Scattered Graves

didn’t know it. The guy didn’t believe him and was threatening Mickey’s wife. Mickey told him help would be coming soon because the guy had set off the alarm by messing with the crime lab door, and that he, in fact, did not know the code for just such occasions. The perp cut the wife’s ties and told her to open the door an inch and if she tried anything she was dead. That’s when he burst out the door holding her.
Chanell explained the rest of the events, including Diane offering herself in exchange. Diane cringed. She knew Frank would be angry.
‘‘Why did you do that?’’ said Janice.
‘‘I could see Mickey’s wife was frightened and I thought that if I could convince the guy I knew what he was looking for and could get it for him, he would let her go and we could get the upper hand. Then she grabbed his ankle, tripped him up, and bit him, and from there things got out of control.’’
‘‘He threatened my family,’’ said Shara. ‘‘He hit my husband and he touched me. Nobody touches me.’’ She folded her arms under her breasts.
‘‘Has anyone heard from your parents?’’ Janice asked Shara. ‘‘Are they okay?’’
‘‘Yes, the first thing I did was call them,’’ said Shara. ‘‘They’re fine. The jerk was lying. There wasn’t any one at their house.’’
‘‘Let’s focus on the perpetrator,’’ said Janice. ‘‘Dr. Fallon, you think he was after the computer?’’
Diane nodded. ‘‘He seemed to be. When you find him, he’ll have a bite mark on his right leg, and his left thumb will be broken. And I imagine he’ll have a few minor cuts and scrapes from the fall on the pavement.’’
‘‘Do you have any idea who he might be?’’ said Janice. ‘‘Could he have been the shadowy figure in the video?’’
There was that sword hanging over her again. Diane had almost forgotten about it.
‘‘No,’’ she said. ‘‘This guy was smaller.’’
Diane quickly gave a description of the man’s build and his truck, hoping Janice wouldn’t bring up the shadow man again.
‘‘I know who I’d look at,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Curtis Crabtree. He was the same size, and he figures in all this in some way. Plus, he seems to lack good judg ment. I’d at least have a look at his ankle and thumb.’’
    Frank insisted on taking Diane to the emergency room when they finished. She didn’t argue, saving her words for when the real argument would come later. They waited an hour in the emergency room. It took another two hours for the tests that told her she was fine, just banged up.
    She was standing outside waiting for Frank to drive around with the car when Shane Eastling, the ME, walked up to the door and started to enter. He stopped when he saw Diane. A shock of brown hair blew over his freckled face. He didn’t shove it out of the way. She thought he was going to give her the kind of sym pathetic comments she had gotten from everyone who saw her face—especially now that she looked even worse. He didn’t.
    ‘‘I don’t appreciate you trying to tell me how to do my job,’’ he said. ‘‘And I don’t intend to do yours for you.’’
    ‘‘What on earth are you talking about?’’ she asked. ‘‘The watch that was on backward or upside down, or whatever. That Warrick woman was all over me about it and was questioning me about anything else I didn’t put in my report. I autopsy bodies. If you can’t do your little observations at the crime scene, don’t ask me to do them for you. Who in the hell do you think you are?’’
    ‘‘For one thing, I’m the person who was not working the mayor’s crime scene. That would be Bryce. Did you know him in school?’’ asked Diane. She looked at his finger for a signet ring. There was none.
    ‘‘What?’’ Eastling looked annoyed and puzzled. ‘‘No. Why would you ask that?’’
‘‘You recommended Dr. Jeffcote-Smith to him,’’ she said.
‘‘No,’’ he said slowly as if to a child. ‘‘It’s she I went to school with once upon a time. Bryce mentioned he was looking for a good forensic anthropologist. I immediately thought of Jennifer.’’
‘‘Look, Dr. Eastling, from here on out our paths are going to cross, and there will be times when we will have to work together. I would like to be able to do that as civilly as possible. If I have offended you, then I apologize. It was certainly not my intention.’’
He looked at her for a moment as if surprised. ‘‘As long as you understand