One Grave Too Many Part 11

"Mapping it? Why?"

Diane shrugged. "It hadn't been mapped."

"So that's what you do for fun?"

She leaned forward with her elbows on the desk. "It's very relaxing. Caves are beautiful. The line from Frost's poem-'lovely, dark and deep'-fits caves better than woods. It's like being in the center of a velvet black universe-often as silent as the vacuum of s.p.a.ce must be."

"You say it like that's a good thing."

Diane laughed at him standing there with that curious look on his face. "It's a very good thing."

Frank picked up a geode paperweight sitting on her dark walnut desk and turned it over in his hand. "We need to get reacquainted. We hardly knew each other before."

"It seems there's a lot we don't know about each other."

Diane's private line rang and she picked it up, still holding his gaze in hers.

"Diane, how about letting Dylan Houser come down and make an a.s.sessment of your interactive computing needs."

Diane hesitated a moment, pulled her attention away from Frank and focused on the caller. "Ken, hi. How are you? You don't waste time, do you?"

"This isn't a business where you can waste time-not like real estate, apparently." He laughed so loud Diane had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"What's up with Mark anyway?" asked Diane.

"d.a.m.ned if I know. Makes no sense to me, unless he's got his money tied up in it somehow and needs the deal to cover his losses or something. I can't believe he'd put us through all this trouble for commission. How about Dylan? It was his idea. I think his girlfriend wants to work there. He's a smart kid. Already figured out how much money I can make if he talks you into it."

"His father, Jake, is one of our evening security guards. Sure, why not make it a family affair? It won't hurt to see what he comes up with."

"Good. I'll tell him. If I figure out what Grayson's up to, I'll let you know." He hung up. Ken rarely cluttered up his conversations with h.e.l.los and good-byes.

As she placed the phone back in its docking station, her gaze shifted to the envelope on the desk. "Is that the crime scene information?"

"Yes."

Diane regarded the yellow-brown envelope for a moment before she reached for it. She held it tentatively, like it might morph into a snake if she moved too quickly. She knew the envelope held the photographs of a mother, father and their son-dead. Not peacefully asleep, like some people describe the dead, but lifeless, possibly covered in blood, probably limbs lying at odd angles where they fell, stilled when their efforts to defend themselves failed.

Opening the envelope would be opening a door she thought she'd closed and locked for good.

Chapter 11

Diane stared at the envelope.

"Are you all right?" Frank asked after a moment.

"What?" Diane looked from the envelope to Frank as if she had forgotten he was there. "Yes. I was just thinking." She s.n.a.t.c.hed up the envelope, opened it and pulled out the crime scene photos.

Frank dropped into the chair, loosened his tie and leaned forward.

"Have you seen them?" she asked.

"Yes."

"It's hard looking at people you know, murdered. How did you come by the photos? Who called you to the crime scene?"

"A uniform cop friend with the department. Izzy Wallace. He doesn't like the new guys any better than I do. He got them for me. George was his friend too."

"Another poker buddy?"

"Yes. And we all belong to the same hunting club."

Diane grimaced. "Do you know the time of death?"

"Just generally-the coroner thinks somewhere between two and four in the morning. They'll know more after the autopsies."

"Can you get the autopsy reports?"

"Yeah, Izzy can get them."

"Tell me, why do they suspect the daughter? Do they have more evidence than that she may have been a drug user and may have had access to the gun?"

Frank bowed his head a moment, and Diane looked up from the photograph.

"They caught her trying to sell a coin collection. It's one George inherited from his father-very valuable."

"How do the detectives know the collection was in the house at the time the Boones were killed?"

Frank looked like he had just tasted something bitter. "George's mother and stepfather, Crystal and Gilroy McFarland, said they were."

"You don't believe them? They wouldn't deliberately incriminate their granddaughter?"

"You've got to know Crystal. She was a piece of work, even when George and I were kids. Not what you'd call the nurturing type. Nothing like Louise." He paused a moment and glanced down at the spread of photos lying on the desk in front of Diane. "Crystal didn't call Star or Jay her grandchildren. They were adopted, and that didn't count with her."

Diane clenched her teeth and began examining the first photo. Fourteen-year-old Jay lay crumpled on the ground near a large oak tree. He was on his stomach, one arm under his body, the other at his side and bent at the elbow. One leg was straight; the other was bent at the knee. He was wearing a light blue jacket, jeans, and white Nike running shoes. A close-up of his back showed the bullet hole in the jacket and just a small amount of blood. Possibly small-caliber gun, Possibly small-caliber gun, she thought. she thought. Just a kid Just a kid. She shivered. Even with her experience excavating ma.s.sacres, it still astonished her that the architects of such atrocities included children in their plans.

"What does Detective Warrick think happened?" Diane asked.

"That Star and maybe her boyfriend came into the house while the parents were sleeping and shot them, stole the coins and jewelry, and on their way out they ran into Jay coming home and shot him. I need to mention that Jay and Star are natural siblings. George and Louise adopted them together when Jay was two and Star was four. She wouldn't have killed her little brother."

"But her boyfriend might?"

Frank shrugged. "I don't know her boyfriend."

"They haven't found him?"

"No."

"You said she was trying to sell the coins. What about the jewelry?"

"Warrick believes they either stashed it somewhere or the boyfriend still has it."

Diane looked at the photograph again. "Why does Detective Warrick think the parents were killed first?"

"Looks as if they were asleep in their beds." He gestured to a photograph half exposed under the stack. "If Jay was killed first, they'd have heard the shot. Neither were heavy sleepers, and George was not shy with a gun."

"What was Jay doing out so late?"

"That I don't know. It wouldn't have been like him."

"Can you find out from his friends?"

"Maybe."

Diane picked up the photographs, stacked and fanned them. "Are there any more of Jay?"

"That's all Izzy gave me. You need something else?"

"The tree."

"The tree?"

"There might be spattering on the tree. I'd like to see it."

Through the door that joined Diane's office to Andie's came the sound of Andie's voice. She was talking with Korey.

"So you didn't order all this stuff?" Andie was asking.

"No. You think I was expecting a run on ammonium citrate?" Korey answered.

"Just a minute," said Diane. She rose from her desk and opened the adjoining door.

"Dr. Fallon," said Andie. "Korey says-"

"I know. We've had some other orders duplicated, too. Did you bring the paperwork, Korey?"

He handed her a folder. "Like you said, I'm sending the chemicals back. We can keep some of the other supplies. Have you had a chance to look at my proposal?"

"Not yet. But I'm sure I'll like it. You already have Miss Stewart interested in the workshop. And thanks for taking care of her and Mrs. Grayson."

"No problem. Always glad to tell people what I do. I was wondering, Dr. Fallon, a couple of my a.s.sistants and I would like to work late some evenings on the stuff from the bas.e.m.e.nt. It's like an ancient treasure trove down there. Just yesterday we found a box of Merycodus mandibles."

"What's that?" Andie asked.

"A Pliocene antilocaprid," said Korey, grinning.

"Oo-kay," said Andie.

"Artiodactyl," continued Korey.

"Small fossil deer," supplied Diane.

"I knew that," said Andie.

"I won't say no to such dedication," Diane told Korey.

"I'll see about finding you some more help. I think I'll have an intern or apprentice from the tech school within the month. That'll involve you teaching a course once a week for the school."

"I can do that. In fact, that might work out. Don't a lot of people at the tech school have day jobs? Some of them would be perfect for an evening shift here."

"I'll let you know when I've worked out the details," Diane said.

Korey left, happily mumbling to himself about his timetable.

"I wish all my staff were so happy in their work." Diane turned to Andie. "Check with the other departments and see if they've been receiving unusual amounts of supplies or double orders."

"Sure. What's this about?"

"I don't know yet. Let me know if you find any. I'm meeting with Frank. Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency." Diane closed the door, sat down and lay Korey's folder on the stack of eight-by-tens.

"I really appreciate this, Diane. I know you're busy," Frank said.

She pointed to Korey's folder. "Someone's been placing orders for exhibits and supplies we already have. It's like some childish prank, except for the amounts of money involved. Almost a hundred and fifty thousand dollars on one order." She opened the folder Korey had given her. Copies of orders for excessive amounts of supplies for his lab were there-with her signature. "The strange thing is, I appear to have signed all the orders. At least, it looks like my signature."

"But you didn't?"

"Not unless I did it in my sleep. Besides, I wouldn't have signed these order forms, anyway. The department heads would have. It's hard for me to imagine anyone here forging my name. Doesn't that take a certain amount of skill? And whoever's doing it doesn't seem to have been ordering anything out of the ordinary for themselves. It's just the things we normally order, only in huge quant.i.ties. The purpose seems to be to annoy-or to make me look incompetent."

"Maybe I can help. Can I see the papers?"

Diane handed him Korey's folder, along with hers containing the duplicate orders she'd discovered. "I received a call from a supplier verifying the order for dinosaur casts. That's how I first found out about it."

Frank took the folders and opened the one on top. "Do you have copies of the original orders?"

"You think you can find out who's doing this?"

"Maybe."

Diane buzzed Andie and asked her to bring the paperwork on the particular museum exhibits she'd ordered months ago.

"Hey, Frank," said Andie, handing Diane the file. "I was sorry to hear about what happened to your friends. I don't imagine you'll be coming to the karaoke bar this Friday. We'll miss you."