The Night Killer

Chapter 10

Diane hit the accelerator and flew over the rise and around the curve, heading for the museum. The trees lining Museum Road seemed to fly by as she sped to the building, hoping Frank was there, hoping he wasn’t late.

Calm down; even if he’s not there, the museum night security will be just inside the building.

Damn, how did she miss him? She really sucked at detecting a tail.

Maybe it’s not him. How silly. It could be David or Jin, or Frank, for that matter. It’s just headlights. Damn it, get a grip.

The immense Gothic edifice that was the museum came into view, well lit by the lights in the parking lot. She could see Frank, David, and the others sitting on the steps waiting. Well, hell. Who was following her? She slowed down and pulled in beside Frank’s Camaro in front of the right-hand entrance to the museum. She jumped out of the SUV and ran to Frank.

“Diane. .” he began, putting an arm around her waist.

“I think someone is following me,” she said.

A set of headlights came over the rise and into the museum parking lot, heading straight for them. Frank, Izzy, and a museum security guard all drew their guns, but held them pointed downward.

It was Slick’s primer-colored Chevy truck.

Damn him. Diane started marching toward it. Frank pulled her back.

The truck skidded to a stop and Slick rolled down the window. He threw out a plastic grocery sack that broke open on the ground, scattering the contents of Diane’s purse and glove compartment onto the pavement. He glared at Diane.

“I found these in a ditch. You leave me and Tammy alone. We got nothing more to talk about.”

With that, he hit the accelerator and screeched away, leaving black rubber marks on the pavement.

Frank and the others stared after him for a moment. A sound from the pavement attracted their attention. Diane’s lipstick was rolling toward them and stopped at David’s feet.

“Well, that was weird,” said David. He reached down and picked up the lipstick, turning it over in his hand as if it might be something other than what it appeared to be. His dark eyes looked quizzically at Diane.

The others turned to her, obviously expecting some explanation that made sense. She noticed that Hector was with them too. He was in a lab coat. He must have been working late. He and his twin brother, Scott, were technicians Deven Jin had hired for the DNA lab.

“What is this stuff?” Hector asked.

“Things from my purse and glove compartment,” Diane told him.

“How did they end up in a ditch?” he asked.

She smiled grimly. “They didn’t. Look, I’m sorry to drag all of you out of bed.”

“We weren’t in bed,” said David. “We were up worrying about you. Are you all right? Where have you been?” He bent down and picked up the rest of Diane’s things.

“Trying out for a part in the remake of Deliverance,” she said, as Frank hugged her close.

He smelled like aftershave. It was a comforting aroma.

“I’m relieved you’re back,” he said. “You want to tell us what happened?”

“In my office. I need to shower and change clothes. First, I need to get these boxes of artifacts to Jonas Briggs’ office. Please, I’ll tell you everything, but I need to get this done first.”

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you need.” His blue-green eyes looked dark under the parking lot lights, but she could still see the concern in them. The others were relieved-and bewildered, but she could see that Frank was still worried.

“I’m all right,” she repeated, looking into his eyes. “Don’t worry about the way I look. I got caught out in a thunderstorm.”

“You look wonderful,” he said.

Frank didn’t let her go for a moment. Diane was inclined to hang on to him too. Feeling safe was like an elixir, an opiate; she could happily drown in the feeling. Reluctantly, she pulled away.

Izzy stared at the hood of her vehicle. “Did you have a wreck?”

Jin and David, just noticing the hood of the SUV, walked over and examined the huge dent.

“Sort of. Let’s get the boxes in first.” She knew they had a million questions, but it was such a long story, and her muscles were aching, and she wanted to be clean. God, she wanted to be clean.

They each took a box of projectile points and carried them to the second floor, where Jonas Briggs’ archaeology office was located. They stacked the boxes against the wall after Diane moved some of Jonas’ books and journals out of the way. When the last box was delivered from her vehicle, she sat down a moment in Jonas’ chair behind his desk and stared at the boxes, each one neatly labeled in Roy Barre’s hand.

“That place up there gets no cell service,” commented David. “We tried to call the Barres to find out where you were. Their landline was out of order.”

Diane broke into tears. She couldn’t help it. It just came out like water through a broken dam. She put her head down on her arms on Jonas’ desk and sobbed. Frank knelt by her side and put an arm around her shoulders. She didn’t mind Frank or David seeing her cry. They had witnessed her breaking down before. But she was embarrassed to show weakness in front of the others.

“Diane, what’s wrong?” Frank whispered.

She raised her head and sat up. “The Barres are dead,” she said. “The phone was out of order because their murderer cut the wire.”

Diane heard someone suck in a breath.

“Dead?” said Jin. “When?”

Diane stood up, drying her eyes with a Kleenex from Jonas’ desk. “I’ll tell you all about it in my office.”

She locked up Jonas’ office and walked downstairs and out to the parking lot and retrieved the poncho and knife from the SUV. Frank went with her, holding her hand as if she might bolt away at any moment.

She asked one of the security personnel to drive the SUV around the building and park it inside the fence on the crime lab side of the museum.

“I can take it to the barn,” he said, referring to the place where they stabled the fleet of museum vehicles.

“I want it processed for evidence,” said Diane.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

Diane stood a moment, watching it leave; then she and Frank walked back into the museum. David, Jin, Izzy, and Hector were in the lobby. They all walked silently together to the east wing, where her office was located.

So much walking. Diane was tired of walking. She’d been doing it all night. She wanted to sleep, but there was a lot to do before she could go home and rest.

Diane’s museum office suite had a shower. She had thought it an absurd luxury at first, but she had used it so many times that it was now a necessity. On more than one occasion she’d been grateful to have it. She was grateful now. Frank and her crew sat in the lounge part of her office while she showered and changed into the clean clothes she always kept on hand.

Diane ran the shower as hot as she dared and stood under the steaming water, letting it run over her shoulders and down her back. She would have stayed until the hot water ran out if they hadn’t been waiting on her. She scrubbed her hair and body until she was almost raw. When she got out, she put on jeans and a white T-shirt and combed her hair slicked back. She wiped the steam off the mirror and looked at herself. I look androgynous, she thought. The shower was supposed to refresh her, but she still felt so tired.

The meeting lounge attached to her office had a soft sofa and stuffed chairs, a large round oak table, a refrigerator, and a sink. It was a comfortable place, like a small apartment. Frank, Jin, David, Hector, and Izzy all sat in various chairs in the room. Hector and David sat at the table with Izzy. Jin and Frank were on the sofa.