Scattered Graves dffi-6

by Beverly Connor

  said Diane.

  She missed working with them every day. The four

  of them had worked well together.

  ‘‘I have to tell you, Bryce is very angry with you,’’

  said Neva. ‘‘He is always quick to temper, but I’ve

  never seen him this angry.’’

  ‘‘How did he not know that the forensic anthropol

  ogy lab belongs to the museum?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘He wouldn’t listen to any advice or information

  that David or I tried to give him, so we quit trying.

  But I would have thought he knew about your lab.’’

  Neva shrugged. ‘‘I’m sorry about letting them in there.

  I hadn’t meant to. They caught me coming out of

  the lab.’’

  ‘‘It’s all right,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I changed the code on

  the locks to make sure they don’t get back in—it

  wasn’t aimed at you.’’

  ‘‘I thought you would,’’ said Neva. ‘‘I’d prefer not

  to know how to get in the lab until Bryce understands

  where his limits are.’’

  After Neva and Mike left, Diane called Frank and

  told him she might be delayed. Then she retrieved her

  cell phone from her pocket and called David’s cell

  number. She didn’t expect him to answer, but he did

  and she was surprised at the amount of relief she felt. ‘‘David, are you all right?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘Sure,’’ he said. ‘‘Why wouldn’t I be?’’

  ‘‘Neva said you resigned.’’ Diane sat back down in

  Andie’s plush chair.

  ‘‘It seemed like the logical thing to do,’’ he said. ‘‘I

  just couldn’t in good conscience work for the guy

  anymore.’’

  ‘‘Where are you?’’ asked Diane.

  ‘‘I’m driving home.’’

  ‘‘Neva has been trying to get in touch with you,’’

  said Diane.

  ‘‘I know. I just didn’t want to talk to her yet. I’m

  feeling guilty about bailing out on her without warn

  ing. I’ll call her later.’’

  ‘‘What are you going to do?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘I thought I’d apply for a job at the museum. I have

  lots of skills.’’

  ‘‘That sounds like a plan,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Why don’t

  you come to my office tomorrow?’’

  ‘‘I’d like to take a little break first. You know, get

  this month over with.’’

  ‘‘I understand. So you’re going to take a vacation?’’ ‘‘Yeah. I think so,’’ he said.

  ‘‘Keep in touch.’’

  ‘‘Sure,’’ he said. ‘‘Don’t worry.’’

  When they hung up, Diane sat in the chair for sev

  eral minutes thinking about David. It was one of the

  more strained, noncommittal conversations she’d ever

  had with him. She put her face in her hands and

  rubbed her fingertips across her forehead as if she

  could smooth out her thoughts. Instead she only made

  her face hurt. David seemed off to her, even for David

  in troubled mode. She couldn’t put her finger on what

  it was, but it didn’t feel right to her. She went home

  to Frank with an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach.

  Diane liked rounding the drive and seeing the mu seum early in the morning. Until it came into view, she never knew exactly what she would see. The stone structure could be bathed in the glow of sunrise, or it could be shrouded in fog, glistening wet after a rain, or dark and gothic during a downpour.

  This morning the building had a golden glow as the sun just rising above the tree line reflected off the gran ite. A fog from the pond rose from behind the building, giving the scene an ethereal, misty halo. The dark,

  long dark fingers caressing leafless trees looked like the building.

  The granite structure was a beautiful gothic-style building with large rooms decorated with Romanesque

  moldings, polished granite floors, and mahogany-paneled walls. It began life in the 1800s as a museum on the first floor, with the upper floors rented out as office space. In the early twentieth century, the building was converted into a private medical clinic that closed down in the 1950s under mysterious circumstances—a history the employees loved to speculate about. The building

  Vanessa

  then stood empty until Milo Lorenzo and Van Ross decided to make it into a mu

  seum again.

  There were stories told by the docents of bodies buried in the subbasement—the hidden results of medical mistakes or fiendish experiments from the building’s dark past as a medical clinic. Good ghost stories are always fun.

  As she drove up to her parking lot, she saw two figures rising from their seats on the steps, obviously waiting for her. It was Henry and his brother, Caleb.

  ‘‘I’m sorry for coming so early,’’ he said. ‘‘Caleb has to go to work and I have to go to school.’’

  ‘‘That’s all right. There are a lot of early birds around here,’’ said Diane.

  The blast of warm air felt good as they entered the building. Chanell Napier, Diane’s head of security, was at the desk speaking with one of the guards about to go off duty. She was a slender African-American woman with a cheerful round face and a levelheaded disposition.

  ‘‘Blake told me about last night,’’ she said. ‘‘I can get a few guards and retake the third-floor overlook if you like.’’

  Beside her, Diane saw Henry and Caleb exchange glances. That had to sound strange, she thought. Of course the whole thing was strange.

  ‘‘I’ll handle it with Bryce,’’ said Diane. She turned to Henry and Caleb. ‘‘You here to return the applica tion form?’’ she asked.

  Henry nodded, handing it to her.

  ‘‘I’ve been trying to interest him in archaeology.’’ Jonas came strolling over with a wink. ‘‘I could use a good assistant.’’

  Henry grinned proudly at his brother. ‘‘This is Ca leb’s last day on his job,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s going to work at the university.’’

  ‘‘I’m going to be working in the Advanced Compu tational Methods Department.’’ Caleb grinned. ‘‘It’s what I’ve been wanting to do.’’

  ‘‘Beats working that boring job at the bank,’’ said Henry.

  ‘‘That’s the truth,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘I’m real excited. Almost as excited as Henry.’’

  ‘‘Do you think they’ll accept me?’’ asked Henry, suddenly looking a little worried.

  ‘‘I’m sure they will,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘That’s a shoo-in right there,’’ Jonas stage-whispered in Henry’s ear. ‘‘Everyone around here does what Dr. Fallon says.’’

  Diane laughed. ‘‘I wish.’’

  ‘‘Sheriff Canfield had people out scouring the field again,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘He said somebody stole the bones?’’ Caleb looked incredulous.

  ‘‘Grampa said the sheriff’s fit to be tied,’’ said Henry.

  ‘‘Have they found anything else?’’ asked Diane.

  Caleb shrugged.

  ‘‘I heard Grampa say they found a bullet,’’ said Henry.

  ‘‘People are always shooting around there,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘I’m surprised they didn’t find lots of bullets.’’

  ‘‘The hunters are crazy,’’ said Henry. ‘‘Sometimes they don’t pay any attention where they shoot.’’

  ‘‘Sounds like here,’’ said Jonas. ‘‘Is the third floor safe?’’ he asked Diane. ‘‘I heard we had a troll on the overlook.’’

  Henry and Caleb looked curiously at each other.

  The third floor overlook is getting a reputation, thought Diane.

  ‘‘It’s safe,’’ said Diane. Jonas was kidding, but she was a
little annoyed with him. She didn’t want any rumors flying around.

  * * *

  When Diane got to her lab, she retrieved the box of bones she had selected for Jin to try to get a DNA sample from. She thought she would run into Shipman again when she opened the overlook, but he was gone. Perhaps Bryce had gotten rid of him. She took an elevator down to Jin’s DNA lab. She caught him com ing out the door.

  ‘‘Hey, boss, how are things?’’

  ‘‘A surprise a minute,’’ she said.

  ‘‘So I hear.’’ Jin shook his head. ‘‘You don’t look so bad. I got a girlfriend in theater. You want to try some theater makeup?’’

  ‘‘I think it gives me character,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘Neva told me David resigned,’’ said Jin. ‘‘You know, I’m worried about him. He hasn’t been saying much lately. He just goes into his room and shuts the door.’’

  ‘‘I think he’ll be fine,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I have some bones for you to try to get some DNA out of. Please find some,’’ she said, handing him the samples.

  ‘‘The wood-chipper murder, right? Sure thing, boss.’’ He took the package. ‘‘If there is any DNA here, I’ll find it.’’

  ‘‘Thanks, Jin.’’

  ‘‘You tell me if you hear from David,’’ he said.

  ‘‘Actually, I did hear from him. He’s thinking about leaving town for a few days.’’

  Jin was quiet a moment. ‘‘You think he’ll come back?’’

  ‘‘He asked about a job at the museum,’’ said Diane.

  Jin grinned. ‘‘That’s good. Maybe he’s just chilling out.’’

  Diane’s phone rang. She took it out of her pocket and looked at the display. It was Andie.

  ‘‘Andie,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘Dr. Fallon, the mayor and a whole bunch of other people are here. They are sitting in my office.’’

  Chapter 14

  ‘‘The week just gets better,’’ muttered Diane. ‘‘Andie, put them in my office, not the sitting room. Move more chairs in if you need them. Call Colin Prehoda and tell him what’s up. Don’t let them hear you. Offer them coffee. I’ll be right up.’’

  ‘‘Sounds serious, boss,’’ said Jin.

  ‘‘Serious, but possibly good.’’ Diane smiled. ‘‘Find me some DNA,’’ she said and took the stairs to the first floor.

  She stopped in Andie’s office and gave her the re port she had written for Sheriff Canfield. She scribbled a note on it saying that Jin was going to try for some DNA.

  ‘‘Andie, fax this to Sheriff Canfield’s office,’’ she said and walked past Andie’s desk into her own office.

  Spence Jefferies, the mayor of Rosewood, was sit ting in one of the comfortable chairs. Edgar Peeks, the new chief of police, sat in the other stuffed chair. Douglas Garnett, the chief of detectives, a man whom Diane had worked with successfully on many cases, sat in a straight-backed chair. Diane was surprised to see him there. One corner of his mouth tweaked when he saw her, and he briefly made eye contact. He looked thin to Diane, but it had been a while since she had seen him.

  They all stood when she entered but sat back down quickly after they shook hands. She noticed that none had coffee. Diane took a seat behind her desk and surveyed the group.

  Mayor Jefferies and Chief Peeks were both sharp dressers, sharper than Garnett, who was somewhat of a clothes horse. Diane noticed the pinky rings that Prehoda had mentioned.

  The two men were very different in appearance. The mayor had light brown hair, dark eyes, and a lean face. His prominent nasal folds and rugged complex ion made him look older than his actual age. Peeks had dark hair, hazel eyes and that baby face. What they had in common, besides a good tailor, was meanlooking eyes—shark eyes, Neva would have called them—devoid of kindness. How did you get elected with eyes like that? thought Diane as she looked at Jefferies.

  ‘‘What can I do for you?’’ she said.

  ‘‘You can explain this,’’ said Peeks.

  The chief of police tossed a packet of folded papers onto her desk. It looked like a legal document. So the only niceties they were going to exchange with her were standing when she entered the room and shaking her hand. Diane picked up the papers and looked at them. Sure enough, Colin had been busy. Just as she was about to speak, she heard noises from Andie’s office.

  The door opened and Colin came in carrying his own chair. He was a snappy dresser too. Diane was beginning to feel underdressed for the occasion in her plain navy pantsuit. Colin wore his boyish smile, one that had fooled many an opposing counsel. He turned his chair around and straddled it with his arms resting on the back.

  ‘‘This is Colin Prehoda,’’ said Diane. ‘‘He drew up the document you just handed me.’’

  ‘‘We’re acquainted with Mr. Prehoda,’’ said the mayor.

  Diane was about to speak again when there was more commotion. This time it was Lloyd Bryce. He was also carrying his own chair. Andie must be out of chairs by now, she thought. She noticed that he wore an identical pinky ring. So—an Alexander the Great club?

  ‘‘I hope this is everyone, or we’ll have to go to the auditorium,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘Now, why exactly have you come?’’ she asked again.

  ‘‘What’s this business about shutting down the crime lab?’’ said Peeks.

  ‘‘I wouldn’t know anything about that,’’ said Diane. ‘‘These papers simply direct that the crime lab be re moved from museum property.’’

  ‘‘We have a contract with the museum,’’ said the mayor.

  ‘‘Mr. Jefferies,’’ said Diane. ‘‘The contract was voided when the crime lab guard threatened a sevenyear-old visitor and one of my docents with a gun. The overlook where the incident happened is provided by the museum as a place were visitors may go for a top view of the dinosaurs. It is a heavily used feature of the museum. It does not fall under the jurisdiction of the crime lab.’’

  Peeks started to speak. ‘‘It is my understanding the guard never actually pulled his gun.’’

  Diane cut him off. ‘‘He showed it to them, referred to it, and emphasized its presence. He ordered them off the overlook and told them if they were to come back again they would be in serious trouble with him and his gun. That is a threat. He was out of control and beyond his authority.’’

  ‘‘She exaggerates,’’ said Bryce in a tone that sug gested this was an end to the matter.

  ‘‘I have the videos,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Not only of the incident with the child, but of another when he con fronted me and the docent, and a third video that shows him attempting to attack me and to wrestle the gate away from me while I was securing the museum. And Bryce, before you say I was locking him in, I would remind you that he had points of egress from the overlook by means of a stairwell and an elevator— in addition to the elevator in the crime lab.’’

  Diane paused, but when none of them said anything she continued.

  ‘‘The contract has very clear prohibitions against the crime lab putting the museum, its visitors, or its staff in danger. The guard would not listen to reason, choosing instead to bully and to use physical force and threats. When I asked Bryce to intervene, to rein the guard in, he refused—with some rather foul language. It was clear that Bryce was in support of the guard’s actions. I had no choice but to execute the provisions of the contract to protect the museum,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘You could have given us a heads-up on this,’’ said the mayor.

  ‘‘I could not delay. The crime lab was out of control and I didn’t know how much worse it was going to get. I had already been forced to evacuate the entire third floor of the museum to remove my staff from the danger presented by the belligerent guard.’’

  Bryce made an explosive noise that Diane took to mean she was exaggerating again.

  ‘‘The incident with the security guard was just the latest and the worst in a long list of contract violations. Bryce sent Curtis Crabtree with instructions th
at he was to work in the DNA lab that is owned and oper ated by the museum. There are no open positions in the DNA lab and he was so informed by the DNA lab manager. But Mr. Crabtree wouldn’t take no for an answer. He refused to leave and got physical when he was told that the lab

  separate incident, in clear

  was not hiring. And in a violation of his authority, Bryce tried to dismiss me as head of the museum’s osteology lab and install someone he had flown in from California and promised the job to.’’