One Grave Less

with them and let me take care of this?”
    Diane thought of asking Lindsay to stay, but she could tell Lindsay wanted a piece of Cameron and she had proved to be tough in the face of bad guys. Diane guessed her boyfriend, John, was pretty tough too. And frankly, until she could get a handle on things, she needed as many tough people with her as she could find.
    Ariel nodded and hugged Diane. “I love you, Mama,” she said.
    “Oh, Ariel, I love you so much,” she said. “This is the happiest day of my life. You remember Gregory?”
    Ariel nodded.
    “When he came to visit this time, he brought your adoption papers. They came through just before the bad things happened. He was going to surprise us with them. I have them now. It’s official. Not only are you my little girl in my heart, you are my little girl to the whole world.”
    Ariel hugged her neck.
    A knock on the door brought all their heads up. Korey went to the door.
    “Yes?” he said.
    “Hey, Korey, is that it? It’s Steven. Is Diane there?”
    Korey looked at Diane and she nodded. He opened the door and Steven hobbled in.
    “What happened?” said Diane.
    “Oh, I tripped and fell. One of those teeth-rattling thunder episodes . . .” His eyes grew wide.
    “She looks like Ariel,” he said, staring from Ariel to Diane.
    “It is Ariel,” said Diane. “She’s alive and home with me.”
    Steven put a hand over his mouth. “Oh my God. Ariel. My God. How in the world?” he mumbled.
    “Very long story,” said Diane. “It was Cameron. He’s the person Simone was trying to tell us instigated the massacre.”
    “Cam? No,” said Steven, rubbing his ankle. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes, and he has men stationed outside the museum,” said Diane. “I’m going to confront him.”
    “I should have guessed something when I saw those shoes of his. I’ll go with you.” He stood and winced.
    “You stay here with Korey, Jonas, and Ariel,” she said. “I’ll be back when the museum is secured.”
    “But,” he said.
    “Protect Ariel and the others,” said Diane. “I’m counting on you.”
    “Good luck,” he said.
    Diane, David, Frank, Lindsay, and John left the conservation lab and took the stairs down to the first floor. The security guard was not on duty.
    “Damn,” said Diane.
    She looked on the floor of the kiosk where the guard had been sitting. Gone. Diane checked the front doors. Locked. Maybe she went to the bathroom, she thought.
    Diane went though the double doors to the east wing where the security office was, expecting the worst. What she found was the security guard. Chanell, Diane’s head of security, came out of her office.
    “The wind was whipping the glass so, I was worried it was going to come crashing in,” Chanell said. “We’re watching the monitors. Liam has been helping us with surveillance.”
    Diane nodded. “It just worried me when I didn’t see the guard. I think those soldiers are out in the woods around the museum, so get ready. Do you know where Liam is?”
    Chanell shook her head. “He’s supposed to call in in fifteen minutes,” she said.
    “Can we call for help?” said Diane. “Are the phones working?”
    “Still dead,” said Chanell. “We’re on our own.”
    “Okay, Chanell, we have a lot of people in the museum that need protecting.”
    “Don’t I know it,” she said. “We are on top of it, Dr. Fallon.”
    Diane nodded. “We’re going to the basement to confront Cameron,” said Diane.
    “You’re sure you can trust that Steven guy?” said Lindsay.
    Diane nodded.
    “He’s been a friend for a long time,” said David. “He worked with us bringing mass killers to justice, or at least trying to. Steven Gavin Mays the third is a good guy, if a little stuffy.”
    They went out into the lobby, heading for the stairs. Lindsay stopped suddenly.
    “Shit,” Lindsay said. “I thought something was happening on May third. Tres de mayo was what Julio said, I thought. People who are somebody the third are often nicknamed Trey. He wasn’t saying the third of May, he was saying Trey Mays. Damn it. Steven Mays is the guy who had me kidnapped.”
    Diane’s heart dropped to the floor. She turned and ran to the stairs and up to the second floor to the conservation lab.
    Too late. Jonas was on the floor, blood running down his face. He groaned and tried to rise.
    “He has her, hit me, shot Korey,” Jonas said.
    Frank found Korey on the floor, blood pooling under him. “It’s not that