Dead Guilty

rule, I don’t either. And that’s what is nag
ging at me. There doesn’t appear to be any logic to
the connections that Edwards, Mayberry and Waller
had with the hanging victims. We can’t figure out if it
means anything. But the odds seem so much against
pure coincidence.’’
‘‘Don’t think about it. Just let it relax in your brain
and the answer will come to you.’’
‘‘You’re right. I’ll just enjoy you and my wine.’’ Star came into the living room and sat cross-legged
in a chair opposite them.
‘‘I get to pick out the clothes, don’t I? I mean, I
know you’re paying for them and all.’’
‘‘You get to pick them out. Does this mean you are
going to give college a try?’’
‘‘Jennifer’s going to Bartram. Stephanie’s going to
the University of Georgia. If they can do it, I suppose
I can give it a try. It’s just a year, isn’t it? I can do
anything for a year—even prison time.’’ She settled
back in the chair. ‘‘I have a question.’’
‘‘What’s that?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘Is it a whole year, like, I mean, most schools let
out in the summer. Does a year mean I have to go to
summer school too?’’
‘‘Star,’’ began Frank. ‘‘It sounds like you’re trying
to figure out how to do as little as possible.’’ ‘‘No, I’m just trying to get the rules straight so I
know what I have to do.’’
‘‘One academic year. You don’t have to go to sum
mer school. But you do have to have a two point
seven GPA.’’
‘‘What if I work real hard and only have a two
point six?’’
‘‘That would be tragic,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Okay.’’ She unfolded herself and bounded out of
the room.
‘‘You know,’’ said Frank, ‘‘family life can be nice.’’ Diane nodded, but the talk of family life always
made her feel the sharp pain of Ariel’s absence.

Chapter 39
    Jin bopped into Diane’s crime lab office and slammed a folder down on her desk.
    ‘‘We did it, Boss. It’s in there.’’ He did a little dance and spun around.
‘‘You’re going to have to be a little more specific. We’ve got so many things working.’’
‘‘The hair. The hair. They matched the hair,’’ he sang.
‘‘The shed hair protocol worked?’’
‘‘GBI came through. They’re all very excited. It matched with the blood in your apartment perfectly— I’m talking nuclear DNA. This is exciting.’’
‘‘Jin, you’ve earned your pay. Would you like to take a copy of the report to Garnett?’’
Jin grinned. ‘‘Sure. I’d love showing him the kind of magic we can perform, and wipe some of those smirks off those guys downtown. Of course, most of them won’t even realize what a feat it was to get read able nuclear DNA from shed hair.’’
‘‘Do you get those smirks too? I thought it was just me,’’ said Diane.
‘‘No. We all get them. It’s especially bad for Neva, since she used to be down there. They see us as geeks, I guess. However, there’s more. The DNA was the cake, but I have some more evidence that lights the candles.’’
‘‘I see you’re on a roll. What’s the other evidence?’’
‘‘Cheap orange carpet fibers.’’
‘‘In Kacie’s apartment?’’
‘‘No. Yours. I went over before I came here and did a sweep of your apartment.’’ He stopped. ‘‘I hope you don’t mind.’’
‘‘No, of course not. I hope you vacuumed the whole place.’’
‘‘By the way, you have some strange neighbors across the hall.’’
‘‘Tell me about it. You don’t know how strange.’’
‘‘They asked me if I was moving in, did I have a cat. I told them no, that I was from the crime lab, and they asked me if I knew anything about the best fu neral homes. What’s that about?’’
‘‘It’s their hobby. They love funerals. They go to funerals for people they don’t even know.’’
Jin stood gawking at her. Apparently left speechless.
‘‘The landlady told me they had seven children,’’ said Diane. ‘‘All of whom died. They showed her pho tographs of their funerals.’’
‘‘Now, that’s downright scary. You live across the hall from those people?’’
‘‘Last year, when she thought I was harboring a cat her husband was allergic to, she lifted the landlady’s keys and snuck into my apartment. I came home and found someone hiding behind the curtain and almost brained her with a cast iron skillet.’’
Jin was laughing now. ‘‘You’re yanking my chain.’’
‘‘No. It’s