Dead Guilty

but...’’
‘‘You go on with that. Give us a head start on the crime scene. Maybe we’ll know something by the time you get there.’’
‘‘Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I finish at the hospi tal. David, she was wearing a diamond engagement ring when I saw her. Look for it.’’
‘‘Will do.’’
Diane got in her borrowed car and sat there for a moment before starting the ignition. Damn, she thought. Damn. Another murder victim with a connec tion to the Cobber’s Wood murders. What’s this about? Surely the killer left some piece of physical evidence that would connect at least some of the crime scenes. But she hadn’t been able to find it.
The caller had her believing he was a serial killer. Run-of-the-mill killers usually don’t try to engage the crime lab director in dialogue. But Diane had a sense that there was something more to it than just a crazy person.
When she arrived at
Korey was already there
the radiology department, with Jonas, waiting in the hallway with the mummy. Korey leaned against the wall, and Jonas sat on a chair that he apparently dragged from an adjacent waiting room. Next to the wall on a gurney was the mummy, strapped to a board by several layers of plastic wrap that enveloped him from head to foot.
‘‘I imagine you caused a stir bringing him in,’’ said Diane
‘‘We did indeed,’’ said Jonas. ‘‘Everyone here is quite excited.’’
‘‘So, this is your mummy.’’ Lynn Webber arrived, changed from her dark dress to a white lab coat and slacks. ‘‘I’ve never seen one up close.’’ She stood over the gurney and scrutinized him. ‘‘Nice clothes. I like these plastic wrappings much better than the dingy linen ones you usually see on them.’’
Diane introduced everyone to Lynn Webber. Jonas stood and offered her a seat.
‘‘No, please stay seated.’’
But Jonas rose and joined Lynn next to the mummy, explaining to her what they had discovered so far and how it came to be in their possession.
Korey handed Diane a file. ‘‘Jonas and I examined him with an endoscope. We took these pictures. We also took some tissue samples and sent them off for analysis.’’
Diane opened the folder and photographs. ‘‘These are good.’’
‘‘I thought we got some real flipped through the
    clear images,’’ said Jonas, turning from the mummy. ‘‘Notice that the brain is removed. That places him in the late Middle Kingdom or after.’’ He explained to Lynn how meth ods of embalming changed over time. ‘‘See this inci sion here?’’ He pointed to a cut in the mummy’s abdomen on the left side. ‘‘It was here up through the eighteenth dynasty. After that, the incision point was from the hip to the pubic region.’’
    ‘‘We went into the incision and had a look around,’’ said Korey, pulling out a photo from the rest and showing Diane. ‘‘As you can see, we didn’t see much. I couldn’t find a way in and I didn’t want to do any damage. But this looks like one of the kidneys.’’
    ‘‘Didn’t they remove the organs?’’ asked Lynn.
    ‘‘Yes,’’ said Korey, ‘‘except the kidneys. I’m not sure why.’’
‘‘One of the interesting things,’’ said Jonas, ‘‘is the position of the hands.’’
‘‘Position of the hands?’’ repeated Lynn. She placed one of hers on Jonas’ arm and gave him her full attention.
Diane could see that he was falling under her spell just as the sheriff and Garnett had—though she had to admit, she thought the bloom was off the rose with Garnett.
‘‘From his bones, it appears he may have been a scribe or some worker who had to sit for hours hunched over his work. However, his hands are in the royal position.’’ Jonas crossed his hands over his chest. ‘‘Rather than by his side, or crossed in a lower position.’’
‘‘Royal position. Why, I’m glad to know that, Jonas. I’m going to put that in my will. When I die and they put me in the casket, it’s going to be in the royal position.’’ She crossed her hands over her chest. ‘‘I know a lot of people who won’t be sur prised by that.’’
Diane had to force herself to attend to Korey, Jonas and Lynn’s conversation. She watched them, feeling guilty—they were so excited, and all she could think of was Kacie Beck. She should have asked Kacie about the ring. She should have probed deeper about Chris Edwards and why he was murdered. Kacie had known something, and Diane had just dropped her off at her