One Grave Too Many (46 page)

Diane had laid out all the findings briefly and clearly, as if she were giving a report. When she finished she heard a low groan on the other end that turned into a deep wail. She understood. She had taken away all his hope. She wanted to cry with him.

When he came back on the line, his voice was calm and emotionless. “You have described my son completely. Tell me where you are. I have X rays, dental records.”

Diane didn’t tell him the skull was missing. She thought it would sound too gruesome over the phone. She gave him her address.

“How did he die?” he asked.

“I haven’t been able to establish the cause of death. The severe injury to the shoulder could be the cause, but there is no way to tell. Nor can I say for certain the manner of death.”

“But it looks like murder to me. Is the sheriff looking for the killer?”

“First the remains had to be identified. We hope that will lead to the story of what happened, and that will lead to the killer, if it was murder.”

“You seem to be skirting around the issues.”

“No. I’m simply not going beyond what I know.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. You’ve obviously gone to great lengths to find out where the remains of my son belong, and I thank you. I’ll be leaving as soon as I can make arrangements.”

Diane gave him the name of the sheriff and his phone number.

Linc came in and looked at her chart. “You’re up and working. I thought I was a workaholic. How are you feeling?”

“Much better. I slept for a long time.”

“Good. Get back into bed and let me see if there’s any swelling. Your chart looks good. Any pain?”

“No. Just soreness.”

“I think you’ll have that a while.”

Diane got back into bed, and Linc felt for any swelling of her organs.

“So far, so good.” He listened to her heart and her lungs. “You’re doing better than I thought, with all the coming and going you’ve been doing.”

“How’s Frank?”

“He’s doing well. I’m pleased. Looks like the two of you will pull through.”

“I suppose you and Henry are anxious to go home.”

Frank laughed from the doorway. “Half the nurses think he’s a new doctor here.” Frank came in and took a seat beside Diane’s bed. “How’s she doing?”

“I think you can stop worrying, at least about this current episode.”

“I’ve put you through more than you bargained for,” Diane told Linc.

“It’s been good for me. I’ve enjoyed visiting with Frank. I’ve gotten to spend some time with Kevin. I just wish it were under better circumstances.”

“You look good,” Diane told Frank. “Your color’s back.” She gave his cheek a gentle pinch. “You growing a beard, or going for the rugged look?”

“I’m feeling better every day. I think they’ll let me go home in a few days.”

Diane looked up at Linc. “Can I go home?”

“You think one night’s rest does the trick? You can go home if you only go home and not to the museum. Will you do that?” Diane stared at him, and he shook his head. “You know, I can see it in your eyes. You have no intention of staying home.”

“I’ve identified him,” she said.

“Who?” Linc hesitated a moment. “The remains? You know who he is?” He pulled up a chair. “How? When?”

“Just now.”

“You figured it out from your hospital bed?” Frank grasped her hand and held it tight. It felt good that his grip was strong again.

“Actually, from that chair over there. I searched the Internet for missing persons.”

“Good idea. What made you think of that?” said Linc.

“Lying here with nothing to do but think. I have to look at the X rays, but he fits everything—he’s a hockey player, had all the symptoms we saw in the bones. He even dabbled in archaeology.”

“I don’t remember that,” said Linc. “How did that show up in his bones?”

Diane told him about the arrowhead with a site number on it. “I called the father and he’s flying down from Washington State with X rays. He’s coming to the museum. Can I go, huh, can I?”

“You’re really impossible. You think you can stay out of trouble?”

“Sure. We’re sliding home now. If we can solve this, things can get back to what passes for normal.”

“All right. But listen to me. No running, jumping, lifting, getting into fights, no late hours. I want you in bed, asleep, early at night and set up regular appointments with your doctor for a few weeks. We have to watch for any internal bleeding.”

“I can do all that.”

“I’ll see to your release. Don’t make me regret it.” Linc left the room, and Diane turned her attention to Frank.

“I was thinking, when you’re ready to go home, why don’t you stay at my place a few days? We can take it easy together.”

“Or you can stay at my house. I’m not sure I want to stay across from the Odells.”

“Linc told you about them?”

Frank laughed and held his chest. “God, it hurts to laugh. Yes. Strange people. Ben Florian, my partner, called. He apologized up and down for sending the information to the Rosewood police.”

“It’s all right now. I really think we’ve found the guy, and I think he’ll lead us to the murderer of your friends.”

Diane drove her car and parked in front of the museum. It looked like home. She was getting to love it more every day. Now that the problems with the Graysons were over, there’d be only the normal problems of museum life. Not that they couldn’t be difficult, but it wasn’t like dealing with snakes in the grass.
Snakes
. She wished she hadn’t thought of snakes.

Mike was there changing a flat tire on his SUV. He had the flat off and was about to put on the spare.

“Looks like I picked up a nail somewhere,” he said. “You look much better than the last time I saw you.”

“I’m doing good. Thanks for the information you gave me. It helped.” Diane looked at the brake disc exposed by the missing tire and rim. Her gaze shifted over his heavy SUV and back down at the disc. “That’s a heavy vehicle.”

“Yes. It is.”

“If the brake disc fell on you, it would do some damage, especially if you were on a hard surface.”

He looked up at her. “Is that a threat?”

Diane looked at his puzzled face and realized she was thinking out loud and he had no idea what was running through her mind. She had to laugh.

She squatted down beside him and put a hand on the disc. “This is what caused the damage.”

“My Explorer? What damage?”

“No. Not yours, but one like it.” Diane was thinking about the damage to the shoulder girdle on the bones of the skeleton. “Before you put your tire on, will you make me a cast of the bottom part of the brake disc?”

“Sure. I can do that. It’s a little weird, but that’s what I’ve come to expect.”

“There should be some quick-drying stuff in the museum.”

“I’ve got some in the geology lab. I’ll get right on it.”

They walked into the museum together. Diane went to her office, Mike to the second floor.

“Diane, you look great!” Andie gave her a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Just have to take it easy.”

“Anything you need, just ask. By the way, Donald was very relieved when he discovered your attack was about the bones. He thought it was Mark Grayson and the real estate business. He is really being nice. I hope it sticks.”

“It will for a while anyway.”

“I can’t believe what Signy Grayson tried to do to you. What if she’d gotten away with it?”

“She didn’t.”

Things seemed back to normal at the museum. It was a comfort. Andie and the staff had done a good job keeping up with things. She called Jonas’ office.

“Hi. We found the skull,” he said when he heard who it was. “I have it here. It had fallen through empty cavities in the pile, like you thought. The team is wrapping things up. Oh, and I got the correct site number.”

“I’ll be right up.”

The skull was resting on a doughnut ring on Jonas’ desk. The mandible was beside it. Diane picked it up. It was a typical male skull: prominent brow ridges, large nuchal crest at the back of the head to hold the heavier male neck muscles, large mastoid process, square jaw. Not that females couldn’t have these characteristics; they sometimes do, and some male skulls downplay the characteristics most often consistent with maleness. The skull also had typical Caucasoid characteristics. It was nice when everything fit.

However, the feature that was the most prominent was the angle shaped compression fracture on the frontal bone over the right orbit and another similer fracture higher up on the parietal. She now had the cause and manner of death: blunt force trauma to the head—murder.

She told Jonas who he was.

“I’ll be damned. Good girl. You can turn everything over to the sheriff now and be done with this. No one will have a reason to be after you.”

When he said that, Diane realized she wanted to finish it. She wanted to be sure the person was caught. “Where was the site?” she asked.

“The site was in Massachusetts, like the nineteen indicated, near the border with New York. It was excavated about twenty years ago by the archaeology department at Harvard.”

“Twenty? That long. So it might not have been associated with Aidan Kavanagh at all?”

“Twenty years doesn’t change anything. It was probably stored in the department, and he could have somehow gotten his hands on it.”

“He dabbled in archaeology.”

“So that fits.”

“Yes, it does. He later switched over to the Harvard Business School.” Diane was struck by a sudden insight. “Oh, my God,” she said. “That’s not possible.”

“What?” Jonas looked at her with concern. “Sit down, you look pale.”

“Jake’s son, Dylan Houser, also went to Harvard Business School around the same time.”

She picked up the phone book and looked up the number for the city jail. She dialed and asked for Star Boone, telling them it was an emergency. She knew that would scare Star to death, but if she was right, she wanted to act quickly. It took about ten minutes, but Star came on the line.

“Is Uncle Frank all right?”

“Yes, he is, Star. This is Diane Fallon. He’s fine. I’m sorry to have frightened you. I have an important question I need to ask you. It’s important,” she said again. “Did Jay know Dylan Houser?”

“Sure. They went hunting and fishing together with Dad and Mr. Houser. Jay idolized him.”

“What did you think of him?”

“I thought he was an arrogant prick. Mom and Dad thought he hung the moon. What’s this about?”

“Right now it’s confidential, so don’t tell anyone about this conversation. I mean it.”

“OK. I can keep a secret. You don’t think . . .”

“Don’t think about what I just asked. Forget about it. OK?”

“You’ll tell me later?”

“Sure. I’ll tell you everything later. I talked to Frank this morning. He’s up and around and looking really good.”

“When they called me to the phone and said it was an emergency, I was afraid . . .”

“I know. It is an emergency, just not with Frank. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“They told me you were in the hospital too.”

“You have a pretty good grapevine going there.”

“If it’s something that tortures me, they tell me about it. Actually, Mrs. Torres told me about you. She said her son found you in the lake and you were OK.”

“I was in the hospital, but I’m fine now.”

“Is everything going to be all right?”

“Yes, Star, it is. I don’t think you’ll be there much longer.”

Diane got off the phone just as Jonas was opening the door for Mike Seger. He had a semicircular cast in his hand. “OK, you going to tell me what I’m doing with this?”

Diane took the cast from him. “This is great. Thanks. Now, would you mind getting your tire iron for me and meet us in the conservation lab vault?”

Mike looked at Jonas, who shrugged at him.

“Sure. Be right back. I have to say, you’re the most unusual boss I’ve ever had.”

“Why, thank you, Mike.” She smiled at him.

Mike went on his errand. Diane and Jonas went to the conservation lab, carrying the skull and the cast.

“You found the skull,” said Annie. Several of Korey’s staff followed her and Jonas into the vault.

She opened the double boxes and took out the right scapula, the one with the damage, and aligned the cast of the brake disc with the straight indentation in the crushed bone.

“Not an exact match, but close—it’s a good possibility.”

Mike came in with the tire iron and laid it on the table. “So that’s why you wanted the cast. You think a jack slipped.”

“He’d have to slip too,” said Diane. “And somehow end up with his right shoulder under the disc.”

“That hurts just thinking about it,” said Mike, rubbing his own shoulder.

Diane set the scapula down and gently picked up the skull and tire iron, fitting the curved heavier end into the compression fracture. It was a good fit.