Bone Canyon

by Goldberg, Lee

  “We’re done for the day,” he said. “Daniel is in the lab with his bones.”

  “Did you make any progress?”

  “We’ll know who she is in the morning. They found pieces of a right knee replacement. Nan is going to trace the serial numbers.”

  “That certainly makes identifying a corpse a lot easier.”

  Duncan nodded. “It’d be nice if everybody had serial numbers on their bones.”

  “Are we any closer to learning the cause of death?”

  “You’ll have to ask Daniel. But if we don’t find out soon, my cause of death is going to be homicide,” he said. “My wife is going to kill me if I bring home four dirty shirts again tomorrow.”

  Duncan didn’t ask her what progress she’d made. She figured it was either because he didn’t want the other detectives in the squad room to overhear her answer or he didn’t want to know, at least not yet. She didn’t push him. Instead, she went to her locker, pulled out her heavy coat, and went out to the lab to see Daniel. She found him hunched over the exam table, arranging the bones. She felt that tug again and decided to do something about it.

  “How’s it going?” she asked him.

  “I was encouraged when we found the pelvis relatively intact but the rest of the bones haven’t been as easy to find and are more fragmented,” he said. “How goes your investigation?”

  “About the same as yours.”

  “Sometimes there is nothing you can do but keep digging.”

  “How about we both put our shovels down and take a break?” Eve said. “When was the last time you had something to eat?”

  “I had a McMuffin for breakfast,” he said.

  “Let me take you to dinner.”

  He tugged at his sweat-stained khaki shirt. “I’m not sure I’m dressed for it.”

  “The place isn’t fancy,” she said.

  The city of Calabasas had a split personality disorder. If you entered the city from the east end of Calabasas Road, the main thoroughfare, you went through Old Town, where the frontier storefronts and hitching posts presented Calabasas as part of California’s Wild West. But if you entered from the other end, you went past the Commons, an idealized re-creation of an old rural village in the hills of Tuscany.

  Until tonight, Eve thought the Commons was supposed to be a faux French village, perhaps because the property was dotted with four eighteenth-century statues, each representing a season, that were imported from a château in southern France. But as she was telling Daniel about the Commons, she was firmly corrected by the waiter serving them their entrees at Toscanova, the center’s Italian restaurant. Either way, the two radically different visions the city had of itself made no sense to her.

  “It’s like dealing with an irrational person,” she said to Daniel. “They should choose to be one or the other, a western town or a Tuscan village. I don’t care which, just be consistent. It makes me anxious.”

  “But you live here anyway.”

  “I like to be close to where I work,” she said. “Besides, I don’t hang out here. I spend most of my free time bike riding in the hills.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “You’ll know if my pasta is in your lap after you ask it.”

  “Why do the deputies call you Deathfist?”

  She studied his face and he seemed honestly curious. “You really don’t know?”

  “Are you a martial artist or something?”

  “Hardly.” Eve told him the story about arresting Blake Largo and the viral YouTube video of the incident. The telling got them through their entrees. “You could have googled me and got the answer.”

  “I’ll do that later to get everything you left out.”

  “What makes you think there’s more to the story?” she asked.

  “Because of the way the deputies say your nickname,” he said. “There’s a lot of resentment behind it.”

  “I leveraged my fame to get into Lost Hills Robbery-Homicide,” Eve said. “I didn’t get it on merit or experience.”

  Daniel shrugged. “You would have got there anyway.”

  “Maybe in fifteen years, but I took a shortcut. I totally understand why some people are pissed off about it,” Eve said, surprised by her candor with him. “How come you didn’t know about me? The video was all over social media and was big news in LA last year.”

  “I’m not on social media and my job takes me away a lot.”

  “Away where?”

  “Mostly South America and Mexico the last few years. The drug cartels like to dismember their enemies, throw them in a pit, and set them on fire. The authorities hire me to help identify the dead,” Daniel said. Now Eve knew what he meant when he said that he’d slept in worse places than a cot at the Lost Hills station. “I also worked that plane crash in Texas and the apartment building fire in Oakland.”

  “That’s grim work,” she said.

  “No worse than yours. But that’s not the way I see it. I enjoy putting together the puzzle, and that when I do, it’s not just a scientific or academic pursuit. The solution is meaningful—it gives families peace and closure.”

  “It’s like that for me, too,” Eve said. “But it’s also about restoring order. I don’t like it when things are unsettled or uncertain. My little sister will tell you it’s because I was the oldest child of a single parent who was totally irresponsible and made our lives chaos.”

  “You say it like it’s a character flaw,” he said. “I’d say it’s the source of your superpowers.”

  “Superpowers?” Eve laughed. “You don’t know if I’m even half-decent at what I do.”

  “I’ve seen the way Nan looks at you.” And now Eve noticed the way he looked at her. It was brief, but she sensed his attraction. Did he feel the same tug that she did? Was he flirting with her?

  “What way is that?” she asked.

  “The way she looks at me, and I’m terrific at my job.” Daniel grinned and then glanced at his watch. “This has been really nice, but I’m tired and smell like a dirty dishrag. I need to get back to the station, take a shower, and grab a cot.”

  “Why don’t you go home?”

  “I’m too tired and I’m eager to get back to work at first light,” Daniel said. “I’ve got a detective on my ass demanding to know how this woman died.”

  Eve picked up the check, they got into her Subaru, and they headed west on the Ventura Freeway toward the Las Virgenes exit. She took the exit, but when she reached the intersection with Las Virgenes Road, she didn’t immediately turn left and take the overpass toward the Lost Hills station. She made an impulsive decision and looked at Daniel instead.

  “The station is to the left, on the other side of the overpass.”

  “I know,” he said.

  “I live right over there, real close by.” She gestured to the right and the row of two-story town houses. “I’ve got a guest bed and a great shower. You’re welcome to spend the night at my place instead.”

  Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she thought he might be able to hear it. She’d surprised herself with her offer and now she was afraid she’d crossed a line with the invitation and what else it implied.

  He looked at her for a long moment, then smiled. “That’s very nice of you. Are you sure it’s no trouble?”

  She smiled back, relieved. “It’s the least I can do since I’m the one driving you to exhaustion. But if that makes you uncomfortable, I’ll be glad to take you back to the station.”

  He shook his head. “One night in the Four Seasons Lost Hills was enough for me.”

  She parked on the street out front and they walked to the door. While she was unlocking the dead bolt, he kicked off his boots and left them on the front mat.

  “Will they still be here in the morning?”

  “Nobody in Calabasas is going to steal dirty boots,” she said.

  Daniel stepped inside. “I see we have the same decorator.”

  “IKEA,” Eve said. />
  “I feel at home already.”

  She led him to the bathroom upstairs. “The towel is fresh and you can use my bathrobe. It’s hanging on the door. I’ll wash your clothes.”

  “That’s not necessary,” he said.

  “Trust me, it is. The guest room is straight across the hall.”

  Daniel went into the bathroom, closed the door, and after a moment opened it again. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his dirty clothes in his arms. She greeted him with her hands in a pair of rubber gloves. He broke into laughter and so did she.

  “Okay, you made your point,” he said, still smiling, and handed her his clothes. “You’re washing them, not burning them, right?”

  “We’ll see,” she said, meeting his gaze and feeling an almost electric charge crackle between them.

  “Yes, well, I’d better get cleaned up,” he said and began to close the bathroom door.

  Eve went downstairs to the laundry room, which was actually just a closet in the kitchen. She put his clothes in the washer, poured in the detergent, and was about to start the load when she heard the shower running. This wouldn’t be a good time to run the load, not if he wanted a long hot shower.

  She went back upstairs and saw that the bathroom door was ajar. She could hear the shower running.

  Eve felt that tug again, only this time it was more like a hard shove. Without thinking, she stripped off her clothes and walked naked into the bathroom.

  “Daniel?” she said. It wasn’t until that instant that she realized the risk she was taking. He had to know she was offering him more than her spare bed when she invited him to stay at her place. Wasn’t that why he hadn’t closed the bathroom door? Or was it an accident? What if the spark between them was entirely in her imagination? What if she was the only one feeling an attraction?

  She was about to turn around and leave when he peeked out from behind the shower curtain and smiled at her. There wasn’t shock in his eyes. There was excitement.

  “How tired are you?” Eve asked.

  “I’m suddenly wide awake.”

  She stepped into the shower with him and pulled the curtain closed behind her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  They didn’t get much sleep.

  Eve was awakened on Thursday by the touch of his fingertips, lightly tracing her collarbone. She opened her eyes to see him on his side, leaning over her. Sunlight was beginning to come through her window shades.

  “You have good bones,” Daniel said.

  She didn’t know it could feel so good to have her collarbone caressed. “I’m surprised you can tell. My mom says I’m getting fat.”

  “Your mom is insane.”

  “You’re a doctor. Could I get that opinion in writing?”

  “I’m not that kind of doctor.” Daniel let his fingers trail down between her breasts.

  That felt even better than his fingers along her collarbone. “Mom won’t know the difference.”

  He ran his fingers around her nipples, then down her belly. “Thank you for inviting me over. This was much better than the cot at the station.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get more sleep.”

  “I’m not.”

  Daniel’s fingers reached her hip bone and he began to trace it. Her breath caught in her throat and she instinctively lifted her hips, eager for his touch. It amazed her that she had any desire left after everything they did last night.

  And that reminded her of how the night began.

  “Oh crap!” She sat up in bed. “I forgot to run the washing machine last night. There’s still time.”

  “You’re thinking about laundry now?”

  She trooped naked to the bathroom, snatched her pink bathrobe off the hook on the door, and tossed it on the bed. “I’ll make breakfast while we wait on your clothes.”

  Eve ran down the stairs, started the washing machine, and pulled a bra and panties from a basket of clean underwear on the dryer. She put the underwear on, for a little modesty, then got out two bowls and two spoons and took them to the table.

  Daniel came down in her bathrobe. It was way too small for him but she thought he looked adorable in it.

  She took a box of granola out of the cupboard. “Do you like your cereal dry or with milk?”

  “I don’t care.” He stared at her. “God, you look great.”

  “So do you. Hot pink must be your color.” She put the cereal box on the table. “Your clothes will be ready in an hour or so.”

  “Forget them,” Daniel said. “I’d rather wear this today.”

  Eve laughed. She liked how relaxed they were together. No morning-after awkwardness. It was sweet. She felt that damn tug again.

  “You must be very comfortable in your masculinity.” Eve walked up close to him. “Or sexually fluid.”

  “I’m sexually exhausted.”

  She pushed him into a seat at the table and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. “Are you sure?”

  “It couldn’t hurt to check.”

  “It might.” She kissed him hard, nearly tipping them over.

  Eve drove Daniel to the Lost Hills station at 7:25 a.m. He leaned over and gave her a hug and a tender kiss on the cheek. His clothes were still warm from the dryer. Being in his arms felt like being in a warm bed. It made her want to turn around and go home with him.

  “I’d like to see you again,” he said.

  “You will.”

  “I mean outside of these cases.”

  “I do, too, though when I am working a case, there usually isn’t time for anything else in my life.” And that was when she remembered what else she didn’t have time for. “Damn! I’ve got a PT appointment. I’ve got to go.”

  Daniel grinned at her. “Haven’t you already exercised your wrist enough today?”

  She grinned back. “Get out.”

  “I’m a doctor. I could write a note.”

  “Out!”

  He slid out of the seat, closed the door, and she sped off to Old Town.

  The hour-long physical therapy session felt like six hours. It was also monotonous and painful.

  Mitch frowned at her from across the table as she squeezed a rubber ball. “Have you been doing your exercises?”

  Nope, not once. “Yes. Diligently.”

  “If that were true, your wrist wouldn’t be so stiff and weak.”

  “It feels fine to me,” she said.

  “It won’t if you have to wield a baton.”

  “I’m a detective, not a patrol officer,” she said. “I don’t have a baton.”

  “Good, because you couldn’t wield a turkey sandwich with that hand.”

  “A turkey sandwich?”

  He smiled and gave her a shrug. “It was the best I could come up with off the top of my head.”

  Maybe he isn’t such a prick after all, she thought. “Well, as it turns out, I’m more likely to swing a sandwich today than a baton, so I guess you’re right. I need these exercises.”

  “Let’s get you some ice,” Mitch said.

  This time she didn’t refuse. But there was more involved than just an ice pack. First, he placed some electrodes on her wrist that were plugged in to a small device the size of a garage door opener.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “TENS treatment. A low electrical charge that stimulates the muscles, easing pain and swelling.” He turned a tiny dial. “Let me know when it gets uncomfortable.” It felt like a lot of ants scrambling around under her skin. It felt surprisingly good, until it didn’t.

  “Down a touch,” she said.

  Mitch adjusted the intensity, then wrapped the ice packs around her wrist. “We’ll give it ten minutes and then you can go.”

  He walked off to greet another patient. Eve sat and stared at the poster on the wall of Kendra Leigh, who was still missing. She wondered if there was a poster out there somewhere for the unknown woman they’d found in Hueso Canyon. It gave her an idea that she kicked herself for not having yesterday: they sh
ould look through the missing person reports filed in the last few years for a white woman in her fifties. At the same time she was having that thought, her phone vibrated in her pants pocket.

  Eve reached into her right pocket with her left hand, which wasn’t easy, and extracted the phone. There was a text from Nan:

  We’ve identified the second woman. Her name is Debbie Crawford, age 57. I’ll email you and Duncan the details we got from her orthopedic surgeon.

  Eve texted her back with her left hand, which was even harder than taking the phone out of her pocket.

  Thanks. How are you doing on Sabrina Morton’s rape kit?

  There was a long delay. Three dots, indicating that she was writing a reply. Then the dots were gone. Then three dots. Then gone. Then three dots. Finally, a reply:

  We haven’t been able to find the kit yet.

  Why did it take her so long to write that simple sentence? Eve thought, although she knew the answer. Nan was obviously trying to come up with the best way to minimize that the kit was lost. Eve wrote:

  How is that possible?

  Nan replied, quickly this time:

  There’s a backlog of thousands of rape kits and all it takes is one transposed number or letter in the case number for it to get misplaced. We’re on it.

  Eve was sure it wasn’t an accident that the kit was missing. Nakamura didn’t want it found. She caught Mitch’s eye as he passed with another patient, a man in his fifties with a bad knee.

  “Mitch, I have to go. Can you get me out of this thing?”

  He led his other patient to a chair, then came over to Eve, turned off the TENS, and began peeling the electrodes from her wrist. “I’ll see you on Monday. Same time?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Let’s not play this game again. As I said before, I can come to you, to your home or office or in the field,” he said. “We can even do it on your lunch hour and work on your sandwich-wielding skills.”

  She smiled, despite herself. “Okay, okay. Monday.”

  Eve felt a tug again, which was odd, since she’d already been tugged pretty good. It must be the hormones in my bloodstream, she thought. This was exactly why she shouldn’t screw around while she was on a case. It was a distraction.