Scattered Graves

find it too difficult to climb up and get in the window?’’
‘‘That’s true,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Or a second-story man. You know, don’t you, there is a class of burglars who specialize in that MO.’’
Colin looked around. ‘‘I don’t see any sign of Peeks,’’ he said. ‘‘He probably thinks he’s letting us cool our heels waiting for him. So, shall we go find our basement door?’’
‘‘We could try knocking on the front door first,’’ Diane said. She started toward the door. ‘‘I think it’s open.’’ There was a small crack where the door stood open about an inch. ‘‘I think we’ve maligned Mr. Peeks unnecessarily and he’s probably been listening, snickering at our paranoia.’’
Colin laughed. ‘‘I hope so.’’
Diane opened the door and walked into the foyer. The first thing she saw was Garnett kneeling on the marble floor next to the body of Chief of Police Edgar Peeks.

Chapter 18
    The second thing Diane noticed was the pool of bright red blood staining the white marble floor. A small trickle of blood had flowed toward the wall. For such an expensive house it was surprising that the floor wasn’t completely level.
    They stood there for a moment staring at one an other before anyone said anything.
‘‘I guess Peeks showed up after all,’’ said Colin.
Garnett slowly stood up. ‘‘I called the police,’’ he said.
Diane just then heard the distant sirens.
‘‘I know this doesn’t look good,’’ said Garnett.
‘‘What happened?’’ she said.
‘‘We can discuss that later,’’ said Colin.
Always the lawyer, thought Diane. Colin doesn’t want me to hear anything just yet.
‘‘I found him like this,’’ said Garnett. He wanted to profess his innocence. Natural reaction—guilty or not.
Diane’s gaze darted around the foyer. They were standing at the base of a winding staircase that led to the second floor. To the left, the room that was la beled PARLOR on her drawings looked to be a study— all dark wood and leather. The desk was covered with papers, and the wood filing cabinet was open. Several books were piled on chairs.
From where Diane stood, she could see into the living room. The drapes covered the windows and French doors. She saw no bloody footprints on the white marble. Too bad. Nothing’s ever easy.
‘‘Did you see anyone else?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘When did you get here?’’
‘‘Just a few minutes ago. And no, I didn’t see any one else,’’ said Garnett.
‘‘Why are you here?’’ asked Diane.
‘‘Colin told me to come,’’ he said.
Colin looked startled. ‘‘No, I didn’t.’’
‘‘Your secretary sent me a text message to meet you here,’’ Garnett said. ‘‘On my cell phone.’’
‘‘My secretary doesn’t text. She’s against it,’’ said Colin. ‘‘Inexorably.’’
Diane frowned at Garnett. ‘‘Shouldn’t you be too experienced to fall for this?’’ she said. ‘‘Obviously someone set you up. Why didn’t you call Colin or me before you came?’’
‘‘I’m ashamed to say, it didn’t occur to me. I knew you were coming. I thought you wanted me to walk you through my visit here the other night,’’ said Garnett.
‘‘How did you get here?’’ said Diane. ‘‘Where’s your car? Where’s Peeks’ car?’’
There were so many questions running through her mind, and she wanted to get answers to most of them before the police arrived. But the sirens were getting louder.
‘‘The back way. That’s what the text said. It said, ‘Front locked, use back.’ My car’s parked behind Peeks’. His is in the small garage. Mine’s right be hind it.’’
‘‘No other cars?’’ asked Diane. She noticed Colin wasn’t stopping her. Probably decided the questions might be useful.
‘‘None,’’ he said.
‘‘This isn’t good,’’ said Diane. ‘‘How did you get in the house?’’
‘‘Through the garage into the kitchen. I called out. When no one answered, I came to open the front door for you to get in when you arrived. This is what I found.’’
‘‘The door was cracked a bit; did you do that?’’ she asked.
Garnett shook his head. ‘‘No. I stopped here when I found him.’’
Diane took a quick look at the body. He lay face down with one arm out to the side and the other one under his torso.
‘‘I’m going to see if he’s dead,’’ she said.
Diane knew he was dead, but she wanted to touch the body to see how long, and she wanted all of them to be