Dust to Dust

Granny was somewhat of a rascal when she was young.”
    “Did she say how old the woman was?” asked Diane.
    “I asked her if the ‘witch’ was real old. She said at the time she thought she was, but she was a teenager, and everyone over thirty looked old. Now that she looks back, she thinks she wasn’t all that old. Granny’s in her seventies, so I don’t know what ‘not all that old’ means to her. I suppose anybody younger than she is.”
    “You and your grandmother have been very helpful,” said Diane. “Thank you for calling. If the name comes to her, please let me know.”
    “I will. You know, when somebody is asked to come up with those old memories, they don’t come to the surface right away. It might be that she’ll wake up in the morning and it’ll come to her,” he said.
    “I hope so. Is Hector doing okay?” asked Diane.
    “He’s in pretty good shape, really. He and his brother are a hoot,” he said.
    Diane agreed, thanked him again, and hung up.
    “Marcella told us the signature on the paintings was a drawing of a bird,” said Diane, after she told the others what the call was about. “It looks like the artist we are looking for had somewhat of a reputation at one time.” Diane stopped and stared at Neva.
    “What?” asked Neva.
    “What you said about the Lassiter woman talking like a magpie. A magpie is a bird.”
    The three of them looked at Diane with a great deal of skepticism.
    “That’s a stretch,” said David. “It doesn’t even make sense.”
    “No. The word just reminded me of something. Initials. The first three letters of magpie are m-a-g . What if she used the bird drawing as a kind of symbolic representation of her initials?”
    “Who?” said David. “What are you talking about?”
    “The writer of the note on the bottom of the desk drawer,” said Neva. “MAG. Remember? So, she was the artist?”
    “Maybe,” said Diane. “It’s just a thought.”
    “A good one,” said Neva.
    David still looked skeptical, but relented that it was a possibility.
    “I need to give Hanks a call. He needs to know about the connection between the crimes so he can coordinate with Hall County.”
    Diane started to key in his number when headlights came up the drive.
    “That must be the policemen coming back from their rounds,” she said.
    “No,” said David, standing up. “Everybody in the house! Now!”

Chapter 36
    They didn’t linger. All four of them jumped to their feet and headed for the door. David was the closest and reached the door first. He opened it and pulled everyone in, turned out the lights, and locked the door.
    “Everybody stay away from the front windows,” he said in an urgent half whisper.
    “Okay,” Diane whispered back from the darkness of the dining room. “Why are we here?”
    “Those headlights aren’t from the police car,” said David. “They’re set too high.”
    He stood near the doorway trying to see out the window. The lights went dark and they heard a door slam. Diane’s heart beat faster. Neva, next to Diane, had her hand under her coat, ready to pull out her off-duty weapon. Diane could see Mike looking around the room, probably searching for a possible weapon. Knowing him, he probably didn’t really believe anything was wrong, but he wouldn’t be taking any chances.
    “You mean like an SUV,” said Neva.
    “Yes,” said David, “just like an SUV.”
    Diane had to admire David for noticing. She hadn’t. Well, hell . She was about to assess what weapons they could lay their hands on, when a loud banging on the front door interrupted her thoughts. All of them stood stiff, waiting.
    “What the hell are you guys doing in there?”
    Detective Hanks.
    David turned on the light and found all of them staring at him. He winced and rubbed his hand over his balding head.
    “Well, I’m not right all the time.” He shrugged. “I never said I was. Sometimes paranoia is just that. Besides, had it been the bad guys, we would be safe.”
    Mike visibly relaxed his tense body. Neva shook her head and opened the door. Detective Hanks was standing on the porch looking puzzled. He wasn’t wearing his neck brace, but his arm was still immobilized in a sling and he favored his wounded leg.
    “What was that all about?” he said. “I drive up and all of you make a mad dash for the house and turn off the lights?”
    Diane smiled at him. “You have a new haircut,” she said, and invited him into the house.
    He stroked his short