Scattered Graves

compromised. Often he’ll just send Lolli
pop by herself.’’ Neva rolled her eyes.
‘‘You had no clue that David was going to resign?’’
said Diane.
‘‘Not really. Neither of us have been happy up
there. Jin is counting his blessings that he’s in the
DNA lab. Frankly, I was thinking about applying for
a job there when he gets around to hiring. It worries
me that David would quit with no job lined up.’’ ‘‘Don’t be too worried. I’ll look for David and speak
with him,’’ said Diane.
Neva looked relieved. ‘‘Maybe you could talk him
into coming caving with us sometime,’’ said Neva. ‘‘Not a chance in hell,’’ said Diane. ‘‘He’d rather
work a crime scene with Bryce.’’
Neva laughed. ‘‘You think he is all right, then?’’ she
said.
‘‘I believe so,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I’m not really worried.’’
This wasn’t exactly the truth. She had been mildly
concerned about him too. But she didn’t want to
worry Neva.
‘‘I’ll let you get home, then,’’ said Neva. ‘‘You must
feel awful, everything you’ve been through today.’’ ‘‘Not as bad as I look,’’ said Diane. But it really was. She and Mike stood up. Diane rose with them. ‘‘Good to see you, Neva. I’m glad you came by,’’
said Diane.
She missed working with them every day. The four
of them had worked well together.
‘‘I have to tell you, Bryce is very angry with you,’’
said Neva. ‘‘He is always quick to temper, but I’ve
never seen him this angry.’’
‘‘How did he not know that the forensic anthropol
ogy lab belongs to the museum?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘He wouldn’t listen to any advice or information
that David or I tried to give him, so we quit trying.
But I would have thought he knew about your lab.’’
Neva shrugged. ‘‘I’m sorry about letting them in there.
I hadn’t meant to. They caught me coming out of
the lab.’’
‘‘It’s all right,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I changed the code on
the locks to make sure they don’t get back in—it
wasn’t aimed at you.’’
‘‘I thought you would,’’ said Neva. ‘‘I’d prefer not
to know how to get in the lab until Bryce understands
where his limits are.’’
After Neva and Mike left, Diane called Frank and
told him she might be delayed. Then she retrieved her
cell phone from her pocket and called David’s cell
number. She didn’t expect him to answer, but he did
and she was surprised at the amount of relief she felt. ‘‘David, are you all right?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘Sure,’’ he said. ‘‘Why wouldn’t I be?’’
‘‘Neva said you resigned.’’ Diane sat back down in
Andie’s plush chair.
‘‘It seemed like the logical thing to do,’’ he said. ‘‘I
just couldn’t in good conscience work for the guy
anymore.’’
‘‘Where are you?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘I’m driving home.’’
‘‘Neva has been trying to get in touch with you,’’
said Diane.
‘‘I know. I just didn’t want to talk to her yet. I’m
feeling guilty about bailing out on her without warn
ing. I’ll call her later.’’
‘‘What are you going to do?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘I thought I’d apply for a job at the museum. I have
lots of skills.’’
‘‘That sounds like a plan,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Why don’t
you come to my office tomorrow?’’
‘‘I’d like to take a little break first. You know, get
this month over with.’’
‘‘I understand. So you’re going to take a vacation?’’ ‘‘Yeah. I think so,’’ he said.
‘‘Keep in touch.’’
‘‘Sure,’’ he said. ‘‘Don’t worry.’’
When they hung up, Diane sat in the chair for sev
eral minutes thinking about David. It was one of the
more strained, noncommittal conversations she’d ever
had with him. She put her face in her hands and
rubbed her fingertips across her forehead as if she
could smooth out her thoughts. Instead she only made
her face hurt. David seemed off to her, even for David
in troubled mode. She couldn’t put her finger on what
it was, but it didn’t feel right to her. She went home
to Frank with an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach.
    Diane liked rounding the drive and seeing the mu seum early in the morning. Until it came into view, she never knew exactly what she would see. The stone structure could be bathed in the glow of sunrise, or it could be shrouded in fog, glistening wet after a rain, or dark and gothic during a downpour.
    This morning the building had a golden