Bones to Ashes Part 11

By three, Grissom's "victim" lay fully exposed. The snout was broad, the cranium rugged. Caudal vertebrae snaked between hind legs seemingly too short for the torso.

"Long tail."

"Some kind of pit bull mix."

"Maybe shepherd."

The testosterone set seemed inordinately interested in the dog's heritage. I couldn't have cared less. I was sweaty, itchy, and desperate to shed my Tyvek coveralls. Designed to protect wearers from blood, chemicals, and toxic liquids, the things reduced air circulation and were hotter than h.e.l.l.

"Whatever his breed, the guy was a player." Pasteur held up the ziplock containing the dog's p.e.n.i.s bone. Chenevier raised a palm. Pasteur high-fived it.

Already the jokes had begun. I was glad I hadn't told them that the os baculum is sometimes called a hillbilly toothpick. Or that best in show goes to the walrus, whose males occasionally reach thirty inches. It was going to be bad enough as it was.

During graduate school a fellow student had studied the os baculum of rhesus monkeys. Her name was Jeannie. Now professors and respected researchers, my old cla.s.smates still tease her about "Jeannie's penies."

By two the dog's bones had been packaged and placed in the coroner van. Probably unnecessary, but better to err on the side of caution.

By six Ryan and I had taken the entire ten-foot square down twenty-four inches. Nothing had turned up in the pit or the screen. Chenevier had resurveyed the barn and surrounding field, and found no indications of additional subsurface disturbance.

Hippo approached as I was peeling off my coveralls.

"Sorry to drag you out here for nothing."

"It's the job, Hippo." I was ecstatic to be out of the Tyvek. And relieved that we hadn't unearthed Kelly Sicard.

"How long since Old Yeller strutted his stuff?"

"The bones are fleshless, odorless, and uniformly soil-stained. The only insect inclusions I found were dried puparial casings. Buried at that depth, inside the barn, I'd estimate the dog's been dead at least two years. But my gut feeling says more."

"Ten years?"

"Possibly."

"Could have belonged to Grissom. Or Beaumont."

Or Celine Dion, I thought.

Hippo looked off into the distance. Grime coated his lenses, making it hard to read the expression behind them. I suspected he was scripting a chitchat with his erstwhile informant.

"You want to hang around a few, I'll give you a lift."

I looked over at Ryan. He was talking on a cell phone. Behind him, heat shimmered mirage-like above the blacktop and the vehicles parked along it.

Catching Ryan's eye, I gestured that I'd ride with Hippo. He flicked a wave, continued his conversation.

"Sure," I said.

"I'll fill you in on Luc Tiquet."

I stared at Hippo.

"Surete du Quebec, Rimouski? My buddy Gaston's bones?"

"What's his story?"

"I'll tell you in the car."

Climbing into the Impala was like climbing into a pottery kiln.

As Hippo turned onto the highway, I maxed the AC and held a hand to the vent. Hot air blasted my fingers.

"L'air conditionne est brise."

On Hippo's tongue the word for broken came out "breezy." Hardly.

Static erupted from the radio. I peeled damp hair from my neck as I waited it out.

"Have you checked the coolant?"

"Pain in the a.s.s." Hippo waved dismissively. "Heat won't last. Never does."

I bit back a comment. Useless. Coolant was probably a mystery to Hippo's mind.

When I lowered my window, the smell of fertilizer and fresh-mown fields flooded the car.

I slumped back, shot forward as scorching vinyl contacted bare skin. Crossing my arms, I eased into the seat, closed my eyes, and let the wind whip my hair.

I knew from past experience that riding with Hippo was like riding "El Torro" at the Rodeo Bar. I gripped the armrest as we hurtled through the countryside at neck-snapping speed, Hippo's boot slamming gas pedal then brake.

"This Tiquet's not a bad guy."

I opened my eyes. We were looping onto the fifteen. "What did he tell you?"

"Says he got a call reporting a disturbance at a quarry maybe five, six years back. Busted a couple kids for trespa.s.s and destruction of property. Geeks claimed to be spray-paint artists creating timeless works of beauty."

I braced against the dash as Hippo swerved around a pickup. The driver gave him the finger. Hippo's expression suggested a rejoinder in the making.

"The skeleton?" I brought Hippo back on point.

"Turned up in the trunk when Tiquet tossed their car."

"Where was this quarry?"

"Somewhere near the QuebecNew Brunswick border. Tiquet's vague on that."

"Did he remember the kids' names?"

"No, but he pulled the file. I've got them written down."

"Fair enough. He got the skeleton in a bust. But why did he keep it?"

"Says he contacted the coroner."

"Bradette?"

"That's the guy. Bradette dropped in, took a look, told him he should call an archaeologist. Tiquet didn't exactly have one in his Rolodex."

"And he never got around to looking one up."

"Bingo."

A pothole launched us both toward the ceiling.

"Moses! Sorry." Sorry."

"What explanation did these kids give?"

"Claimed they bought the bones from a p.a.w.nshop operator. Planned to do some sort of spray-painted sculpture with them."

"Nice. Where did the p.a.w.nbroker get them?"

"Tiquet didn't know."

"Where was the p.a.w.n guy from?"

"Miramichi."

I turned and looked out the window. We were back in the city now, and exhaust fumes had replaced the smell of turned earth. An auto body shop flashed by. A seedy strip center. A Petro-Canada station.

"Where is Miramichi?"

"New Brunswick."

"It's a big province, Hippo."

Hippo's brow furrowed. "Good point, doc. Miramichi's a city of eighteen, maybe twenty thousand. But the name also refers to the river and the region in general."

"But where is it?"

"Northumberland County."

Fighting back an eye roll, I wiggled my fingers in a "give me more" gesture.

"Northeast coast of New Brunswick."

"Acadia?"

"Deep in the heart."

I listened to blacktop whump under our tires. Beyond the windshield, a layer of smog was buffing up the sunset, bathing the city in a soft, golden glow.

Miramichi. I'd heard of the place. In what context?

Suddenly, I remembered.

11.

T HE SUMMER HE SUMMER I I WAS TEN AND WAS TEN AND E EVANGELINE WAS TWELVE, SHE SHE described an event that had occurred the previous December. The incident had so troubled her, she'd been unable to write of it in her letters. described an event that had occurred the previous December. The incident had so troubled her, she'd been unable to write of it in her letters.

Entrusting Obeline to a neighbor, Evangeline's mother had driven to a nearby town for groceries. That was unusual, since Laurette habitually shopped in Tracadie. Leaving the market, she'd directed her daughter to return to their old Ford and wait for her.

Curious, Evangeline had watched her mother round the corner, then followed. Laurette entered a p.a.w.nshop. Through the window, Evangeline saw her in animated conversation with a man. Frightened, Evangeline had hurried back to the car.

Laurette owned a single piece of jewelry, a sapphire ring with tiny white diamonds. Though unaware of its history, Evangeline was certain the ring never left her mother's finger. When Laurette slid behind the wheel that day, the ring was gone. Evangeline never saw it again.

Our childish imaginations conjured stories of heartbreak and lost love. A handsome fiance killed in the war. A Montague-Capulet feud, Acadian style. We wrote verse rhyming the name of the town. Peachy. Beachy. Lychee.

That's how I remembered.

Evangeline and her mother had gone to Miramichi.

Did Hippo's girl come from Miramichi?

"How far is Miramichi from Tracadie?" More crazy possibilities swept through my mind.

"'Bout fifty miles."

Impossible. There was no reason to think Evangeline was not alive.

"Straight down Highway 11."

Yet? Ask Hippo to run a missing persons check? Not realistic. She could have taken another name, now be living elsewhere.

Drawing a deep breath, I told Hippo the story of Evangeline Landry. When I finished, he was mute for so long I thought his attention had wandered. It hadn't.

"You really believe something happened to this kid?"

That question had tortured me over the years. Had Oncle Fidele and Tante Euphemie, tired of nurturing their two young nieces, simply sent them home? Or had it been the other way around? Had Evangeline grown bored with the Lowcountry? With my friendship? Had my summer soul mate merely outgrown me? I didn't believe it. She would have told me she was leaving. Why Tante Euphemie's remark about danger?