Scattered Graves

said. ‘‘The Atlanta police
can’t locate the Chen kid. His landlord hasn’t seen
him in weeks and the rent is overdue. The landlord
says Chen was real punctual with the rent despite the
ring in his nose. They collected the things you asked
for. I’ll send them over tomorrow.’’
‘‘That was fast. How in the world did you talk At
lanta PD into responding so quickly?’’ said Diane.
‘‘Rosewood has to fill out forms in triplicate to get
anything from them. That’s amazing.’’
‘‘One of the detectives is my son-in-law. The
boy knows to do what I tell him pronto,’’ said
Canfield.
Diane laughed.
‘‘Have you heard from the GBI about the bullet?’’
asked Diane.
‘‘That was my second bit of news. The GBI got a hit, and I don’t like it one bit. No, sirree, I don’t like
this one bit.’’
‘‘What is it?’’ said Diane.
‘‘The bullet we found in the field is from the same
gun that killed Mayor Spence Jefferies. How’s that for
a bad day? Now I have to deal with Rosewood. Janice
Warrick is the lead detective on this. She’s not too
bad,’’ he commented. ‘‘I’m still shaking my head about
Delamore trying to kill you. That’s why I hate to deal
with Rosewood. You never know when one of them
isn’t right in the head.’’
Talk of Delamore made Diane uneasy. The whole
event was just starting to sink in. The shock of it had
worn off, and what was left was the fear of what
might have happened, and the guilt over what did
happen.
‘‘Hopefully, he was unique,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m sure Ja
nice will be glad to hear about the bullet. And I know
she won’t try to kill you.’’
The sheriff chuckled. ‘‘Don’t count on it. My wife
says I make people mad on purpose.’’
‘‘Sounds like one shooter for the two murders,’’ said
Diane. ‘‘Chen and Jefferies. How odd.’’
Diane fiddled with the loose rock in the fountain
and dropped it on the floor. It rolled under her desk.
She bent and picked it up and put it back in its hole
in the fountain.
‘‘The bullet doesn’t match the one that killed yourall’s chief of detectives, Edgar Peeks,’’ said Canfield.
‘‘I understand that was from Garnett’s gun, and I have
to tell you, I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Garnett
and I have never seen quite eye to eye, but I never
figured him for a cold-blooded killer. I told my depu
ties, there has to be some mistake,’’ he said. ‘‘You
think this new ME of yours gave them the wrong bul
let? Could he be a part of this?’’
‘‘Janice Warrick and Izzy Wallace witnessed the au
topsy. They saw him take the bullet out of Peeks’
brain and give it to them. Janice said it was from the
gun they took off Garnett at the scene.’’
‘‘I hate hearing that,’’ said Canfield.
‘‘So do I,’’ said Diane. ‘‘He has been very support
ive of me since we put the crime unit in, and very
protective of the museum.’’
‘‘Before I talk to Janice, I’d like to speak with you
more about what’s going on. You can explain to me
about this cybergang stuff you were talking about.
They don’t like to share information in Rosewood.
They expect me to do all the sharing. That’s why I
don’t like dealing with them. They act like Rose
wood’s a big city and we’re just rubes out here. I don’t
live but a mile from the city limits, so I don’t know
who they think they are fooling.’’
‘‘I know what you mean about the sharing going
only one way,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Oh, one more thing,’’ he said. ‘‘My wife wants to
know what you wear to a white-tie function. We’ve
never been to one.’’
Diane smiled. ‘‘Andie, my assistant, is putting to
gether a newsletter that gives all the details. I’ll make
sure you get a copy,’’ she said.
‘‘I would appreciate that. I told my wife I wouldn’t
understand fashion advice even if I wrote it down. Just
tell me this, do I have to wear one of them top hats?
I told the wife that there are just some things where
I draw the line, and that’s one of them.’’
‘‘No. No top hat,’’ said Diane.
‘‘Good.’’ He laughed. ‘‘Can’t you just see me in one
of those?’’
Diane seriously couldn’t.
She hung up the phone and went back into her
sitting room. Neva was dusting the inside of the com
puter case for prints. David and Frank were at the
computer discussing the decryption procedures. Jin
was sitting on the sofa with Izzy, giving him a course
in DNA. Someone had cleaned