Chapter Seven: Needle In A Haystack
Penelope had risen early the next morning, despite a fairly late night spent with Jeff going over some details of plans with him. Before she had gone to bed, she had contacted Scott.
"He certainly seems to be convinced of this lady's existence," she had said to him, as they spoke over the videophone.
"Yeah, he is. What are your thoughts?" Scott asked.
"I think that your father certainly saw someone, of that there is no doubt," replied Penelope. "But I am sure that it cannot be your mother, much as Jeff would like it to be."
"Of course it can't be her," Scott said. "But do you have any idea of where this woman could be?"
"Well, the task is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack, however I believe that we have picked up a thread that is attached to the needle," said Penelope. "I will be carrying out investigations tomorrow, of course, but I do admit that I have a strong feeling that this mystery lady is still in New York."
"Guess that's something to be thankful for," Scott said. Penelope was silent for a moment.
"My own fear for your father concerns how well he will cope when he is forced to see that this lady is not your mother," she said.
"I tried to talk to him about the possibility, but he went into one of his evasive rambles," Scott said. He shook his head. "I wish that he'd…open up more."
"He's in a difficult position, Scott," Penelope said. "But I will do my best to help him see this through. I can promise you that much."
"I know that you will, Lady Penelope," Scott replied. "Thank you again for agreeing to do this."
"It's the least I can do," Penelope replied. "For all of you." They had finished the conversation soon afterwards. Penelope put on the finishing touches of her make up. She was not vain, however, she believed that one should always look one's best, especially if one had the challenge of asking strangers awkward questions ahead. She slipped the all-important compact into her handbag and gave her outfit a last tug into place. There was a timely knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Penelope called out.
"Parker, Milady," came the response.
"Come in, Parker," Penelope said. The door opened, and in stepped Parker.
"Good morning, Milady. I trust you 'ad a comfortable night?" he enquired.
"I did indeed, Parker. Jeff has good taste in hotels," Penelope answered.
"I should think so," Parker said. "Henyway, did you get to the bottom of this business habout 'is missus?"
"Not quite, Parker. You and I will be paying some visits today to try and further help Jeff," Penelope said.
"Hand what is Mr Tracy doing, if I may ask?"
"Jeff will continue to ask people on the street if they have seen a lady matching Lucille's description," said Penelope. "We decided that it would be easier for me to ask the questions under the circumstances."
"Quite, Milady," Parker agreed. Penelope smoothed a stray hair into place.
"Well, Parker, I think that it is time for us to go to work," she said.
"I'll go hand fetch the Rolls Royce," Parker said, and departed the room. Penelope followed him out of the room, but instead of following him down the back stairs, she then made her way down to the reception area of the hotel. Jeff had told her before they had parted for bed not to bother coming to see him in the morning, as he wouldn't be there. Penelope had the feeling that he would have spent all night out on the streets if she hadn't had arrived on the scene. She knew that when Jeff had his mind set on something, he went for it, no matter what. The danger she saw was that he was letting his heart take over his usually sensible mind. Heaven knows how he thought that he would be able to deal with this matter by himself. She saw Parker pull up outside the hotel in her distinctive pink car, and rose gracefully from her chair. For those few people who set eyes upon her as she left, Penelope looked like just another rich person going out to enjoy the sights of New York. But, behind the pretty face there was a sharp, determined mind that was already focused on something quite different. If she could not complete the task ahead of her, then she knew that she would feel that she had failed Jeff Tracy not only as an employee, but also as a friend.
"Where har we going, Milady?"
"West Empire State Memorial Boulevard, Parker," Penelope replied, without needing to check her notes.
"It's an odd thing to 'ave a road as a memorial for a building," Parker commented.
"The Empire State building meant a lot to the people here," Penelope replied.
"Of course, Ma'am, it's just that if henything 'appened to Buckingham Palace, you wouldn't catch the government renaming The Mall 'Buckingham Palace Memorial Drive', would you?" Parker continued. His eyes misted over a little as he recalled the past. "Though life at the Palace can't be 'alf has good under 'im as it was when I worked for 'er Majesty, bless 'er soul."
"I happen to think that William is a most charming man," Penelope said. She had met him on several occasions during her life, both when he was a prince, and as king.
"Well, of course you know 'im better than I, Milady, but if you 'ad been born a few years herlier, you'd happreciate my position better," Parker answered.
"Unfortunately, that is something that I cannot help," Penelope replied. "Now, getting back on track, Parker, our first stop is the New York Records Office. The story is that we're looking for a lost relative."
"Hand then what if we are not successful?"
"Then it's time to drop in on some local agencies and twist a few arms," Penelope replied, sitting back in her seat and carefully preparing her tale in her mind.
Jeff Tracy hadn't felt this drained for many years, possibly not since the last of his children, Alan, had grown out of babyhood. He couldn't count the time after Lucy's death. That had been something else entirely, something that he didn't like to think about. Jeff seated himself on a bench in Central Park, where he had arranged to meet Penelope. He hoped that she had had better luck than he had. After about ten minutes, he saw her approaching. He tried to read her face, but couldn't. She came and sat beside him.
"I'm sorry that I am a little late," she said.
"It doesn't matter," Jeff replied.
"How did you get on?" she asked. Jeff gave a half-shrug.
"I feel like a broken record," he replied. Penelope looked at him sympathetically.
"I have mixed news for you, I'm afraid," she said.
"Any news is good news," Jeff said.
"Parker and I didn't get very far in our visit to the records office. In fact, they were rather unhelpful," Penelope began, sounding a little indignant. "Regardless of that, I went back to the stretch of road where you saw 'Lucy', and began to ask some questions in the offices there."
"And how did that go?" Jeff asked.
"It is fortunate that my line of work means that I know certain things that most people don't," Penelope said, mysteriously. "Things that are most useful in persuading some people to tell me things that they shouldn't."
"Which are?" Jeff asked, a little impatiently.
"A very nice young man at the local FBI bureau was most helpful. After a little talking, he said that he would be prepared to aid me. He said that we might have more success if I had a picture that could be scanned in."
"So he could search the AIDD?" Jeff asked. "You did well to get him to do that. That's very sensitive information." The American Identity Database had been set up in 2015, after much wrangling with civil rights groups at both national and international level. By law, American citizens had to have a photograph taken that was then stored on a national database, along with their personal details. For adults, this photograph was also put on an ID card. For those over 21, the photograph had to be replaced every ten years. For the younger population, the deadline was every five years. Hence the FBI and the CIA had access to up to date basic information about the entire population. For the vast majority of those people, their entries would be nothing more than a few lines, and would never be touched. The most useful development in recent years was the upgrading of image technology, to allow the authorities to match, for example, wanted criminals or unidentified bodies, to names. The government had wanted DNA samples to be on file too, but that was internationally considered a step too far. No matter, for the AIDD was still a powerful tool, which is why only the CIA or FBI were able to use it. The most stringent technology was in place to prevent unscrupulous persons from hacking into it, and getting details of every person in the USA. A person who was caught attempting to obtain information illegally from the AIDD faced tough penalties, as did those who refused to supply information.
"I admit, I was quite pleased with myself over that particular incident," Penelope said. "Anyway, it was fortunate that you came up with the idea to copy Lucy's photograph last night at the hotel." Nearly all decent hotels had an extensive IT lobby to cope with the technology based lifestyle that most people led. Penelope continued.
"I gave him the copy to scan in, and he began the search, concentrating in the New York area. We got a result."
"You did?" Jeff said. His heart started beating fast.
"Unfortunately, her file was under further classification," Penelope said. "The agent said that he was not authorised to be able to access classified files. He said that I would have to speak to the head of the New York bureau about it, and to do that, I would have to go through the proper channels. Of course, I had to leave the matter there, else risk the poor man getting into an awful lot of trouble."
"What you've done is more than enough, Penny," Jeff said. He actually managed a smile. "I wasn't mistaken. I really did see Lucy."
"Not so fast, Jeff," Penelope said, placing a hand on his arm in order to try and keep him down to earth.
"What is it?" he asked, seeing a certain look in her eyes.
"The actual file was classified, but the name wasn't. I'm sorry, Jeff, but the match that came up…it wasn't Lucy," Penelope told him, quietly. Jeff stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head.
"That doesn't mean anything, Penny. She's just going by a different name, that's all. I did wonder if that would be a possibility."
"Jeff, you're forgetting something else. Files on the AIDD are only under further classification if they are sensitive in some way," Penelope said.
"Of course her file would be sensitive. Lucy died eight years before the AIDD existed. She's not even supposed to be on it," Jeff argued back. "How do you explain getting a match to her photograph if it wasn't her?"
"Sometimes the search can bring back results that are very similar to the person in question, but are not them," Penelope reminded him. "Jeff, there could be a hundred reasons why that file is classified. The lady in question just cannot be Lucy. You said yourself, she was not as old as she should be. You saw her in an area that contains government agencies. She may very well hold an important position in one of these, and that is why no further information was available."
"I thought that you believed me," Jeff said, accusingly.
"I believe you saw someone, Jeff. I came to help you find that someone. And that someone turned out, in my opinion, not to be Lucille Tracy," Penelope replied. "I know how much you wanted it to be her, Jeff, but I don't see how it could be."
"I don't accept that," Jeff said. He stood up. "Penny, you've done a lot to help me, but if you can't help me further, then I'll have to carry on alone." Penelope stood up to face him.
"Now wait a moment, Jeff. You're not thinking straight."
"I'm thinking perfectly, thank you," Jeff retorted. Penelope reached into her bag.
"If you were, then you wouldn't be about to walk off without this," she said, waving a printout of the AIDD match that she had obtained. Jeff went a little red around the ears, and took the paper from Penelope in a subdued manner. He read the scrap of detail on it. He looked at Penelope, renewed emotion in his eyes.
"This isn't over, Penny. Far from it."