Chapter Six: A Penny for your thoughts
Jeff didn't know whether to greet his friend and employee with a welcoming smile or launch straight into some sort of questioning tirade. She got in first.
"I heard that you might be in New York on business," she said.
"Yeah, but how did you…" Jeff began, and then stopped. He scowled as a realisation dawned on him.
"That son of mine is going to hear a few words when I return home," he said. Penelope took his arm.
"He only has your interests at heart," she reminded him, gently. "Come, we should go and find somewhere more discreet to discuss this matter, and to have something to eat." Jeff looked reluctantly at the passers-by going about their business around him. However, he knew that he couldn't very well tell Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward to go away and leave him alone.
"I suppose so, since you're here," he said, grudgingly. She smiled at this, and led Jeff into the hotel.
"Where are you staying?" he asked her.
"Here," she replied. "It was most fortunate that Parker was able to get a me a reservation in the same hotel as you."
"Where is Parker?" Jeff asked.
"I told him that he was free to amuse himself this evening," Penelope said.
"I see," Jeff replied. They said nothing more until they reached the dining area. Penelope requested that they be given a quiet table, away from most of the other diners. Once seated, and having been given a menu to ponder over, Jeff looked carefully at Penelope.
"What exactly did Scott tell you?" he asked. She raised her eyes from the menu.
"Everything, Jeff. Everything you told him," she replied. "Even that you were not keen, for once, to have my assistance." Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she said the last bit, but Jeff still felt embarrassment.
"I…" he began, but Penelope held up a hand to silence him.
"It's alright, Jeff," she said. "I understand how personal a matter this must be for you."
"Yes," Jeff replied, shortly. Unusually, he felt rather uncomfortable in Penelope's presence. Perhaps it was because her arrival had been unexpected. Or maybe it was because at some point, he was going to have to discuss a subject that was so very private to him. He rarely spoke at length about Lucy to the boys, never mind anyone else. Penelope seemed to sense what he was thinking.
"You don't have to discuss anything that you do not feel comfortable with," she assured him. Jeff's hand went instinctively to the pocket in his jacket where he had placed the photograph of Lucy for safekeeping.
"Thank you," he mumbled. The waiter came to take their orders and then went away again.
"Well, first things first," Penelope said, brightly. "How is your mother?"
"She's fine. Very well, in fact," replied Jeff.
"We still haven't managed to arrange a date for her to come and visit me," said Penelope.
"Perhaps after this matter is finished with, something can be sorted out," Jeff replied. "After all, she complains that I don't take breaks, but she's just as bad."
"Next spring should be nice," Penelope mused. "The flowers will be coming out to bloom in the gardens."
"Mother would like that," Jeff agreed. They continued to chatter about the boys and the other residents of Tracy Island – Kyrano, Brains and Tin-Tin – and general matters concerning 'the business' whilst they ate their meal. Jeff insisted on putting the charge onto his tab. Penelope only agreed to it after she had extracted a promise from Jeff that she would bear the expenses of the next one. They moved through to a lounge area for coffee. Despite the more cosy setting, Jeff sensed that Penelope was now keen to talk business.
"So, tell me what plans you have in place to track down this lady," Penelope said. Jeff took a sip of his coffee to stall for a little time. Although he was usually extremely well organised to the point of obsession, he had flown all the way back to New York with little more than the idea of asking people if they had seen the woman in his photograph. He had tried to come up with a proper plan, but had failed. All that had mattered was getting to New York.
"You aren't going to tell me that you haven't actually got one, are you?" Penelope guessed, somewhat amused.
"Um…well, I guess I was kind of hoping that someone would recognise her from the photo I've got with me of Lucy," Jeff said.
"May I see it?" Penelope asked him. Jeff hesitated, but then reached into his jacket pocket and brought out the envelope that contained the photograph. He took it out and gave it to Penelope. She held it carefully as she looked for the first time at the image of Lucille Tracy. Penelope studied the woman in the photo. She was a little surprised to see that Lucy had dark, reddish-brown hair as she had always imagined her to be blonde, like John and Alan were. She could see that Lucy's colouring and eyes had been inherited by Virgil, however there was something about her smile that reminded Penelope of Gordon. An air of mischief, perhaps? But there was much that Penelope did not know about Lucy, and she knew that it would be difficult for Jeff to divulge information. However, if they were to stand a good chance of tracking down this lady who appeared to be Lucy Tracy, then Jeff had to overcome at least a few of his personal demons. Penelope always had a strong sense that the other Mrs Tracy was not a subject to be broached. But, circumstances had changed now. She looked back at Jeff.
"She was very pretty," she told him, softly, and gave the photograph back to him. He used the excuse of putting the photo back into its envelope to hide his emotions.
"She was," he answered, quietly. He looked up at Penelope, who looked back at him, expectantly.
"Lucy was English," he found himself saying all of a sudden. "In fact, she came from Canterbury, which I believe is a place in the same area of England as yourself?"
"Well I never!" Penelope exclaimed, in the closest thing to shock that Jeff had ever seen from her. But Penelope was genuinely surprised. Well, no wonder Jeff muttered excuses whenever she had suggested visiting Canterbury cathedral during one of his occasional stays with her. She waited for Jeff to continue, knowing that she was privileged to be hearing this.
"It seems quite ironic, but I met Lucy here in New York," Jeff told her. "There was a special international function organised by a charity. I had been told to attend on behalf of NASA, which I had only just been signed up for, although I still had a little while left to serve in the air force. Lucy's father had also been invited and had decided to let Lucy come over too, so they could make a vacation out of it. As you can imagine, it was an almost impossible thing to try and pursue, and looking back, I think that we were both quite mad. But, obviously everything worked out, and Lucy came to live with me in America." He took another sip of coffee. Penelope waited patiently, quite fascinated by the side of Jeff's life that she had not seen.
"It was perhaps the busiest couple of years in my life. We were married within a year of her arrival in Houston, then Scott was born within a year of that," Jeff continued, a wistful look upon his face. "The moon mission meant that we had to move to Florida, then when I resigned from the World Space Agency to start up Tracy Industries, we moved up to Boston, where we stayed and raised what became five boys. Unfortunately, Lucy died when Alan was only two years old." He finished his potted history and Penelope sensed that nothing else would be forthcoming. Despite the commanding aura that Jeff usually carried with him, a lot of people also noticed that there was sadness to him, including Penelope, but it had never seemed so bare to her before. How deeply he still loved his wife years after her death. And fancy Lucille moving all the way from Kent to Texas in order to be with him! Even Penelope was not sure she would do something like that.
"I understand why finding this lady is so important to you," she said, simply.
"I don't think you do, Penny," Jeff replied.
"I can at least try to understand," Penelope replied. "That's better than nothing, is it not?"
"It is," Jeff agreed.
"Good," Penelope replied.
"Even if I find her, Penny, there's so many questions still to answer," Jeff said.
"Let us just concentrate on tracking her down first," Penelope said. "The answers may come from her."
"I hope so," Jeff said. Penelope brought a small notepad out of her handbag.
"You're still using paper and pen?" Jeff asked, incredulously. She gave him a look.
"So-called old fashioned methods have always served me well," she said. "I'd have thought that you would have learnt that by now. Besides, I've never been able to get the hang of those electronic book things."
"I'll say no more," Jeff replied, amused. Penelope opened the notepad to a fresh page. She also produced a street map of New York.
"Before we retire for the evening, we are going to come up with a proper plan of action," she said, and opened up the street map. "Now, where is it that you had the sighting of Lucy?"
"Here," Jeff said, pointing at the place. "Right on the junction." Penelope marked the place with a dot from her pen.
"Was she travelling in the same direction as you?" she asked. Jeff thought for a moment.
"She was, yes," he said. Penelope picked up a pencil, and drew a line back along the street in question until it crossed with another.
"We should first of all assume that she possibly came from one of the buildings on this stretch of the street," she said. "What kind of district does the street run through?"
"Well, at that point, it's where a lot of the City and State offices are," Jeff said.
"Government buildings?" Penelope asked.
"Yes, those too," Jeff replied. They looked at each other.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that there's a possibility we could be on to something," Penelope said, suddenly getting the instinctive feeling she always did when she began to connect the dots of a mystery puzzle.
"It could be a coincidence," Jeff said. "But the whole thing is so strange that you may just be right."
"I think I shall be paying a few visits tomorrow morning," Penelope said. "But, there are other things to consider too."
"I'll get in another coffee," Jeff said, getting up from his seat. All of a sudden, things didn't seem so impossible after all.