Scattered Graves

day. There is some discretionary room in my code of conduct. Want to give me a try?’’ He stood, pulling her up with him and kissing her forehead. He led her into the living room.
The fire had died to glowing embers, illuminating very little. Frank turned on the light and Diane shaded her eyes, feeling like a vampire. She realized she had been playing the piano in the dim light of dusk. Frank stoked the fire until it blazed again. The warmth felt good.
‘‘What’s this about?’’ he asked.
‘‘First, how was your day?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘We al ways talk about my day, which inevitably ends up dominating the conversation.’’
‘‘That’s because your life is more interesting than mine,’’ said Frank, grinning. ‘‘This is starting to sound like it’s going to be a really interesting story this time.’’ He paused and Diane said nothing. ‘‘Okay. My day was a bit frustrating. We’ve had a big upsurge in identity thefts all over Atlanta—individuals and businesses—and I’m finding them hard to track down. I suspect we have an organized theft ring in operation. What’s mainly happening is the perpetrator is taking out loans in victims’ names, then disappearing with the money. The trail is almost entirely electronic. Many of the victims are large businesses in Atlanta. Now, see, mine’s rather boring. Tell me about your day—after I get us some coffee.’’
They ended up ordering a pizza—large, thin crust with mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage. They ate it and talked about music.
‘‘You’re right,’’ Diane said. ‘‘The seventh chords are easier even after only a couple of times of doing the exercise. I’ll be able to hang on to a rock face with my pinkies after this. Who knew?’’
‘‘All pianists,’’ he said, taking his last bite of pizza. ‘‘Now, tell me about your day.’’
They took their coffee into the living room and Diane described it, beginning with finding the body of Edgar Peeks and ending with looking at the videotape. She didn’t say anything about the figure she and Colin saw in the tape.
‘‘I heard about Chief Peeks,’’ said Frank. ‘‘Ben says I should move to Atlanta, where there’s less crime.’’
‘‘I tell you, this has rattled the community. The city council has finally done something now that Edward Van Ross is back in town.’’
‘‘They hardly do anything without his approval,’’ said Frank. Diane knew he liked Van Ross, but she also knew he disapproved of his power. ‘‘Now, what’s your dilemma?’’ said Frank.
‘‘I recognize the figure on the tape,’’ she said.
She picked up the file from the coffee table and took out a still photo she had made of the figure caught by the late mayor’s security camera.
‘‘You recognize this? How? It’s so fuzzy it could be a bear for all I can tell.’’
‘‘It’s the tilt of the shoulders, the gait, the angle of the head. You can recognize people just looking at the body—if you know them,’’ she said.
‘‘Yes. I’ve done that. And I’ve been wrong. Can be quite embarrassing. Who do you think it is?’’ he said.
Diane started to say, but was saved by the sound of the door chimes. Frank went to answer it, and Diane sipped her coffee by the fire, wrapping her hands around the cup to warm her cold fingers.
‘‘Look who’s here,’’ said Frank as he entered the room with David.
‘‘I got your messages,’’ said David.
Diane stared at him for a moment. ‘‘I thought you were going on vacation,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s a working vacation,’’ he said. He sat down on the couch opposite Diane and Frank.
‘‘David,’’ began Diane. She hesitated. ‘‘I’ve been really worried.’’
‘‘Don’t be. I haven’t gone off the deep end,’’ said David.
Frank sat back and looked at Diane a moment. He had guessed who she suspected was in the photograph, she realized—probably even before David came. There weren’t many people besides Frank himself that Diane would worry about so much.
‘‘I hope not,’’ said Diane. She noticed that David had come in carrying a briefcase.
‘‘As I said, I haven’t gone off the deep end, but I have been delving into conspiracy theories,’’ he said.
‘‘Okay, I can see we’re going to need more coffee,’’ said Frank. ‘‘Please wait; I don’t want to miss any thing.’’
‘‘David,’’ said Diane when Frank walked out of the room. ‘‘Were you at the mayor’s house the night