“You sure did.” He took another sip of wine.
She followed suit, taking down half the glass. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, I’m happy for you.”
“You are?” He arched his eyebrows in surprise.
“Of course I am. You’re my best friend, and you’re getting to do some amazing things in your career. You deserve this grant and many more. I know your future is bright. And, I will support you in any way I can…you know, once I’m reinstated at the museum.”
“Mariska…do you think that will happen?” His question hit her stomach like a sucker punch. “I don’t mean to be hurtful, but Dr. Snyder thinks you were involved with the theft of the La Brea Woman.”
“That’s absurd…you believe me, don’t you?” Mariska pulled her hand away from him.
“Yeah, I believe you. But it doesn’t really matter what I think.”
“It matters to me,” she said.
He looked at her for a moment in silence. “Okay, let’s say you get reinstated. Would you want to be my assistant on this Dire Wolf project?”
She swallowed her pride and nodded. “Absolutely. I’d love to help you.” It wasn’t a total lie. She would love to help him get to the bottom of why this Dire Wolf was so much larger than the others found at the Page Museum, it’d be a fantastic achievement for him and an honor to be a part of it. It’s too bad they both couldn’t have received a grant.
David drained his wine, as did she. He said, “I’m surprised you’re not staying with your parents. I always thought that was your home away from home.”
“It used to be.” She wouldn’t…couldn’t, go into all the gory details, but she’d offer him something. “You remember my family’s housekeeper, Jane?”
“Yeah, that cool older lady? You two are super close, right?”
A sob came out of nowhere. She broke down, gut-wrenching heaves of sadness poured from her eyes and lungs. Was that what wailing sounded like? Before she took a second breath, he was next to her on the sofa, his arms wrapped around her. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t speak. He rocked her back and forth, her face pressed against his chest, her tears dampening his shirt. A few minutes passed in slow motion, locked in a pathetic embrace of emotion and regrets, Mariska hated herself at this very moment. She wasn’t this weak and vulnerable, but she couldn’t stop the tears.
“I’m sorry about your shirt,” Mariska said as she sat up and brushed at the makeup smears she’d left behind.
“Don’t be.” The kindness in his eyes and the softness of his voice and touch made her fall back into his embrace. He hugged her tight and continued to rock her back and forth. His soothing words of comfort and the way his hands caressed her hair, made her hold on to him, not ever wanting to let go.
Some time passed without a word being spoken. Her emotions slowly stabilized, and she felt herself regain control. When she sat up, she felt a little dizzy. No doubt the blood was rushing away from her head after being forced there during her uncontrolled crying. She wiped away the residual tears and used the tissue David offered to wipe her nose.
“Pretty classy huh?” Mariska said with a sad, bitter laugh.
“I think you’re amazing.” He brushed away the bangs that’d matted to her forehead. “I’m here for you if and when you want to talk about it.”
“Thank you.” She looked away. David could gather that Jane had died, but was kind enough not to ask for clarification. Not right now, anyway. “Is there somewhere I can crash for the night? The sofa?”
He looked a bit surprised for a second. “Don’t be silly. I have a bedroom.”
She knew the apartment was a one bedroom. There was no way he could afford a two-bedroom on his salary. Not in Los Angeles where the apartment prices increased by the minute. Was she ready to share a bed with him? Friends could share a bed, right?
“You look scared,” David said with a smile. “Don’t worry; I’m not asking you to un-friend-zone me. It’s just two adults sleeping in the same room.”
“Oh, yeah. For, sure.” Mariska followed him into his room.
Thankfully, he had a king-sized bed which would make sleeping possible without having to spoon. After freshening up in the bathroom, they got into bed together, and he turned off the bedside lamp.
“David?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you…for everything.” There was so much more she wanted to say but didn’t trust herself at the moment.
He reached under the covers and grasped her hand in his and squeezed it. “Anything for you.”
She rolled over and placed a hand on his chest, her face against his shoulder. They stayed in this position for a while. David’s breaths grew long and slow as he drifted off to sleep. Mariska started to feel that familiar tug of sleep. The weightlessness soothing away the recent aches and pains and offering her a reprieve from the mental and emotional stress she’d been under.
A soft buzzing noise came from the front room. It was her cell phone. Was her dad calling to apologize and beg for her to come home? It stopped. She’d check it in the morning, but right now she wanted sleep. Seconds later, the buzzing returned. Whoever it was must have really wanted to talk to her. Mariska looked up into David’s peacefully sleeping face. A flutter of emotion she hadn’t expected or wanted surprised her. Don’t be stupid, Mariska, she thought. Don’t make any unnecessary emotional attachments. She sighed and slowly extracted herself from his bed, ever careful not to wake him.
Tiptoeing into the other room, Mariska fished the phone from her purse. It wasn’t her dad, but an unknown number. Badger. A series of texts telling her that she’s in danger started coming through. The last text said: It’s time to go. Copenhagen will give you the answers you seek.
How the hell did Badger know about Copenhagen?
The wad of cash she withdrew from her trust fund earlier in the day could get her to Europe, but it wouldn’t help her book a flight at this hour. She needed to do that online with a credit card. Had her dad frozen the cards or would he do that in the morning? They were her cards, but her father was a joint cardholder in case of emergencies. Mariska looked back toward the bedroom. David was still asleep. She needed to remain silent. If he found out she was going there, he would surely tell her father and ruin everything. She grabbed her laptop and took out one of the credit cards. A quick search for a flight to Copenhagen revealed a seat available on a five A.M flight. It wasn’t first-class, but since it was last minute, the price seemed nearly as expensive. She checked the time, two in the morning. She didn’t have much time to get there.
Mariska yawned. Oh, hell. She could sleep on the flight. With a wish upon a star, she typed in the credit card number and clicked submit. The computer system thought about what it was doing for a few minutes, but then the fifteen-hundred-dollar plane ticket price was accepted, and she messaged herself the boarding pass. Without much time to spare, she closed the computer and packed it away in her bag. Trying to remain silent, she debated on writing him a note before she left and decided it was necessary. She pulled out a small piece of paper from her bag and wrote him a message.
David,
Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I didn’t want to wake you before I left, so I am leaving you this message. No matter what happens to me, please know I’ve cherished our friendship. I will be in touch as soon as I am able.
With much love, Mariska.
She pulled open the door to leave and looked back into the apartment. The small apartment was dark, and she couldn’t see past the soft green glow from the clock on the end table. If David had watched her go, he’d done so in silence and from the shadows. Mariska mouthed the word, goodbye, before pulling the door closed behind her.
Was she making a mistake not telling him? There wasn’t time to dwell on her decisions. She needed to swing by Walmart and pick up some essentials and then make her flight. There was a few more hours before her dad would wake up and cancel her credit cards, and she needed to
make the time count.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mariska finished checking in with the airline and went to sit in a row of chairs near security. Folding her arms in front of her, she scanned the throngs of early morning passengers hurrying to their gates. People of all walks of life, age, and size mixed together into a loud, bustling crowd. It would have been easy for the killer to hide in plain sight. Was the man who wished her dead here? Did he know where she was going?
Mariska yawned. Damn, it was too early to be tired. She still had a long day ahead of her, but hopefully, she’d get some sleep on the plane.
“Is this seat taken?”
Mariska looked up and smiled. Detective Wulf had come through in a pinch. “Thank you so much.”
She’d begged him to stop by her apartment and get her passport. There wouldn’t be a way for her to even take this trip without it. And, since she didn’t have full access to her apartment yet, he was the only one who could get it for her. Wulf went to hand her the passport, but when she reached for it, he pulled it back.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
Mariska hesitated. “I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t, or won’t?” He still hadn’t given her the passport. “I believe I’d mentioned to you that you shouldn’t leave the city? There’s an active investigation going on.”
She looked up at him with a sad, desperate look—large eyes, pouty lips.
“That’s not going to work.”
Mariska blinked a few times, allowing tears to well up, which caused her vision to swim.
“Damn, you’re good.” Wulf sighed. “I can’t believe I’m not going to handcuff you right now and take you somewhere safe.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Don’t give me that look. I need to know where you’re going.” They locked eyes. “I need to make sure you’re going to be okay.”
She wiped away her fake tears. “I’m going to Copenhagen. There’s a university there that does DNA analysis. It’s cutting-edge stuff.”
“Why the hell do you need DNA analysis?” His skeptical look was mixed with surprise like he couldn’t believe he’d missed something. “Unless you’ve got the remains stashed somewhere.”
“No, nothing like that.” She didn’t like how he immediately accused her of withholding evidence…even though she hadn’t told him everything. “I…happened upon a discovery, of sorts.”
“So, what you’re telling me is you found something that will point to the whereabouts of the La Brea Woman?”
“Well, not exactly. I think it might help me solve an even bigger mystery.”
“Bigger? I think you need to explain further. And, since I’m not a brainiac scientist like yourself, you might need to start from the beginning.”
Mariska pulled the tooth and bead from her pocket and covertly showed it to him. “It’s a tooth. Non-human. Unknown origin…at this point. I’m hoping that if I can DNA test this and find out what animal it comes from, it could help point to the region that the La Brea Woman’s people came from.”
“Okay,” Wulf said, rubbing his chin. “Why Copenhagen? Why can’t you just go to a local university that processes DNA?”
“That’s a great question.” Mariska shifted positions, squared her shoulders as her excitement began to intensify. “Back in the mid nineteen-nineties, a nearly complete skeleton of a human male was found on the bank of the Columbian River. He’s now known as the Kennewick Man. Anyway, there was a legal battle that ensued where the Native Peoples of the area wanted him return to them for a culturally proper burial. But the men who found him argued that they had no way to prove who the rightful descendants were so the ownership would fall back on them since they discovered him.”
“This sounds a lot like what’s happened with the La Brea Woman. So, what happened?”
“They took a sample of DNA to Copenhagen and had the university test it. They are on the forefront of DNA analysis, and they have the most extensive peer-reviewed studies and DNA repository in the world.” Mariska put a hand on Wulf’s leg. “It’s the only logical choice we have.”
Wulf furrowed his brow, arching one eyebrow. “And, by doing this, you can find who her rightful descendants are, and possibly who stole her?”
She shrugged. “Unless you have any better ideas?”
“Where did you find the tooth? And why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“That’s the thing. I found it inside the La Brea Woman’s skull the night she went missing, and I was attacked.”
“The tooth was just rattling around inside her skull, and no one else had seen it before now?” Wulf seemed skeptical, at best.
“Not, exactly. The tooth, along with nine hand-carved beads were found inside a pouch, inside her skull. The pouch was old, but not something that would have been around fifteen thousand years ago—more like early 1900’s. So, someone within the last hundred years stashed it there, but why? I’d like to find out.” She shook her head. “It may or may not have anything to do with her theft, but I need to find answers wherever I can at this point.”
His eyebrows were pinched together in the middle, and he cocked his head to one side. “So, going back to what was in the pouch. There’s beads as well?”
“Yes. Well, sort of. I mean, I have one left. The other eight were stolen from my apartment the first time it was broken into. Somehow they missed this one in the chaos they left behind.” She pulled out the blue bead and showed it to him. “See, these markings? I think they represent star systems or constellations.”
“Is that significant?”
“It might be later. If I narrow the location down to a specific area, and there happen to be multiple tribes in the region, this could narrow the search further.” She shook her head. “I’m grasping at straws here. I’d like to get this solved before anyone else is hurt or killed.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“I mean, even if we can determine who her descendants are, it doesn’t mean they took her or even still exist,” Wulf said.
“That’s absolutely true.” Mariska put the tooth and bead back into the pouch and then into her front pocket. “But it would be a good place to start looking. And, if nothing else, once we find her, we will know who to return her to.”
“In a weird way, it makes sense.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m going to allow you to leave. I’m disavowing knowledge of these items, but make sure you bring them back with you.”
“Allow me?” Mariska laughed. “I’m not under arrest, am I?” She offered her wrists for him to cuff.
He looked at her hands. “Be careful what you wish for.”
They both smiled and stood, and then she threw her arms around him and hugged. It was meant as a thank you hug. Thank you for letting me do this. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for being so kind. But soon, the hug felt different. Mariska sensed an energy between them. She breathed in his scent—Earthy and warm. Her belly tingled. She could have stayed there forever—his warm, strong arms, securely wrapped around her. She opened her eyes and froze. In the distance, among the crowd, she caught a glimpse of David. But then the crowd swarmed around that spot, and his image disappeared. Had he been there? Looking to the left and then right, her heart began to race. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Could exhaustion and guilt make someone think they saw someone that wasn’t there?
Wulf whispered in her ear, “I don’t want you to go.” His voice instantly releasing her from the spell she’d been pulled into.
She pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. “I wish you could come with me, but I also know I need to do this on my own. You have to stay here and keep looking for Jane’s killer.”
He nodded, and she backed away toward security. Turning away, she hurried through the first checkpoint, but looked back and saw he was still watching her. He was such a good man, but so was David. It’d been so long since she’d felt anything even remotely romantic for anyone. She’d spent so much
time focused on her work and schooling, she hadn’t had time. But now in the midst of her world falling apart, there were two wonderful men who made her rethink her decision to remain single.
“Come on, Mariska,” she said to herself. “Focus, and get this shit done.”
She went all the way through security, fighting her desire to look back at Wulf…to see if he was still watching her. To see if David was really there? After retrieving her things from the conveyor belt, she hurried to the gate. Sitting down for a moment, she took out her phone and called Theresa.
“Hello?” Theresa sounded tired.
Mariska checked the time and cringed. It was a bit early to call but too late to hang up now. “Hey, there. So, sorry to call you this early, but I needed to tell you I’m sitting in the airport. I’m headed to Copenhagen.”
Theresa’s voice brightened. “Oh, cool. So, what can I do to help on this end?”
“I figured you could help me analyze whatever information I’m able to get.”
“Sounds good to me. Who’s your contact at the University?”
Mariska took a moment to think. Contact? Shit. “I…I didn’t even think of that.”
“You’re going to need to have someone on the inside over there to get you in the door, let alone perform the testing. I bet they are back-logged for months, if not years with remains needing to have their DNA analyzed.”
Mariska could hear Theresa typing while she talked. “I’m open to suggestions. I guess I didn’t really think this through very well.”
“Not to worry. I’ll see what I can do while you’re flying. I have a friend at the University of Copenhagen. He and I went to undergrad here in the States, but he pursued his doctorate over there, and I stayed here.”
“You are awesome. Thank you. What is your friend’s name?”
“Edgar. He went by Eddie when we were together. Really nice guy, but it’s been a while since we’ve spoken. I can tell you this, he’s brilliant, can keep a secret, and owes me a favor.”
“Sounds…interesting. You’ll have to tell me the whole story when I get back.”
Preservation Page 26