“Jake. How’s Frank’s case going?”
“Dead end,” he said.
“You mentioned you may be quitting the museum. Are you here to resign?”
“Partly. It’s not working out for me here.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Diane.
Jake sighed. “I did like it here.” He paused. “You had a daughter, I understand.”
“Yes. She was murdered.”
“A terrible thing. Our children are our heart. There’s just nothing we wouldn’t do for them.” He fingered the geode on her desk.
“Almost nothing,” Diane agreed. “Do you need a letter of recommendation?”
There was another knock on the door. Both of them started. Diane looked at her watch. “It’s getting a little late for visitors,” she mumbled. “Come in.”
Vanessa Van Ross, dressed in a white knit pantsuit that matched her hair, came into the room accompanied by her driver. “There you are. I didn’t expect to find you working. You haven’t been here the last three times I’ve come to talk with you.”
Diane stood up. “Mrs. Van Ross, I’m so sorry. Things have been . . .”
“I really don’t want to hear excuses.” She turned to Jake. “Young man, will you wait in the other office?”
Jake looked a little confused and reluctant. He shrugged and walked into Andie’s office. He didn’t look good, and Diane was worried about him.
“Diane, Milo really thought you had potential. So did I, frankly, but this episode with the bones and the publicity, the fiasco with the Graysons. The board can’t get rid of you, but I can. I don’t want to. I wish I didn’t have to. I like you. But . . .” She shook her head. “You have a week. I’m putting Donald in charge until we find a replacement.”
“Mrs. Van Ross, what are you saying? You can’t just fire me without some kind of . . .”
“Yes, I can. Read your contract.”
“I know things have been a little rough lately. But I think if you’ll just let me show you what I’ve done here, you’ll see the museum is doing well. Why are you doing this?”
“Have you seen the newspapers? The museum doesn’t need that kind of publicity. We haven’t even opened our doors yet and I’m already getting calls from contributors asking what the hell’s going on here. And the museum isn’t doing well. My God, you almost lost the damn thing. No. I’m sorry. I’ll give you a good severance package, but I want you out.”
Vanessa Van Ross turned and left. Jake reentered before she was completely out of Andie’s office. Diane stood behind her desk, watching some empty space. “I don’t understand this,” she muttered. “Look, Jake, I can’t talk with you now. You can just deal with Donald. I’m sorry.”
“My business isn’t with Donald, it’s with you. I have my gun. Don’t make me take it out. There’s lots of people still here in the museum. I don’t want to hurt anybody, I just want those bones.”
Diane looked startled. “What? Jake, are you crazy? What’s the matter with you?”
“Don’t play this stupid. I really don’t want you to get hurt. That’s the God’s honest truth. This can be played out easy or hard. You’re one tough woman, I’ll give you that. You don’t need to be tough now. All your proof is in the bones, and I want them. Now get up and let’s go up to the vault where you keep them.”
“They’re gone. I sent them . . .”
“No, you didn’t. The sheriff told me. That was a good little ruse, I’ll hand it to you. Now get up and let’s go. When I’m gone, you can do all the talking you want, but I have to tell you, nobody in this county’s going to believe you or even listen to you, and it will be your word against mine. The mayor and the whole police department will back me up.”
Diane rose. As she walked past Jake he grabbed her upper arm. “Don’t do anything fancy,” he said. “Let’s just go to the elevator and go upstairs. We’ll cross the mammoth room and use the center elevators. That way we can avoid getting into a conversation with Chanell.”
They crossed through the exhibit rooms to the center elevators and went up to the second floor.
“There will probably be someone in the lab,” said Diane.
“There’s not. I checked before I came down to your office. Let’s go.”
Diane led him to the lab and into the vault.
“Jake, don’t do this.”
“I just want to save my kid. You understand that.”
Diane got the box and set it on the table. “I understand wanting to save your kid, but, my God, Jake, look at what he’s done. You knew George and his family. Frank is one of your best friends.”
A wave of pain spread across his face. “Open it up,” he said. She began tearing the tape from the box. “Dylan panicked and let things get out of control. I know he did some terrible things, but I’m setting them back to zero. He can start with a clean slate. Without these bones, there’s nothing to connect him to any of the deaths. You’re the only one who will know.”
“If you kill me, my death will be investigated.”
“I’m not going to kill you. I said a clean slate. We can handle accusations. That’s the great thing about this country and its legal system. You need some kind of proof, and you have nothing but these bones. You don’t even know who they belong to and you are not likely to find out. There’ll be just this tale you tell people, and right now you’re lacking in credibility. I have to tell you, the mayor hates your guts, so does the chief of detectives, and the sheriff thinks you’re nuts. Janice Warrick’s ready to arrest you for messing in her case. Your best bet is to move on.”
“There’s Frank.”
“Frank only knows what you’ve told him.”
He reached in the box and unwrapped a couple of bones from the soft cotton material. Diane glanced at the door.
“Don’t try anything. You’re home free if you just play it safe.”
He took out a sack and looked in it. “Those are the bones of the hand,” said Diane. “They’re packed separately, left and right.”
“All nice and organized.”
“This person has family somewhere who want to know where he is.”
“I’m sure he does, and that weighs on me, like all of this. But they will just have to go on wondering. Taking Dylan down’s not going to bring this boy back.”
“Why did he kill this young man?”
“He didn’t mean to—he panicked. You don’t need to know. The less you know, the better. Dylan’s got a bright future ahead of him. I’m giving him a chance to start over clean. Now you’re going to see me out the door.”
“It sounds like Dylan panics a lot. Look, Jake. I examined the crime scene. Will you let me tell you what I found?”
“I don’t see any use in that.”
“He was in a frenzy when he killed them.”
“Just don’t say anything else.”
“I think he has a mean streak that’s going to get worse, especially since he’s hooked up with someone with her own mean streak.”
“What are you talking about?”
“His girlfriend.”
“Alix? She’s a nice girl.”
“Is she? I have it on more than one authority she has a mean temper, just like Dylan.”
“Dylan doesn’t have a temper. Not like you’re talking about. He gets scared sometimes. If George hadn’t found the bone, none of this would have happened. I’m not blaming George. It was just bad luck. Dylan was protecting himself.”
“Have you really talked yourself into believing this? Are you listening to what you’re saying?”
“Let’s get going.”
“Just listen to me, Jake. Dylan is going to continue making mistakes. There was no reason to kill the Boones. Let me show you something. Dammit, set the box down. It won’t hurt to listen.”
He set the box on the table and Diane took out the scapula and showed it to him. “This entire area is crushed, including the head of the humerus and the adjoining ribs. It’s my opinion that an individ
ual couldn’t have caused that kind of damage. See this straight line in the damaged area here? I think the disc brake of a jacked-up car fell on him. It looks like an accident. Why in the hell did Dylan dump the body and kill the entire Boone family? He needs professional help, not a clean slate to start over.”
“Don’t tell her, Dad.”
“What’re you doing here, son? I told you I’d take care of this.”
“You’re going to just let her go.”
“Yes, son. There’s no reason to kill her.”
The Dylan standing in the doorway of the vault could have been an evil twin of the one she knew. He had the same features, but his eyes were as cold as death. This was a mean young man, and Jake couldn’t see it.
“Dylan, listen to me. I have this under control.”
“No, Dad, you don’t. This will always follow me unless something is done with her. I think she’s already guessed it was the two of us who snatched her. She probably saw us when we were out on the dock looking for her. Sooner or later she’ll convince someone. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Diane didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Dylan, all this was so unnecessary.”
“Unnecessary? You don’t know his old man.” He gestured toward the box of bones. “Do you know, when he was five years old a kid accidentally ran over him on his bike. He wasn’t even hurt, just a few cuts. His old man made sure the boy’s father was fired from his job. They ended up on welfare.”
Diane looked puzzled.
“Don’t you get it? His dad was as vindictive as hell, and he was proud of his father for it. I asked him to come home with me for spring break on the spur of the moment.”
Diane ignored Jake and focused her attention on his son. “His dad was vindictive? That’s your excuse for this crime spree? I think you just enjoyed killing.”
“Don’t tell her, son. Don’t give her any information she can use to identify this person.”
“Why not? I want this bitch to understand. She thinks I’m some kind of maniac. We were in my SUV and had a flat. It was raining, and he wouldn’t get out and help. He’d rather sit and drink. I was jacking up the car in the rain and he was bouncing up and down, harassing me, laughing at me. I pulled the son of a bitch out of the car, we got in a fight and he fell under the truck and knocked out the jack. He screamed like a pig. I got the jack from under the truck and jacked it up and pulled him out. Was he grateful? No, the SOB screamed and cursed me, telling me what his old man would do to me. Me, the policeman’s son who somehow made it to Harvard.”
“Son.”
“Shut up, Dad. Let me do this. I want her to understand this wasn’t my fault. I knew if his father got even with the boy on the bike for nothing, he sure as hell would get even with me for this.” He put a hand on the box of bones. “He was really fucked up—couldn’t even move his damn arm. He passed out a couple of times. I didn’t know what to do. Every time he came to, he’d start screaming. So I hit him. And he stopped. We weren’t far from where we used to go on old Abercrombie’s place, so I put the spare on, dragged his sorry ass in the SUV. God, do you know how hard that was? I took him to where Luther dumped his carcasses. I thought that’d be a fitting grave. I took his clothes so he wouldn’t be identified easily. He’d still be there if George hadn’t found that damn bone and taken it.”
“I can see that you were caught in a bad situation,” said Diane.
“You still don’t see. It was my first year at Harvard. His old man would have gotten me thrown out. In a flash, my whole career gone because of that stupid, drunk son of a bitch. It was his fault. Why should I have to pay for it?”
“Taking the bones won’t clear you. They aren’t the only evidence.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s your fingerprint on the silencer you used when you shot Jay.”
“No. You’re lying. Dad said they just had a partial that they couldn’t match.”
“You didn’t read the report closely, Jake. It was the opinion of that expert that he couldn’t get a match because of the recent court decisions. There’s a good chance they can get enough points of comparison by using another expert.”
“Damn, this isn’t happening.” Dylan slammed his fist on the table. “This isn’t happening.”
“Son, it’s not happening. I can fix this. I can make everything right. You can come out of this and the rest of your life will be good. I promise.”
“Listen to yourself, Jake,” said Diane. “You’re a cop. You’ve seen killers before. He’s a killer.”
“No. He was just defending himself. Everything he did was tied to that one mishap. It won’t happen again.”
“Jake....”
“Dammit, he’s my son.”
Diane glanced at Dylan. He’d quit listening to his father. His eyes were darting back and forth, searching for some way out.
Diane wondered at the wisdom of talking about the fingerprints. This wasn’t going exactly as planned. She wasn’t counting on Dylan being such a loose cannon. But why not? she asked herself. He’s already killed four people. It would have been five if Frank had died.
The plan was straightforward. Everything was being monitored and recorded through a device in the vault. The sheriff and deputies were less than a thousand feet away, sitting in their cars in the museum garage, listening. As soon as the incriminating statements were made, they were supposed to be there to make the arrest. A simple, elegant plan. Vanessa thought so anyway. It was Diane’s version of a queen sacrifice, in which she was the queen. It was good on paper. She’d convinced the sheriff it would work.
If things got a little sticky or out of control, as they now appeared to be heading, she was to use the “safe word,” the word that would summon help immediately. If possible, she was to stay in the vault and lock herself in and wait for the sheriff to arrest them. A simple matter of closing the door. But the execution of it was going awry. With both of them there, she couldn’t figure out how to get them out the door.
She had no doubt about the part of the plan where they would be caught and arrested. But she feared they would kill her before that happened. She didn’t want it to be a real sacrifice.
“Son, they can’t do anything with the partial. Besides, I can get it from the property room. It won’t be a problem. Let’s just take the bones and go. She won’t say anything. She’s just been fired from her job here—no one will believe her.”
“Who fired her?”
“Old Mrs. Van Ross.”
“She likes her. Why would she fire her?”
“She didn’t like the publicity she’s been generating.”
“The old lady fired her? I don’t think so, Dad. The old lady dotes on her . . . Damn, you said Sheriff Canfield gave you the photographs of the bones and told you she had the real skeleton in the vault after all, that she’d lied to the press.”
“Yes. Canfield said Janice Warrick wanted to look at the photographs.”
“Shit, Dad. We’ve been had.”
Shit is right, thought Diane. She was in trouble now.
Jake pulled out his gun and pointed it at Diane. “The boy’s right. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Now, I’m sure you’re making a tape somewhere, so give it to me.”
“Jesus Christ, Jake. Put the gun away. You don’t want my murder on your hands. This other can be handled, but not if you kill me. Think about the road you’re heading down, for Christ’s sake.” There. She’d said the safe words twice. Help should be there in less than a minute.
Dylan grabbed Diane and ripped her shirt, looking for a wire.
“It’s not on me,” she held her torn shirt together. “You’re too late. You know how a wire works.”
“You bitch.”
“You murderer.” She stepped back and maneuvered behind the table as Dylan tried to slap her. It was then that she noticed his finger was taped up. He was the one who attacked her in front of her apartment. “Guys, give it up. Aidan Kavanagh’s father is already on his way.”
Dylan froze. Diane used that second to push the heavy table into them. Linc’s words, No heavy lifting, no fights, ran though her brain. Shit, he was going to be mad.
Dylan and his father were knocked off balance, but not down. Jake fired his gun. Like a funky jack-in-the-box, Korey, wielding a knife, jumped out of a large supply box and lunged onto Dylan, grabbing him around the throat from behind with his arm, holding the knife in the air, ready to strike. Diane was as shocked as Dylan and his father.
“Drop your gun or so help me I’ll cut him. Questioning me when it was your sorry-ass son who shot Frank and you knew it.”
Dylan started fighting hard, breaking Korey’s hold. None of this was going down the way Diane had envisioned. Korey had no intention of killing Dylan, but Jake didn’t know that. Jake aimed his gun at Korey.
“No, Jake, don’t!” screamed Diane, lunging at him. There was a deafening explosion. “Oh, God, Korey,” said Diane.
But it was Jake who slumped over, a pool of blood spreading on his chest.
“Dad!” cried Dylan. He pulled away from Korey and went to his father.
Diane was shocked to see it was Frank in the doorway holding a gun. The sheriff came running in with a deputy, pulling Dylan away from Jake and cuffing him.
“Frank? What are you doing out of the hospital?” Diane ran to him, putting an arm around his waist to steady him.
“The sheriff called and told me what you had planned. What in heaven’s name possessed you?”
“How did you get past Linc?”
“I didn’t. I got past Henry,” said Frank as he walked over and knelt by Jake. He felt for the pulse in his neck. “Dammit, Jake,” he whispered.
Korey picked himself up off the floor and stumbled over to Diane.
“Are you all right?” Diane asked him.
“Sure. Just fine. Scared shitless. That’s the last time I do anything like that.”
“How . . . ?”
“Jonas was worried about your scheme. He didn’t think a lot of it either.”
“You could have gotten killed.”
“Don’t I know it. We all need our heads examined.”
Diane stood on the third floor of the west wing of the museum in the middle of her new forensic lab. Laura and Vanessa Van Ross had insisted she get back into forensics. It didn’t take much convincing. She really had missed it in the past year. Digging the animal pit was a help in a strange sort of way. So was being able to give the Kavanaghs back their son—and getting Star out of jail.
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