CHAPTER
22
NEW YORK CITY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1926
How ironic, Elsa mused, that the Gothic country estate where she had expected to be isolated had actually brought more friends into her life than she’d ever had before. She could scarcely believe her work at Elmhurst was over.
All day Friday, after she returned to the museum with the last of the tagged specimens, she carried on with her usual work in the ornithology department. But without the anticipation of the next visit to Tarrytown, her office felt more lonesome than usual.
So when Luke called her after dinner and asked if he and Tom could meet her at Central Park the next day, she didn’t need to be asked twice.
Now the three of them sat on the steps of Bethesda Terrace, facing Bethesda Fountain. Ivy would have joined them but had to work on an upcoming event for another historical anniversary.
Barney stayed on a leash but remained alert as he watched other pedestrians. Many sat along the fountain’s perimeter beneath the angel looking down from twenty-six feet above. Pigeons bobbed along the ground, their feathers iridescent in the sun.
“How about that view, Tom?” Luke extended an arm as though to encompass not just the fountain but the lake behind it and the sun-streaked sky. The heat of the day had mellowed to a golden haze over the city’s most-beloved park. “And the jazz!”
At the bandshell a mere three hundred feet south of Bethesda Terrace, Fletcher Henderson and his orchestra performed his hit “Shanghai Shuffle.” It was plenty loud enough to be heard without being in the concert audience. A couple sitting nearby tapped their toes to the beat.
But Tom’s attention snagged on the pigeons. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. With his other hand, he gave the dog a good scratch behind the ears.
With no other response forthcoming from Tom, Luke asked Elsa how work had been yesterday.
“Typical, for the most part,” she started. “Although I did try to clear the air with Archer over his surprise visit to Elmhurst.”
“Yeah? How’d that go?”
“He apologized for any misunderstanding but not for being there. When I asked him outright if he had been gambling, he admitted that he had. Percy was more of an influence on him than the other way around. Now he’s cut Percy out and is pals with Wesley instead.”
Luke took all this in with a single nod. “Nothing about that shocks me. Did you tell him anything about the aviary?”
“Only that we hadn’t found it—and only because he asked.” She glanced to Tom, who blew smoke from the side of his mouth but seemed to be following along. “Do you have any news from Elmhurst?”
A light wind feathered Elsa’s skin, and geese and swans glided across the surface of the lake. From the opposite direction, Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra played “The Stampede,” a lively song she recognized from the radio. She felt very far away from the mansion indeed.
“We spoke to Mr. Spalding,” Luke said. “He and his family have everything they want out of the house. The county has scheduled for it to be torn down on Friday.”
Her stomach hollowed. She’d known from the start this day was coming, but now that it was upon them, the end seemed impossibly soon. She tried and failed to picture that piece of land on the Hudson without the turreted mansion upon it. “Did he say whether the Petrovics still had until the end of the month to stay in their cottage?”
“We confirmed that they do.” Tom tugged at the brim of his straw boater. “We also finished taking all the measurements and photographs inside so we can build the new one.”
“But there are still some elements we want to salvage before the mansion is bulldozed,” Luke added. “Mostly doors and lighting fixtures. It will be a challenge to get it all out of there in time, so I’m afraid we won’t see much of each other this coming week.”
She told him she understood.
Even with the music in the background and children playing in the fountain, a heaviness seemed to surround both Luke and Tom.
“I wish we could find the aviary for Tatiana and Danielle,” Tom said. “But ...”
“I know,” she said. “If we haven’t found it by now, chances are really slim. And I know you won’t have time to do anything but the job that brought you to Elmhurst to begin with.”
He nodded, his face clouded with what looked a lot like defeat.
Luke regarded him, then turned to Elsa, a fresh sparkle in his eyes. “In the meantime, I can’t think of a better way to spend Saturday night than wandering around in the woods looking for birds. If only we had someone to help us.”
Beaming, Elsa accepted his hand to help her stand. With her other hand, she gripped the chickadee cane he’d carved for her. “Nothing would please me more.” And she was pretty sure Lukeknew that. He also knew bird-watching might help his younger friend decompress.
