Scattered Graves dffi-6

  ‘‘And the mold and mildew would look so real,’’ said another.

  ‘‘True,’’ said the first.

  Diane started to say something about the placement of vegetation when her phone rang. It was Kendel, her assistant director. Diane answered it with a tinge of expectation of good news.

  ‘‘I did it,’’ said Kendel.

  Diane could hear the excitement in her voice even over the static of the weak signal between the cell phones.

  ‘‘You were able to get it?’’ said Diane. ‘‘Kendel, that’s great.’’

  The staff working on the exhibit all stopped at the sound of Kendel’s name. They all knew she was nego tiating for a set of Neanderthal bones—a real coup for a small museum like RiverTrail. The museum had casts of various skeletons on display, but none of the real thing.

  ‘‘It’s the most expensive thing we’ve purchased,’’ said Kendel. ‘‘But, I have to tell you, they are a nice set of bones. You’re going to like them.’’

  ‘‘Good job, Kendel,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Really good job. We’re all looking forward to seeing them—hopefully the public will too.’’

  Kendel had just recently gotten her mojo back after being accused of stealing artifacts—an accusation that nearly cost her her career. Having her back to her old self meant good things for the museum. Kendel was skillful at acquiring quality collections.

  ‘‘She got the Neanderthal skeleton?’’ the staff said simultaneously when Diane got off the phone.

  ‘‘Yes, she did,’’ said Diane. She started to elaborate when her phone rang again. This time it was Andie.

  ‘‘Dr. F, you have a policeman here to see you,’’ said Andie.

  ‘‘I’m sure it’s about yesterday’s meeting. I’ll be right there.’’ Diane eyed the diorama again and made a suggestion about where to place more vegetation be fore she left to see the policeman. She wondered if Peeks had sent him to arrest her. She sighed.

  The policeman was Izzy Wallace, a friend of Frank’s and a man who had not liked Diane very much in the beginning of their relationship, believing she was all wrong for his good buddy Frank. Later, Diane had identified Izzy’s only child as one of many students who died in an off-campus explosion. Rather than hat ing the messenger, he had changed. The experience had formed a kind of bond between them. They both had lost an only child to violence.

  Izzy had lost a lot of weight. He used to be a big, barrel-chested guy, but he was thin now. Not lean and trim, but almost wasted looking. Diane guessed it was grief. She ushered him into her sitting room.

  ‘‘How are you and your wife doing?’’ she asked.

  He shrugged. ‘‘One day at a time. People at church have been real helpful.’’ He sat down on the edge of the sofa. ‘‘You know, you always want somebody to make sense of it.’’ He shook his head in a mournful way. ‘‘But there just isn’t any sense to it.’’

  ‘‘No,’’ said Diane, ‘‘there’s not.’’

  He turned down an offer of a drink.

  ‘‘Not unless you have something stronger than soda,’’ he said with a weak laugh.

  Diane wasn’t sure if he was completely kidding. She sympathized. She had gone through all the stages of mourning too. She sat down in the chair next to the sofa.

  ‘‘I keep meaning to hide some good Kentucky bour bon here for difficult times. But we have so many demanding days, I’d be drinking all the time,’’ she said, smiling.

  ‘‘I hear you there,’’ he said. ‘‘Difficult times. They keep coming, don’t they?’’

  ‘‘Sometimes it seems that way,’’ said Diane. ‘‘What can I do for you?’’

  ‘‘It’s about the murder,’’ he said.

  ‘‘Jefferies was here just yesterday,’’ said Diane, ‘‘about the crime lab.’’

  She was surprised they’d sent Izzy and not a detec tive to interview her. Not that Izzy couldn’t do a good job, but she thought he worked the desk now. She supposed they figured she had little to add to what they already knew. After all, Garnett was also in the meeting. He could tell them everything she could.

  ‘‘I know,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘I didn’t come to talk to you about that—that is, not exactly. We—me and several police buddies—would like you to investigate.’’

  Diane hadn’t expected that. ‘‘What? Me? Why? I can’t intrude on an ongoing investigation. Certainly not one of this significance. And I have no standing to investigate.’’

  ‘‘We got it figured out,’’ said Izzy.

  ‘‘I don’t understand. Why would you want me to investigate?’’ she asked.

  ‘‘Because Edgar Peeks will be in charge of the in vestigation,’’ Izzy said. ‘‘We don’t trust him.’’

  Diane was still not understanding. She’d heard there was no love lost between the rank-and-file policemen and the new chief of police, but she didn’t know why. So why would they want her to investigate?

  ‘‘I don’t—’’ began Diane.

  ‘‘It’s not out yet, but they’re arresting Douglas Garnett for the murder,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘Peeks is just going to hang it on him with no investigation. And that’ll be it.’’

  Chapter 16

  ‘‘They’re going to arrest Garnett? That’s ridiculous,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘It is, but lunacy has never stopped the likes of

  Edgar Peeks before,’’ said Izzy.

  ‘‘Tell me what happened. Why does he think Gar

  nett is the murderer?’’ Despite herself, Diane leaned

  forward, anxious to hear the story.

  ‘‘After they left here yesterday, Garnett and the

  mayor got into a big argument down at the police

  station. I tell you, you really pissed Jefferies and Peeks

  off when you told them to take the crime lab out of

  the museum. They considered it the jewel in their

  crown. It was really important to them.’’ Izzy grinned

  broadly. ‘‘I’ve never seen Chief Peeks so mad.’’ ‘‘I wasn’t taking away the lab. I just told them to

  move it,’’ said Diane. ‘‘What was the problem?’’ ‘‘They wanted the whole enchilada—the crime lab,

  the bone lab, and the DNA lab. They especially wanted

  the DNA lab, and as long as the crime lab was in the

  museum, they had a chance of getting control of all

  of them—they thought. You come along and throw a

  wrench in their plans. Then they find out the city

  doesn’t even own some of the expensive equipment in

  the crime lab; you do. Like I said, they were really

  pissed. Warrick—you remember her?’’

  Diane nodded. Janice Warrick was a detective she

  had butted heads with when she first moved back to Rosewood but who later became a trusted colleague

  if not a friend.

  ‘‘Well, Warrick overheard the mayor talking to

  Peeks about replacing you as director of the museum,’’

  he said.

  Diane laughed. ‘‘What? The mayor has no authority

  over the museum or me.’’

  Izzy nodded and gestured with his hands. ‘‘I know,

  but you see, that’s the way they look at everything.

  You’d think Jefferies was elected emperor of the uni

  verse and not mayor of Rosewood. They’re crazy. And

  let me tell you, you were making them crazier.’’ ‘‘Who knew I had so much power,’’ Diane com

  mented drily. ‘‘Did they say how they proposed to

  replace me?’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘No, but I wouldn’t have put anything past them,’’

  said Izzy.

  Diane hadn’t liked the mayor, or the people he as

  sociated with, and had serious doubts about which di

  rection their moral compass pointed, but still she was

  surprised at the picture Izzy was painting
of them. She said, ‘‘I know they wanted Garnett to lie about

  who the forensic anthropology lab belonged to, but

  how could they possibly think they would get away

  with that? I keep more records than the IRS.’’ ‘‘I don’t know. They just like to throw everything

  at an enemy at once, hoping to overwhelm them, I

  suppose. Make them more willing to negotiate. That’s

  why they threatened to arrest you, you know. They

  don’t have much of a prayer to do that.’’

  ‘‘Why?’’ asked Diane.

  ‘‘Because the bottom of the gorge is just across the

  county line. The GBI handled the scene. Didn’t you

  know that?’’

  Of course, the county line; she had forgotten. Diane

  felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She realized that

  she was truly afraid that she was going to be arrested

  and framed.

  ‘‘You been worried about that?’’ he said. Diane nodded.

  ‘‘Can’t say as I blame you. Who knows how those

  people think? They might have tried to come up with

  something. I know they would have pulled some other

  dirty trick out of their hat to back up what they were

  saying about your bone lab. They would have given

  you a run for your money. Kept you real busy dealing

  with them anyway.’’

  ‘‘Tell me more about Garnett and the mayor,’’ said

  Diane.

  Izzy sat back on the couch.

  Diane could see this was going to be a long conver

  sation. ‘‘Would you like me to have the restaurant

  send us up lunch?’’ she asked.

  ‘‘That would be nice,’’ said Izzy. He grinned. ‘‘You

  sort of have a little kingdom here, don’t you?’’ ‘‘A lot of people think so,’’ said Diane.

  ‘‘Sort of queen of your domain,’’ he said. ‘‘No, just the queen’s knight. Vanessa’s the queen,’’

  said Diane.

  ‘‘I hear you there. Lunch would be nice. I tend to

  skip meals since Evie’s been working with this anti

  drug group. She’s trying to make some meaning out

  of Donald’s death. I guess I should learn how to cook,

  but I don’t have much of an appetite anymore.’’ Diane ordered a couple of steaks, baked potatoes,

  a salad, and chocolate cake, and asked that it be

  brought to her office.

  ‘‘I won’t turn down a good steak,’’ said Izzy. He

  looked like he might have found his appetite. Diane took a pile of books and papers off the table

  and readied it for lunch. She and Izzy made small talk

  until it arrived. He seemed to appreciate the break.

  Diane knew what a struggle it was for him and his

  wife—looking for meaning where there was none,

  looking for closure that didn’t exist.

  ‘‘They tell me you moved from your apartment,’’

  he said.

  ‘‘They asked me to leave,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Too many

  things happening in and around my apartment for them.’’ ‘‘I hadn’t heard that. Who asked you to leave?’’

  said Izzy.

  ‘‘My neighbors. They met with my landlady and

  took a vote.’’

  ‘‘You know that’s not legal,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘You could

  have fought it.’’

  ‘‘I know, but I understood their position. Sometimes

  you just need some peace,’’ said Diane.

  Izzy nodded. ‘‘You’re right about that. Sometimes

  you just need peace.’’

  He stared off in the distance for a moment, then

  looked back at her and gave half a laugh as if embar

  rassed for getting lost in thought.

  ‘‘How’s Frank treating you?’’ he said. ‘‘He hasn’t

  played that accordion of his for you, has he?’’ Diane laughed. ‘‘No, but he is teaching me the

  piano,’’ she said.

  ‘‘Piano. That’s nice. Evie plays a little bit.’’ It didn’t take long for the order to arrive. Izzy

  looked at the food like he’d never seen food before,

  or like it reminded him of a life he used to have.

  Diane remembered what it was like to not have an

  appetite, having grief eat at the pit of your stomach

  so you thought it would never hold anything again.

  She also remembered that when she began eating

  again, her body started coping better.

  ‘‘This is really good,’’ said Izzy after taking a couple

  of bites of his steak. ‘‘I can’t remember the last time I

  had a really good meal. I need to bring Evie to the

  restaurant here soon. We haven’t been out together

  since, well, since before . . .’’ He let the sentence trail off. ‘‘I do like the food here,’’ said Diane.

  Izzy ate a few more bites, took a long drink of tea,

  set the glass down, and paused as if not really wanting

  to talk about what he had come for. Diane under

  stood. This must be a tiny respite for him.

  ‘‘You ever wonder why Garnett didn’t just find a

  new job, maybe in Atlanta, the way they were treating

  him? It would have been the smart thing to do rather

  than waiting for them to replace him like we all knew they would.’’ Izzy didn’t wait for an answer. ‘‘He did it for the rest of us. Peeks began showing himself early on, and Garnett saw what political animals Peeks and Jefferies were. Not that Garnett’s a stranger to politics himself, but he’s always been good to the people

  under him.’’

  ‘‘And Peeks wasn’t?’’ said Diane. ‘‘Didn’t he and

  Jefferies purchase new state-of-the-art bulletproof

  vests for the police?’’

  Izzy made a derisive noise. ‘‘State-of-the-art my...

  Those vests were so old they wouldn’t stop rubber

  bullets. Everything they did was just for show. They

  made sure the newspapers made a big deal of it, but

  like I said, it was just show. We figured they ordered

  out-of-date vests and pocketed the rest of the money,

  but we can’t prove it.’’

  ‘‘That’s disappointing,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Did anyone in

  form the newspapers?’’

  ‘‘We tried to leak it, but they sent a couple of

  vests—good ones—over to the newspaper office to

  show them. They’re slick. Garnett thinks Jefferies was

  planning a run for governor and maybe from there to

  senator, and we were just a stepping-stone.’’ ‘‘What do you think?’’ asked Diane.

  ‘‘I agree. We were just a stepping-stone.’’ ‘‘You said Garnett stayed to help. With what ex

  actly?’’ asked Diane.

  ‘‘Peeks likes to replace people. You know that; you

  were one of them he replaced. But you at least had

  another job. He was getting rid of people who didn’t

  have a fallback position. People with families, people

  with a pension coming. Garnett fought for them. He

  got Colin Prehoda involved. Put a stop to a lot of it.

  Prehoda drove them crazy too. They hated not getting