by D P Lyle
*
The lunchtime crush at Mama Rose’s was larger than usual, but Sam, Alyss, and Shelby managed to get a table in the back corner. Apparently, Mama Rose had whipped up a pot of her famous chicken and andouille gumbo, which she rarely made, and the word had gotten out. Sam looked up as Edgar and Martha Locke came through the front door. Martha held Edgar’s arm, offering support, while they scanned the room for an empty table.
Sam waved them over. “Come on. We have plenty of room.”
Edgar shuffled toward them, held a chair for Martha, and after she sat, took the seat next to her. “Thank you. You’re very kind to share your table with us.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” Sam said.
“Edgar never misses Mama Rose’s Gumbo,” Martha said. “She always calls whenever she makes it.”
By the time they each finished a bowl of the rich, spicy soup, the crowd had thinned considerably. Jared brought apple pie and refilled their coffee cups.
“Where’s Don?” Sam asked.
“Cat duty,” he laughed. “One of the advantages of being on Mama Rose’s shit list, is that she only lets Don take Precious to the vet.”
“That’s because he’s nice to her.” Mama Rose peered through the window from the kitchen.
The front door swung open and Don walked in, Precious cradled in one arm.
“Speak of the devil,” Jared said.
“Who me?” Don asked.
“No. The cat.”
Mama Rose flew out of the kitchen. Don handed off Precious and she scratched and cuddled the cat, scowling at Jared. “What did Dr. Proctor say?” she asked Don.
“She’s healthy as horse.”
“Good. That’s better than some little smart ass is going to be if he don’t watch out.”
Jared looked at her. “I love cats,” he said. “They taste like chicken.”
Mama Rose glared at him. “Come on, Precious,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs and get you some food.” She headed toward the stairs near the back of the restaurant that led to their second floor apartment.
Don poured himself a cup of coffee and pulled up a chair. “Dr. Locke, I’m glad you’re here. Something strange happened that I’d bet you’d be interested in.”
Edgar perked up. “Really?”
“Over at Proctor’s Clinic. The MacCorkell twins brought in some bones they had dug up. Will couldn’t figure out what they were. Said they looked like bones from a giant rabbit or something.”
“A giant rabbit?” Shelby said. “Cool.”
“Will wasn’t sure what they were,” Don continued. “He had a book out and was looking up stuff. Said they sure looked like rabbit bones, but were too big or too thick or something.”
The right half of Edgar’s forehead furrowed. “Where did the boys find them?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t say.”
“Hmmm,” Edgar said.
Sam sensed his growing concern. “What is it?”
“Maybe nothing,” Edgar said, looking at his wife. “But, I’d like to see them.”
Martha smiled patiently. “Of course you would, dear.” She looked at Sam. “I must apologize for my husband. He’s always sticking his nose in other people’s business. The curse of an inquisitive mind, I guess.”
Sam glanced at Alyss. “See, I’m not the only one.”
“Are you the curious type, Sam?” Martha asked.
“More the meddling type,” Alyss interjected.
“Funny,” Sam said.
“Edgar’s always been that way,” Martha said. “Even his stroke didn’t slow him down. Of course, he’s no longer doing research, but he’s reading or writing or surfing the net all the time.”
“Well,” Sam said. “I’d like to see these mysterious bones, too.” She smiled at Edgar.
“Me, too,” Shelby chimed in, looking anxiously at her mother.
Alyss shrugged. “Why not?”
Chapter 37
Fifteen minutes later, Sam, Edgar, Alyss, Shelby, and Martha stood by a table littered with bones. Will Proctor held up one of them for everyone to see.
“This is a rabbit femur. The upper leg bone.” He handed it to Edgar, who examined it closely. “However, it’s too long for any species we have around here. I guess it could be someone’s exotic pet, but I’d have to do more research to assure myself of that.”
Edgar Locke picked up a bone that had been snapped in half and peered into the empty marrow cavity.
“Leave to you to get right to the heart of the matter,” Will said.
Edgar shrugged. “I don’t know much about rabbits, but judging from the length of this one, it looks to me as if the cortical bone is thickened.”
“Exactly,” Will said. “This bunny ate his Cheerios and drank his milk.”
Shelby laughed.
Edgar shuffled through the bones, and then picked up the skull and turned it over, scanning its base. Again, half his forehead furrowed with concern. “The sphenoid and the entire floor of the skull seem thickened, too. And the parietal and orbital areas. Do rabbits get pituitary tumors?”
“That’s a good thought,” Will said. “That might explain a lot of this.”
“Will you guys speak English?” Sam asked.
Will laughed. “The pituitary is the master gland. It hangs off the bottom of the brain and sits here in this bony depression called the sella turcica.” He pointed to a fingertip-sized concavity in the skull’s base. “It produces a handful of hormones that stimulate or control most of the other hormone secreting glands in the body. The thyroid, the adrenals, the reproductive tissues. Some tumors of the pituitary cause it to overproduce certain hormones, particularly growth hormone. You’ve heard of giants, acromegalics?”
“We studied something about that in school,” Shelby said.
“If the tumor produces too much growth hormone, the bones thicken, muscles bulk up, things like that.”
“Like André The Giant? The wrestler?” Shelby asked.
“Exactly,” Will said. “He was big and tall and had a thick jaw, big hands, and a deep voice. That’s what too much growth hormone does.”
Edgar spent 15 minutes carefully studying the bones. When he replaced the last one on the table, he said, “Where’d the boys find these?”
“They said near Silver Creek,” Will said.
“On Burt Eagan’s property?” Edgar asked.
“They didn’t say.”
*
Sam and Edgar walked up the sidewalk to the MacCorkell’s house. Everyone else waited in the Jeep so the entourage wouldn’t frighten the boys or their parents. The house was a modest white, wood frame structure with a cleanly landscaped yard. Two steps led to a small porch. The front door stood open behind a screen door.
Jane MacCorkell answered Sam’s knock. An attractive woman with wavy brown hair, she wore an apron and dried her hands on a dishtowel as she approached. “Can I help you?”
“Mrs. MacCorkell, I’m Sam Cody. A friend of Alyss Cameron’s. And this is....”
“Why yes, I know Dr, Locke. Please come in.” She pushed open the screen door and stepped back, allowing them to enter. “I’m Jane.”
“We hate to bother you, but we need to ask your sons a couple of questions,” Sam said.
Concern creased her face as she looked from Sam to Edgar and back again. “What’s this about?”
“Your sons found some animal bones today,” Sam said. “Took them over to Dr. Proctor.”
She shook her head. “They’re always digging up stuff.”
“Well, this time they uncovered something very unusual,” Edgar said.
“What?”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine.” The functional half of Edgar’s face smiled.
Jane wound the dishtowel into a knot. Sam could see the lines of concern on her face deepen.
“It’s nothing serious,” Sam said. “They didn’t do anything wrong. We simply want to know where they found the bones so we can see if there are any others
. Maybe solve this mystery.”
Jane gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I never know what mischief those two are going to get into next.”
Jane led them to the kitchen. A chopping block near one wall was topped with a pile of fresh peaches. A large copper pot simmered on the stove.
“I’m making jam,” Jane said.
“Smells wonderful,” Edgar said.
Jane looked out the kitchen window. “Jeremy. Jonathon. Come in here for a minute.”
Two redheaded, freckle-faced boys clamored through the door into the kitchen. Dirt spotted their faces and the knees of their jeans. They stopped when they saw Sam and Edgar.
“Boys, this is Sam and Dr. Locke. They need to ask you some questions.” She eyed her sons. “About some bones.”
Their eyes widened. They mirrored each other’s movements, hands jammed into their pockets, rocking onto the sides of their shoes, staring down at the floor as if this would make Sam and Edgar disappear. Sam knew instantly that wherever they had found the bones, it was someplace they weren’t supposed to be.
Sam smiled. “I saw the bones you guys found. Good work.”
Now, both looked up at her and smiled, their eyes alive.
“Yeah. They’re cool aren’t they?” Jonathon said.
“Did Dr. Proctor figure out what they were?” Jeremy asked.
Sam pulled a chair away from the dining table and sat, so that she was on their level. “Not yet. That’s why we’re here. We need your help.”
“Sure,” they said at the same time.
“We’d like to see if there are anymore. Where did you find them?”
Their smiles evaporated. They looked at each other and then back at their shoes.
“I don’t remember,” Jeremy said.
“Me neither,” Jonathon agreed.
Sam lowered her head to capture their downward gaze. They looked at her, and then at their mother.
“I don’t know,” Jeremy said.
“It’s important,” Sam said.
“Over by Silver Creek,” Jeremy mumbled, too soft for Sam to hear clearly.
“Where?”
“By Silver Creek,” he repeated.
Edgar bent down toward the boys. “Where exactly?”
“Down behind that lab,” Jonathon said.
“Burt Eagan’s lab?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “They were buried under a shrub.”
“What?” Jane said. “When were you over there?”
“This morning,” Jeremy mumbled at the floor.
“You know you’re not allowed on his property,” Jane said. “And that lab must be two miles from here.”
They hung their heads, their eyes glistening slightly.
“How’d you find them?” Sam said.
Jonathon wiped a tear from one eye. “Oscar.”
Sam gave him a quizzical look.
“Our dog,” Jane said. “He’s about as poorly behaved as these two.” She frowned at her sons.
“It was Jeremy’s idea,” Jonathon said.
“It wasn’t either,” Jeremy said, hitting his brother on the arm.
“Stop it,” Jane said. “Or I’ll whack both of you.”
Sam suppressed a smile. So much for not getting them in trouble. “Why’d you go there?”
“Just because,” Jonathon said.
“’Cause the other guys are scared to go there,” Jeremy said, his chest puffed out proudly.
Sam smiled. “So now you can brag to the other boys that you guys weren’t chicken.”
“Yeah,” they answered together.
Jane, arms crossed over her chest, shook her head and sighed.
“You didn’t go into the lab, did you?” Sam asked.
“No way,” they said in chorus.
“It’s too creepy,” Jeremy added.
*
Still feeling guilty about the newly grounded MacCorkell twins, Sam drove the Locke’s back to their car, which they had parked along Main Street. In the rearview mirror, she watched the worry in Edgar’s face grow by the minute. After pulling to the curb behind their car, she stepped out and held the door as Edgar and Martha got out.
Martha thanked them and got into their car; Edgar hesitated.
‘What is it?” Sam asked.
“Something’s wrong. Dreadfully wrong, I fear.”
“The bones?
He sighed and nodded. His gaze turned to the east, toward Casa Grande. “I’d love to see the lab again. See what’s changed.”
“Burt won’t let you?” Sam said.
“Not if what I suspect is true.”
“What’s that?”
“I’d rather not say just yet. I need a little more information.”
Sam gently touched his arm. “You can trust me.”
Edgar smiled. “I know.”
“So?”
He hesitated as if considering what to say. Finally, he shook his head. “I fear Burt may have reopened the lab. Maybe doing animal studies.”
“And if so, these experiments would be illegal?”
“Very. But, as I said, I need more information to be sure.”
“And you think the lab might contain what you need?”
“Possibly.”
Sam looked toward the eastern peaks. “What if I can get inside? Take a look around. You could tell me what to search for.”
Edgar cocked his head slightly. The functional half of his brow wrinkled. “A little illegal, wouldn’t you say?”
Sam shrugged. “But, if I could get in, what would you like checked out?”
Chapter 38
The Friday night crowd at Mama Rose’s was unusually noisy. It was as if the tension and fear and sadness of the past several days demanded release. The patrons ate too much, drank too much, talked too loud, and laughed too hardily.
Sam sat at a corner table with Alyss, Burt, Hollis, and Niki. They exchanged small talk through their meal. Sam said little, while Burt dominated the conversation. He did so with amazing aplomb, telling this story or that anecdote, always making everyone feel as though they were part of his monologues. Even though Sam felt uncomfortable after their disagreement that morning, she acted as though she was swept up in Burt’s tales, listening attentively and laughing with everyone else.
She had to admit he was smooth. Maybe slick was a better word.
Niki appeared cool and distracted throughout the meal. She ate little, said little, laughed rarely, and more than once Sam felt her gaze. But, when Sam looked back at her, Niki would quickly look down at her plate and move her food around with her fork.
What is it, Niki? Do you want to tell me something?
Burt ordered a round of Cognac for everyone. As they savored it, he leaned toward Sam and spoke softly. “I never did thank you for your help this morning.”
Sam cast him a quizzical look. Her memory of the morning’s events was more confrontation than cooperation.
“You defused a volatile situation,” he continued. “That was a very brave. Going into the mine like that.”
“I’m just glad it worked out,” Sam said.
“Thanks to you, it did.” Burt smiled. “Now, maybe the town can put this behind them.”
“If a jury convicts him,” Sam said,
“They will. I’d say the evidence against Billy is pretty solid.”
You’d like that wouldn’t you, Burt?
Sam smiled. “You never can tell what a jury will do.”
Burt took a sip of his cognac. “Around here, the courts are fairly straight forward. Judge Rhinehart doesn’t put up with any defense tricks. He’s a by-the-book kind of guy.”
Don came from the kitchen and seeing them, walked over. Sam silently prayed he had forgotten about the rabbit bones.
“What did you guys find out about those bones?” he asked.
Burt looked up. “What bones?”
Don told about his trip to Proctor’s Clinic and the strange bones the MacCorkell twins had found. He lo
oked at Sam. “I bet Dr. Locke knew what they were.”
Sam felt heat rise in her face. Her tongue felt as if it were coated with paste. She took a sip of cognac.
Burt looked at her. “Edgar Locke? What’s this all about?”
Sam told of their visit with Will Proctor. “Dr. Locke was curious, so we took him over to Dr. Proctor’s office to see them.”
Burt’s brow furrowed slightly and he cast a glance at Hollis, and then said, “So, what were they?”
Sam shrugged. “Will Proctor felt they were from a rabbit. A large rabbit. Maybe with some kind of tumor or something.”
“Of the pituitary gland, I believe he said,” Alyss added.
“Interesting,” Burt said. “What about Edgar Locke? Did he agree with that?”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “Though he admitted he didn’t know much about rabbits.” Sam pushed a stray strand of hair from her face, parking it behind her ear.
Burt seemed to relax a bit. “What did you think of Dr. Locke?”
“He’s impressive,” Sam said.
“Yes, he is. And his stroke was a real blow. Not only to him and Martha personally but also to our research.”
“So the lab has been sitting idle all this time?” Sam asked.
Burt nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“Seems such a waste. Edgar said you and he had been doing some exciting research. I got the impression he misses it.”
“We all do. But, replacing Edgar Locke is no small feat.”
Hollis nodded in agreement. “He should have won that Nobel.”
Sam finished her Cognac. Burt motioned to Don to refill everyone’s glasses. Don made the round with the bottle, but when he came to Sam she waved him away with a smile.
“I think you said before that you didn’t use animals in your projects,” Sam said.
Burt shook his head. “No.”
“So that funny bunny wasn’t an escapee from your lab?”
Burt laughed. Nervous or genuine? Sam couldn’t decide. “No, he wasn’t ours. I’m sure Edgar Locke told you the same thing.”
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Niki stiffen slightly. “Actually, I didn’t ask him. I just now thought about it.”
“We didn’t get involved with animal studies,” Hollis said. “That would have gotten the FDA and the SPCA and God knows who else involved.”