Humphrey had found through their legitimate interaction with the company, so she didn't need to hide any of it. Just in case, though, Nancy checked her reflection and made sure her makeup wasn't smeared or in need of a touch-up.
They would be alone, in a bedroom, together. She knew that was a bad idea, but she also didn't want to leave Humphrey's room if he might return to it any minute.
She heard a knock at the door and smoothed her hair before she looked through the peephole. Ned was standing there, and he looked even more handsome than she remembered. When she opened the door and their eyes met, Nancy's heart skipped a beat.
"Hello, gorgeous."
"Hi," she replied with a smile, stepping back so Ned could enter. "Thanks for coming over."
"For you? Anytime," Ned said with a grin. "If you don't like Chinese, say so now. I think Louis is planning a Cantonese feast for us."
"I can't wait," Nancy said.
To Nancy's relief and mild disappointment, when she spread out the research and showed Ned what she was looking for, he immediately caught on and focused on the case. "And how did you come up with this hunch?" Ned asked, still looking over the papers.
Nancy shrugged. "It had to be something Mark didn't support," she pointed out. "And something confidential that you wouldn't even tell me last night? That had to be serious."
Ned glanced over at her, then. "That's not all last night was," he said softly. "Was it?"
Nancy took a long breath and shook her head. "No," she replied, just as quietly. "It wasn't."
Ned relaxed a little. "I didn't think it was," he murmured. "Well, I can't tell you anything that you haven't already found out, so what is it, exactly, that you've been told?"
"I've been told," Nancy said, crossing her fingers a little behind her back, "that the proposal was related to a government project, possibly military. But that's all." Technically Carlton hadn't told her—not verbally, anyway.
"But I still can't specifically figure out why that project would have gotten Kate killed," Ned said, still scanning all her data. "Wow, you were thorough."
"Humphrey did help," Nancy admitted, but she blushed a little at the praise.
"And you think the person responsible has him."
Nancy sighed and sat down in the desk chair. "It's just a hunch," she admitted. "No foul play here, no sign of a struggle, no note. But he sent me a text message last night that he was tracking down a lead, and he would call me if he ran into trouble."
"So did he call?"
Nancy shook her head. "He didn't. But he also didn't call to tell me anything. His bed looks like it hasn't been slept in. His laptop and bag are gone, but not the charger for either that or his phone. If he went on a date last night and he's still sleeping it off in some secretary's apartment, why would he have his laptop and bag with him? And why wouldn't he call me from that person's place?"
Ned shrugged. "But his phone's off, for sure."
Nancy nodded. "There's no ring before it flips over to voicemail," she said.
"And it's definitely not here somewhere," he said.
"Well, I haven't checked the air conditioning vents or between the mattress and box springs," she said with a little smile, "but I did a search and haven't found it."
Ned nodded. "And he's not a forgetful kind of guy who might have left it at a restaurant or something last night, and that's why he's not answering?"
Nancy shook her head. "He and that cell phone are joined at the hip," she told him.
"Well, in that case... mind if I make a call?"
Nancy told him that was fine, and as soon as he took out his phone, they heard a knock at the door. For a second Nancy was startled to realize that she was looking forward to Louis's arrival more than she was hoping Humphrey would be there.
She glanced through the peephole and saw Louis standing there, and opened the door for him with a smile. "You're an angel," she told him as he crossed to the small table.
"I didn't have much time," he said apologetically. "The duck is small, but I made plenty of egg rolls. The place settings are in this bag."
Nancy was ready to dig enough change for two sodas out of her purse when she saw a large bottle of Perrier tucked into the bag. "He's as thoughtful as Hannah," she commented under her breath with a smile.
Ned completed his call and came over, helping her unpack their lunch. "Hannah?" he repeated.
Nancy nodded. "Hannah Gruen. My father's housekeeper for practically my entire life." Nancy glanced up at him. "She helped raise me whenever Dad wasn't home, and that was a lot."
"I can imagine," he said sympathetically. "With any luck, I'll get a call right after we finish lunch, but in the meantime..."
They set the table together, and served their plates with roasted duck, fried rice, and the egg rolls, pouring plastic cups of Perrier to go with it. Nancy sighed in anticipation, just looking at the meal.
Ned chuckled. "I should definitely give Louis a bonus," he commented softly, "just for putting that smile on your face."
Nancy glanced up at Ned again, her lips still curved up. "He's definitely a frontrunner in the race," she told him.
Ned shook his head. "But I'm definitely not going to bow out without a fight," he told her. "So, Hannah..."
Nancy was just closing her eyes with delight at the first bite of her duck. "Mmm. Yes. She's a fantastic cook, but she despairs at ever being able to teach me how. I just..." Nancy shrugged. "I mean, I can throw together spaghetti or something quick, but anything longer, and I get... distracted."
Ned nodded in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean."
"Are you implying you even know how to boil water, Mr. Nickerson?"
"I will have you know that I," Ned said with pride, "have graduated to the occasional grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, thank you."
"From a can?"
"Never," Ned said with a wink. "But at least my mother taught me to make it with milk and butter instead of water."
A soft smile was curving his lips, and Nancy tilted her head. From everything she had read about him—but his parents weren't high-profile. His family name carried the cache of some inherited influence, but that didn't mean he had grown up in the lap of luxury.
Nancy was on her fourth forkful of fried rice and considering asking him about his own childhood when Ned's phone rang, and he excused himself, rising to answer it. He made a few notes on the pad that Nancy had been studying earlier, then thanked the person on the other end of the call and hung up, returning to the table.
Nancy's eyes were alight as she studied him. "A lead?"
He nodded. "But it can wait until we're finished," he said, nodding at his plate. "You need your strength, after all."
Nancy wrinkled her nose at him. "Now you sound like Hannah," she told him.
"So Hannah is a disarmingly charming six-foot-two man?"
"Hmm. Pretty much the opposite," she admitted. "Although she is very sweet, and very considerate. She's the closest person I have to a mother."
Nancy didn't trust herself to look up for a moment, but when she did, Ned's dark eyes were gazing sympathetically at her. "I can't imagine what that would have been like," he said quietly.
Nancy shrugged. "It was a long time ago," she said, and forced a smile. "But we're not here to talk about me, we're here to find Humphrey."
"Your cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die not-boyfriend."
Nancy nodded firmly. "Although he did beg me not to go out with you last night."
Ned made a soft sound. "Sounds like we might need to find this guy just so I can have a talk with him," he commented. "And I'm glad you didn't listen. You... you were breathtaking last night."
She smiled at him. "And that was all thanks to you," she said. "That amazing dress..."
Ned shook his head. "You could have been wearing a pair of jeans and—and one of my Harvard t-shirts," he said with a smile, "and you still would have been the most beautiful woman in that room. In the city."
Nancy blushed and ducked, shaking her head. "Definitely not," she murmured.
Ned touched her hand. "Look at me, Nancy," he said softly. "I mean it. Every word."
Nancy raised her head and searched his eyes, and he looked completely sincere. His hand stayed on hers, and that same tunnel vision came back to her, leaving her almost quivering with the knowledge that they were alone, they wouldn't be interrupted, and God, she was almost aching to feel him so close to her again...
It took massive effort for her to break their locked gazes. "And you would look breathtakingly handsome in anything you put on, too," she said, trying to keep her tone light. "Even a pair of jeans and that Harvard t-shirt."
Ned started to reply, then shook his head with a chuckle. "We'd better finish our lunch and talk about the lead," he said. "Else we would just have to see who looks better in that shirt... or without it."
Nancy felt herself flush again and covered by finishing her egg roll and duck. By the time they were finished with their meal she was pretty sure she was back to normal, even if her insides still quivered every time she caught a glimpse of him.
"Okay," Ned said finally, wiping his mouth with one of the cloth napkins Louis had packed with their meal. "I called in a favor and had Humphrey's cell phone tracked."
Nancy's eyes widened, and she pushed away her mostly-finished plate. "Why didn't you say so? Oh, Ned, that's brilliant! It would've taken me hours to get that done."
Ned smiled. "Sometimes it can be really damn nice, to just pick up a phone and ask someone to make something happen," he admitted. "Anyway, the last cell tower Humphrey's phone hit before it was turned off, or died, last night, was in Brooklyn. I wrote down the address. I'll call my driver and we can head over there and look for clues—if that's okay with you." He was clearly excited by the prospect, but he backtracked as he apparently remembered that it was her case, and her decision.
"Don't call your driver," she told him, standing. "We'll take a cab. It won't draw nearly as much attention."
Ned stood too, and for a second Nancy just let herself gaze at him. He wore a powder-blue button-down and tailored grey slacks, and looked like he had just stepped off the pages of a magazine photo shoot. That same unruly lock of dark hair was brushing his forehead, and the sight of it just begged her to reach up and push it back, to run her fingers through his hair, to tip her face up to his...
She smiled. "Although that ship may have sailed," she said.
Ned glanced down at his outfit, following her gaze. "What?"
Nancy shook her head. "You are easily hot enough to stop traffic, even without a hired car," she told him.
She was gratified when Ned was the one to duck his head. "Oh, stop," he said.
"What's the address?"
Ned gave it to her, and Nancy went over to her printed research, then groaned in frustration. She wasn't familiar enough with the area where the address fell to know what the connection might be, and besides, her lists weren't even organized that way. Maybe Humphrey had been en route somewhere when his phone had died. She grabbed her list of businesses and ventures associated with all the partners, picked up her purse, and gestured for Ned to follow her.
They were in the elevator when Ned's brow furrowed. "Mind if I look through those?" he asked.
Nancy shook her head. "Go ahead," she said, handing the sheets over. When the elevator doors opened Ned was so distracted that he was walking slowly. Nancy, impatient, grabbed his hand and steered him to the sidewalk in front of the hotel, guiding him behind her so he didn't run into anyone on the way, and her heart skipped a beat when she had to release his hand to flag down a cab.
Ned was chuckling when he opened the cab's door for Nancy, then slid inside to sit beside her. "What?" she asked.
"Been a while," he explained.
Nancy wrinkled her nose at him, her eyes sparkling, then called the address out to the taxi driver. When she turned back to Ned, he wasn't looking at the sheets anymore. Instead, he seemed to be staring into space.
"It wasn't Interregnum," he said suddenly. "There was a name. D'Agostini. The other name was—French? I think. But it wasn't Interregnum. It was... kingdom, something..."
He reached for his cell phone, and Nancy picked up the stack of papers he had discarded, searching through them herself. He was right. It hadn't been Interregnum.
The literal translation was between kingdoms, but that wasn't right, not quite. She skimmed all the papers without seeing anything called kingdom and shook her head.
"Third Kingdom," Ned said suddenly. "That was what it was. Third Kingdom."
Nancy squeezed her eyes tight shut. "I saw that," she breathed. "It was... it was in the caption of a photo. Smiling... Kate Gordon."
When she opened her eyes, Ned was staring at her, his own wide. "It was a partnership between her and someone else," he said. "Between her and..."
"Vincent Cantoni," Nancy said, her heart sinking. "Oh my God. No wonder he was hanging out with Humphrey so much. He was keeping an eye on the investigation. And I told Humphrey last night that on Monday we'd start asking all the partners about Interregnum."
"You think he started early?"
Nancy nodded. "And when I talked to Cantoni earlier... God, he probably thinks Humphrey's the person he needs to go after, but it's me, Ned. He was trying to stop the investigation, but he caught the wrong person."
"Then we have to find them," Ned said grimly. "Before it's too late."