Dead Secret

aside and gave Diane a look.
    She looked through the dual eyepieces at the compromised air hose, turned it over and examined the side opposite the puncture. The edge of the cut was smooth, probably made by a small knife that had gone through and pierced the other side of the hose.
    “The air hose is small. A slice with any size knife at all would have cut the hose completely in two. This had to be done carefully. I think maybe he was already knocked out when they cut the hose.”
    “It looks to me as if the scene was staged to look like an accident,” said Diane.
    “I agree,” said David.
    The elevator doors to the crime lab opened. Diane looked up through the several glass windows between the lab and the entrance. It was Sheriff Canfield. The sheriff of Rose County was a large man in his late fifties with a full head of brown hair and a warm smile. Diane buzzed him in. David went back to the photograph.
    “Howdy,” he said in a friendly manner. “You know, I don’t believe I’ve had the tour. Sheriff Braden tells me you have a fine facility here, though he says you lack a DNA lab.”
    Jin came out with Korey, and for a moment Diane thought he was going to tell the sheriff they were thinking about getting one. He had been pushing Diane for it, and she hadn’t decided.
    “We use the GBI’s DNA lab. They have a good one,” said Diane. “What brings you here? A tour?”
    “No. I wish. It’s about those bodies at the quarry lake. The ME’s not ready to call this an accident or natural causes. Although he said the scuba guy died of a heart attack, he has concerns about some bruises on his back, and something about his teeth being broken.”
    He tapped an envelope he was holding. “I have his report here. The other dead guy also had some bruises that concerned the ME. On the back of his neck, like someone was holding him down. So I came to see what you people found. The scuba diver was Jake Stanley. Rankin was able to confirm his identity from his dental records when he had a name. Frankly, I thought Jake was kind of young for a heart attack—just twenty-two.”
    “We haven’t analyzed all the trace evidence yet, but we don’t believe it was an accident either,” said Diane. She explained to him about the twigs and branches that had been in the water only as long as the two victims, and the air hose that was punctured with a knife.
    “I was afraid of that. You know, Rankin is pretty good. When he says something is suspicious, he means it.”
    “The teeth often get broken when the regulator’s forcibly pulled out,” said Korey. He looked suddenly embarrassed. “I mean, if you’re looking for foul play, that’s a clue.”
    Diane looked at Korey a moment before she spoke. He was obviously enjoying being on the other side of the building—the dark side, as she had heard some of the museum staff call it. Korey knew something about scuba diving and wanted to share.
    “This is Korey Jordan, my head conservator at the museum. Among other things he’s an expert on waterlogged wood, and we’re using that expertise on the quarry case.”
    “Expert on waterlogged wood. They got an expert on everything nowadays, don’t they?” The sheriff held out his hand. “Glad to meet you, son.”
    “Likewise.” Korey looked at Diane. “I’ve worked with divers. That’s how I know about the regulators.”
    “Find much work in waterlogged wood?” the sheriff asked, grinning, showing an even row of tobacco-stained teeth.
    “Between museums, archaeology and recovery of ancient logs, and the fact that there aren’t that many of us, I get a lot of consulting.”
    “Ancient logs?”
    “Like those hundred-year-plus old-growth logs discovered at the bottom of Lake Superior. When they’re dried out they’re some sweet wood.”
    Canfield shook his head. “I’m always amazed at the things I don’t know about.”
    Jin reached for the autopsy report. “Korey’s right. You get your mouthpiece jerked out, it can break your teeth.”
    He flipped through Rankin’s report, reading the findings. Diane looked over his shoulder.
    “The ME said something about that—the teeth being broken from the inside out. That must have been what he was talking about,” said the sheriff. “Now, Jin, didn’t you say there might be a second diver?”
    “There had to be one, unless the guy was a complete idiot.”
    “I’ve been talking to his relatives, and that would be the consensus,” the sheriff said. “He took