Scattered Graves

Jefferies. Evie was put off by him. Couldn’t put her finger on what she didn’t like,’’ Izzy said, proudly showing off his wife’s good judgment.
‘‘I told Edward Van Ross about our suspicions today,’’ said Diane. ‘‘He’s very disturbed about the whole thing, as you can imagine. That’s why I think it’s important to find out what they are—were—up to and how far it extends. Not only for the sake of Doug las Garnett, but for Rosewood. And we can’t forget that somebody killed them. Our most important job is to find out who and why.’’
‘‘Have you talked to the former mayor yet?’’ asked Frank.
‘‘I’m going to try to see him tomorrow,’’ said Diane. ‘‘I would like Neva and David to search the crime scene at the mayor’s house. Jin, go with them and analyze the blood evidence. And David, we need to find out what’s on Jefferies’ computer.’’
‘‘Okay,’’ said David. ‘‘It isn’t going to be easy. Maybe Frank can help.’’
‘‘Sure,’’ said Frank. ‘‘You know how I like codes.’’
‘‘Good,’’ said Diane. ‘‘There’s something else I want to discuss. Bryce and Rikki are looking for something. I put pressure on her today, especially with the watch business, and virtually told her she was going to have to relearn the job, and she didn’t flinch. I’m not sure why she’s sticking around, except that she must still be looking for something and we are her best bet for finding it.’’
‘‘What do you think it is?’’ said Neva.
‘‘It has to be something about money. It’s always about money, isn’t it? She and Bryce must know we are looking at them for some kind of criminal activity, yet they are not leaving. Bryce is suing the city for his job back, according to Janice,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Maybe he’s innocent, or maybe he’s just keeping everyone in the government occupied while they also have Jenni fer’s lawsuit to deal with.’’
‘‘If there’s something in the mayor’s house to find, we’ll find it, boss,’’ said Jin.
‘‘Neva, try making nice to Rikki. I want to know what she pocketed at the crime scene.’’
‘‘You think she’ll tell me?’’ said Neva. ‘‘She’ll know what I’m up to.’’
‘‘Maybe, but she might let something slip,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Who knows.’’
‘‘Okay, I’ll be as nice as pie to her.’’ Neva wrinkled her nose.
‘‘Tell me this,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘If those watches are as valuable as you say and they don’t make very many of them, wouldn’t the company keep a record of who they sold them to? Wouldn’t there be some kind of serial number, like a VIN for a car? Maybe Neva can find out the number to little Gollum’s watch. Or maybe there’s some kind of receipt in the mayor’s house—if she stole it from him. If she’s stealing, that’ll give you something to bargain with. Maybe we can get her to talk.’’
Diane looked over at Izzy and raised her eyebrows. ‘‘You’re absolutely right on all counts,’’ she said. ‘‘We’ll look into that tomorrow.’’
‘‘I could do that,’’ said Izzy. ‘‘I’ve worked burglary.’’
‘‘Okay,’’ said Diane, nodding.
‘‘So, where are we now?’’ said David. ‘‘What do we think happened at the house?’’
‘‘Well, I think Bryce and Rikki were right about how it went down,’’ said Diane. ‘‘Someone came up behind the mayor and shot him in the back of the head.’’
‘‘He probably knew his attacker and didn’t expect anything,’’ said Neva. ‘‘And the shooter didn’t steal anything. It was a hit.’’
‘‘Yes,’’ said Diane. ‘‘It was a hit. Both murders look basically the same to me. Same MO. Doesn’t have to be an outsider. The shooter could be someone that Jefferies and company were in business with . . . and we don’t even know about them yet.’’
‘‘What about ballistics?’’ said Frank. ‘‘How do you explain the fact that the bullet that killed Peeks came from Garnett’s gun?’’
‘‘That’s one we have to work on,’’ said Diane. ‘‘And we need to know if the gun that fired the bullet that killed Peeks is the same gun that killed Jefferies.’’
‘‘I can’t believe that Garnett did it,’’ said Izzy.
‘‘Nor I,’’ said Neva.
‘‘Me either,’’ said Diane. ‘‘But we have to put our personal beliefs aside and find the best evidence we can to lead us to the killer or killers.’’
‘‘How about the