"It may be true you've done nothing, Tanya." He paused at a knock on the door. "Come in," he said. He turned to her, looked close into her face. "It may be who you are, not what you've done."
A tall, slender young man entered the office with a small tray. He deposited it on Malcolm Clark's desk. It held two cups, a small coffee pot, a sugar bowl and creamer half full of cream. "I thought you might need this about now," he said. "Your coffee machine is on the blink."
"Paul Brennon, Tanya Caldwell," Malcolm said. He raised his eyebrow in inquiry as he lifted the coffee pot and held it over a cup. Tanya shook her head.
"No, thank you," she said.
"Well, if you don't mind, I need this witch's brew to keep me going, or I get grumpy. Paul knows how to prevent problems in this office."
"That's only partially true," Paul said, smiling at Tanya, his deep blue eyes intent on her face as if he were trying to commit it to memory. "You'll probably get grumpy anyway." He handed Malcolm a sheet of paper. "Here's the report you wanted."
Malcolm put on his half lensed reading glasses and examined the paper. "I was afraid of that-out of the country explosive." His eyes sought Tanya above his glasses. "Do you know Mr. Brian Miller?" he asked.
"No."
"Have you ever heard of him?"
"I don't think so. The name doesn't ring a bell. Is he a teacher at the Academy, or a painter, or someone working at the Arts Gallery?"
"No. Time for a break," he Malcolm said. "I have a bit of research to do, then I'll join you again in, say…half an hour."
Outside the office, Malcolm glanced at Paul. "Tanya's case has some similarity with my brother's, don't you think?" As usual, Malcolm referred to Brian Miller as his brother, even if they were not blood related; they had just grown up together.
Paul nodded, pensive.
"Hmm. Call Brian and ask him if he's ever heard of Tanya Caldwell. Long shot, but you never know. Give him a description of her, too." He grinned. "I think you'll be able to do that pretty well, don't you? You never took your eyes off her."
Paul grinned back with a slight blush. "Okay, will do." He sat on the edge of his desk, one of six in the large office. "Not sure if he'll be there, though."