me in.”
Selena sat all the way up, trying to ignore the light-headedness swarming her. “I came to get the visitor list for Nicholas. That’s when I discovered my keys were missing and the door was unlocked. The next thing I know, Miss Chick is grabbing me and yanking me inside then hitting me with a vase. She ran out after that. I don’t know anything else.”
“Your keys were stolen? Any idea when?” Nicholas asked, helping Selena to her feet and guiding her to a chair nearby.
She eased down, gripping the arms to steady herself. “I know exactly, but at the time I didn’t realize it. Miss Chick bumped into me outside a few minutes before you and I talked. I had my keys until then.”
Dan directed the security officers to stand guard outside the office. “What keys were taken?”
“To this office, my file cabinets, a storeroom around the corner and my house. I keep my car keys separate in my purse, which is locked in the top left drawer of my desk.”
“Was that drawer key taken, too?”
“Yes.”
Nicholas peered behind the desk. “Everything has been emptied.” Donning a second glove, he moved toward the purse on the floor and held it up. “Check to see if anything was taken. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
She took the brown Coach bag Erin had given her for her birthday. All her life Selena had fought for everything she had, so it was nice to have a champion for a moment, especially with all the tension of her cousin Erin named a person of interest in her boyfriend’s murder and the shooting of Congressman Jeffries. That day, when they’d met to celebrate her birthday, her cousin had seemed so happy. Just a few weeks later, Michael was murdered...and Erin had disappeared.
Selena intended to help prove Erin couldn’t have done it. Erin cared for Michael and wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Then why did she disappear the night of the murder?
Selena refused to dwell on that nagging question and instead focused on what might be missing from her purse. She dumped the contents on her lap, her car keys falling out, and went through her wallet, then looked up. “No, everything is here.”
The doctor arrived with his black bag. He quickly examined her, asking how she felt.
“My head hurts, but I’m all right. I’ve had worse headaches than this one.” She couldn’t leave the White House in the middle of the biggest affair she’d put together.
“Do you have any nausea?”
“No.”
He checked the movement of her eyes, then the bump forming on the side of her head. “You’ll have a knot, but there wasn’t a cut, so no stitches. You should at least go to my office and let me do a more extensive evaluation in case you need to go to the hospital.”
“I will later. I want to check and see if anything is missing from my office.”
The doctor frowned but nodded. He looked toward Nicholas. “Make sure she does.”
“I will.”
The doctor turned back to Selena. “If you get dizzy or your vision is affected, blurry, bright-light sensitive, let me know immediately. Please rest as much as possible, and you can take over-the-counter pain meds for the headache. If it gets worse, let me know that immediately, too.”
“I understand. If anything changes, I will.”
When the doctor left, she swung her attention between Dan and Nicholas. “I want to see if anything has been taken, though Miss Chick didn’t appear to have anything on her.” Selena had to check a few files in particular to see if they were intact.
“If you’re feeling up to it,” Nicholas said, “Dan and I need to know that, too.” Behind her desk, Nicholas bent over and picked up a straw hat with a daisy on it. “I’m assuming this isn’t yours.”
“No, it’s Miss Chick’s.”
“Good. I’m going to use it to see if I can find where she went while Dan stays here with you.” Nicholas covered the distance to his K-9 partner, waiting near the door.
Taking hold of Max’s leash, Nicholas showed the straw hat to the rottweiler, and the dog sniffed it. “Find, Max.”
Nicholas and Max disappeared out into the hallway. Previously, when she’d seen Nicholas working with his K-9 partner, she’d always been amazed at Max’s abilities. She hoped they’d find Miss Chick—whoever the costumed intruder really was.
* * *
Nicholas followed his dog through the crowds and out the door to the West Colonnade. Max headed east, stopping every once in a while and pointing his nose in the air, then charging forward. The dog entered the Rose Garden and headed to the lawn area bordered by flowering plants and boxwoods. The tulips were in full bloom, adding a brilliant splash among the greenery. Max came to a halt near the cluster of white furniture under a large magnolia tree and barked.
Nicholas checked the area, wondering if Miss Chick had sat here sometime recently. He moved behind two white chairs and inspected the bushes, plunging his hand into the middle. When he grasped a feathery material, glimpsing yellow, he tugged it free.
Miss Chick’s costume—discarded.
“Good boy.” He gave Max a treat.
He placed a call to Dan. “I found the costume in the Rose Garden minus Miss Chick. Are you still with Selena?”
“Yes. Do you want to talk to her?”
“Yes.” When Selena came on, Nicholas asked, “Who’s Miss Chick?”
“Just a minute. I’ll have to look on my list of employees.” A moment late, she answered, “Tara Wilkins.”
“When she bumped into you earlier, could you tell if it was Tara Wilkins?”
A long pause—he could imagine her forehead creasing with a frown while her blue eyes darkened—then Selena said, “No, not for sure. Her voice was low and husky, but I’m pretty sure it was a woman.”
“When was the last time you saw Tara Wilkins without the headpiece on?”
“When I talked with the costumed characters in the East Wing entrance before the event started. That was seven this morning.”
“What do you know about Tara Wilkins? Is she trustworthy? Could she have given the costume to someone so the person could break into your office after the morning briefing?”
“She was Miss Chick last year and did a good job. The Secret Service vetted her as they do for all the people I use as costumed characters for this event, but I suppose it’s possible.”
“I’ll have the police check her residence.” He didn’t have a good feeling about this.
“I don’t see her putting her reputation on the line like that.” Selena’s worry came through the line.
“One
