Dead Hunt

Christmas trees?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘I have no idea,’’ said David.
Again Neva shrugged. ‘‘You know Jin,’’ she said. ‘‘I can tell you he’s really got his motor revved up. And you know how that is.’’
    Garnett walked over to the three of them. ‘‘You didn’t know about this?’’ he asked.
‘‘No,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Is he allowed to do this... call this kind of meeting on his own?’’ Garnett asked.
She had never told Jin he couldn’t. It never occurred to her to say, Jin, don’t call meetings of U.S. marshals and the chief of detectives without my approval.
Diane pinched the bridge of her nose. The thing about her crew was you had to be specific with instructions.
‘‘I see he didn’t ask Riddmann to attend,’’ said Diane, looking around her. ‘‘That’s a plus.’’
‘‘I have some news for you about Riddmann,’’ said Garnett in a low voice.
Diane raised her eyebrows. ‘‘He’s moving to Alaska, I hope?’’
Garnett ignored her. ‘‘You know how guilty he looked when you accused him of leaking to the press about the museum issue?’’ he said.
‘‘I remember very well. Don’t tell me he’s behind it,’’ said Diane.
‘‘No, I don’t think he is. At least my sources tell me he isn’t. But he did do something to twist the knife a little. He had one of his staff call in to the radio talk show and ask questions designed to embarrass the museum. It was aimed at Mrs. Van Ross.’’
‘‘Well, he hit his mark. It upset her, which is not a good thing,’’ said Diane. ‘‘He has to know that sometimes payback’s a bitch.’’
‘‘That’s why he did it anonymously. And it would have stayed that way, but I have an ear in his department. Just thought you’d like to know.’’
‘‘You never know who’s listening in Rosewood, do you? I’m glad you found out,’’ said Diane. ‘‘And I’m glad you told me. That little pissant.’’
‘‘Any idea what this is about?’’ Garnett gestured to the Christmas trees and the lined-up chairs.
‘‘Not a clue,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Neither does David. When he called I thought you were here to tell me you had found Clymene’s body.’’
‘‘We’ve come up empty so far on that,’’ he said.
‘‘How about my attacker?’’ said Diane.
‘‘Nothing yet. I’m still waiting for DNA results from Jin on the hair snagged on Andie’s purse.’’
‘‘It takes time. We just got the lab calibrated and certified and we already have people sending us samples. The backlog of DNA analysis in this country is . . .’’
Jin appeared through the elevator doors. He was carrying what looked like handouts. What on earth? thought Diane.
‘‘Jin,’’ she said. ‘‘What’s this about?’’
‘‘All in good time,’’ he said, grinning.
He was so hyperactive the marshals might have thought he’d been drinking too much caffeine, but Jin was always like this. Whatever he was up to, he had told neither Neva nor David. This would be interesting.
‘‘Everyone sit down, please. I believe I have chairs for everyone,’’ said Jin as if he were the host at a professional conference.
Diane watched his head bob gently as he silently counted the people and the chairs. Eight people, eight chairs. The marshals were already sitting. Kingsley and Jacobs sat beside them, then Garnett, Diane, Neva, and David.
Kingsley leaned over and spoke to Diane. ‘‘You were right.’’ He pulled up his sleeve and pointed to a bruise on his forearm. ‘‘Barbiturates.’’ He looked up at Jin, then back at Diane and grinned. ‘‘I’ll talk with you after the show.’’
‘‘I’m sure you all are wondering why I called this meeting,’’ said Jin. ‘‘We’re going to have a short workshop on genetics.’’
‘‘What?’’ said Deputy Marshal Dylan Drew. ‘‘You called us here for a workshop?’’
‘‘Now, please bear with me, because the payoff is great,’’ said Jin. ‘‘There’s been some interesting progress made in the world of genetics lately. What I want to talk to you about is epigenetics. Epigenetics studies the changes in gene expression that don’t require changes in the base sequence of the DNA itself.’’
‘‘Okay, son,’’ said Deputy Marshal Chad Merrick, ‘‘you’ve lost me already. What the hell are you talking about and how does it affect me and my partner here? And can you please stop pacing and moving around?’’
‘‘He can’t,’’ said David.
Neva shook