David had told Diane about Rikki, also known as
Lollipop, and her inability to understand the differ
ence between what she knew and what she believed,
and how she carried her preconceptions with her to
crime scenes.
David was another of Diane’s former crime scene
crew. He was a friend she had worked with doing
human rights investigations. David took the news that
Diane was being replaced hard and more than once
had said he was going to quit. He and Neva frequently
joked about the unit over their weekly dinners with
Diane, their way of debriefing, Diane supposed. Their
biggest complaints were Bryce’s assigning David to do
only lab work, taking him out of the field, and putting
the inexperienced Rikki on the larger cases—like the
murder of Judge Karen McNevin. Neva was sent to
process a downtown break-in while Bryce and Rikki
worked the judge’s scene. David analyzed the evi
dence collected by Bryce and Rikki, and the police
arrested the brother of a man the judge had put away.
It was a slam dunk according to Bryce, but Diane had
sensed that David was not satisfied with the way it
was handled.
Rikki as a DNA tech was out of the question. ‘‘We are committed to the protocols that regulate
us and ensure the quality of our work,’’ said Diane.
‘‘I’ll tell you what I told Mr. Crabtree. The GBI has
a fine DNA lab. Perhaps you can work out something
with them.’’
‘‘Look, Diane, I know you are ticked at being re
placed as the crime lab director, but don’t let your
emotions cause you to overlook the merits of working
with us.’’
That did pique Diane’s ire. She straightened up and
put her feet on the floor.
‘‘Lloyd,’’ she said, ‘‘the DNA lab tests and analyzes
samples. There is no ‘working with’ anyone in the way
that you are suggesting. And Crabtree is off-limits
here. That’s the end of the discussion.’’
‘‘You’re being foolish,’’ he said.
That word again. ‘‘I don’t think there is much point
in continuing this conversation.’’ Diane flipped her
cell shut.
Diane called security and made arrangements with
Chanell Napier, her head of security, to post a guard
in the museum basement at Jin’s lab until further
notice.
‘‘That’s a hell of a note, isn’t it?’’ said Jin. ‘‘We have
to post a guard to keep out the crime scene people.’’ ‘‘It’s a peculiar turn of events,’’ agreed Diane, stand
ing up. ‘‘Call me if there are any more problems.’’ Diane took her box of bones and rode the elevator
