One Grave Too Many

high, daring Frank to disagree.
    “No, Crystal, you won’t. Even if Star is convicted of her parents’ murder, you aren’t in the will.”
    Crystal stared openmouthed for a moment. “What? You telling me all this goes to somebody else? Who?” Frank didn’t answer. “They can’t cut me out—I’m the closest blood relative George’s got. It’s not legal. Gil’s cousin’s daughter’s a paralegal, and I know for a fact you can’t cut blood out of your will. We’ll just see about this.”
    The three of them watched the McFarlands get in their ’92 Lincoln and drive off, white smoke billowing from the exhaust.
    “Well, that was interesting,” said the guard.
    “It was something,” said Frank. Frank introduced Diane and started to lead her into the house.
    “I’d like to take a look at the spot where Jay was shot before it gets dark.”
    He led her to the place where Jay was found, near a live oak with a thick trunk and broad canopy. Diane wondered how old it was—decades older than Jay.
    “Here,” said Frank, squatting next to a place where someone had dug into the ground.
    Diane squatted beside him, scanning the area. “This is where they found the bullet?”
    “I believe so.”
    The sun was sinking behind the tree line; however, a remaining flicker of sunlight reflected on something. She took a pair of tweezers from her pocket, along with an evidence bag and picked up the object.
    “What is it?” asked Frank, looking at the curled piece of clear plastic about the size of two postage stamps.
    “Plastic.”
    “Is it important?”
    “Might be.” Diane put the fragment into the bag and planted a ribbon and nail in the ground. “The pictures aren’t clear about which direction the body lay.” Frank stood, hesitating for a moment before he spoke. “I know this is hard,” said Diane.
    “Yeah. I just remembered, today’s Louise’s birthday.” Frank pointed to the house. “Jay’s head was pointing toward the house.”
    “Do you know if they found any gunpowder residue on his jacket? I didn’t see any, but . . .” She let the sentence hang as she backed up from where Jay had fallen. “If Detective Warrick’s saying he was coming home and was surprised by his sister, why was he shot in the back?”
    “I guess she’d say she couldn’t face her brother.”
    “But she’d just killed her parents in their bed.” Diane looked around the grass where she stood. She squatted and scrutinized the area again. Just a couple of feet in front of her she found another plastic fragment smaller than a postage stamp. She bagged it and marked the place.
    “Did the crime scene find more of these pieces? I don’t see any tags. . . .”
    “I don’t know what they found. I’ll see if I can find out. You think it means something?”
    “Possibly.” She handed him the bag and he put it in his jacket pocket. “We need to have it analyzed.” Diane glanced over at the guard sitting on the porch, watching them. The cost for Star’s defense was mounting and it had just begun. Unless the murders were solved soon, there wouldn’t be much for Crystal McFarland to fight over.
    Diane examined the tree trunk, but saw no obvious blood spatters. She also looked around for more pieces of plastic, but found none.
    “OK. Let’s go to the house now.”
    “I think I’ll tell Harry he can take a break. How long will we be here?”
    “All night.”

Chapter 13
    Diane stood in George and Louise’s bedroom and stared at the bare bloodstained mattress. It had been new; now it was ruined. Before it was a crime scene, their bedroom probably had an airy brightness, with its light pine furniture, green iron garden bench at the foot of the bed, and floral-patterned wallpaper. It was the wallpaper that drew her attention away from the bed and created a frown on her forehead.
    Frank stood next to her, his gaze darting from the chest of drawers to the dresser covered with family photographs, to a new green wrought iron headboard still in its box leaning against a wall, and finally to the bed and the bloodstained wall next to it.
    “Louise was redecorating the bedroom. You should have heard George complaining on poker night. Said he had to win big just to pay for the new headboard. It’s all unfinished. Jay’s too—unfinished.”
    Unconsciously, she grasped Frank’s hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back.
    “This is going to take all night?” he asked.
    She nodded, her thoughts focused on the scene before