Hell, she might as well tell her. Andie would find out eventually, and Diane would feel bad about keeping her in the dark. Andie was her gatekeeper, and Diane had discovered a long time ago it was a good idea to keep gatekeepers informed. She gave Andie a very brief description of what happened. Even in brevity, it was shocking. Andie stood, wide-eyed, and slowly sat down.
“Oh, oh. That’s. . that’s just awful. Those poor people. Are you all right? A skeleton on your car?” Andie seemed not to know quite what to comment on first.
“I’m fine. I’ll be working on the museum side today. Laura’s coming for a late lunch. Please send her in when she gets here,” said Diane.
“Sure. Can I get you anything?”
“Just hold all calls that aren’t urgent,” she said.
Diane would have just put her assistant director, Kendel, in charge for a couple of days while she dealt with the fallout of the previous day. But Kendel was in Africa with Mike, the geology curator, acquiring fossils. They weren’t due back for several days. Diane was even shorthanded in the crime lab. Neva, a several-generations Georgia girl, and one of Diane’s criminalists, told Diane she had never been out of the country. So she’d given Neva time off to go with Mike, who was Neva’s boyfriend. Diane hoped they were all having a good time.
Diane’s office suite was connected to Andie’s office. She went through the adjoining door and sat down at her desk. After attending to a few letters, she ordered lunch from the museum restaurant and asked that it be sent to her office. Turkey sandwiches and fruit salads arrived at the same time as Laura.
Laura wore a pale blue pantsuit that looked good on her slim frame. Her blond hair was in its usual smooth French twist. Diane always admired Laura’s grace. Diane had a hard time with grace.
“You look great,” said Diane.
“Thanks. I appreciate lunch. This is nice.” They sat down at the large table and ate, talking only small talk. When they finished, Diane got up and set the dishes on the counter next to the sink.
“So,” said Laura, going to the couch, sitting down, and folding her arms. “What is it you want to talk about?”
Diane sighed and sat down in the chair she was in earlier that morning. “First, I need to tell you about my experience last evening,” she said.
Diane related the story in much the same way she had to her crime lab crew and to Frank-complete and detailed. Normally, Laura listened with an interested but unemotional expression on her face. But this was not a story that lent itself to nonexpression. Laura looked much like the others had-jaw dropping, eyes wide.
“Diane, for heaven’s sake, are you all right?” she said, when Diane’s lengthy narrative was over.
“I asked you here to discuss just that.” Diane took a deep breath. “Laura, I was terrified to the point of nausea the whole time.”
Laura frowned. “Diane, only you would find that abnormal. If it were me the guy had grabbed, I’d be in his basement chained to the wall, or whatever he had planned. Or if I managed to get away and make it to the woods, I’d be lost in some thicket, whimpering like a child. And if I’d managed to make it out of the woods and through some miracle located the Barres’ house and found them with their throats slashed, you would have found me on the floor in a fetal position babbling nonsense, and I’d be committed to an institution for the next year. You don’t have a problem.”
“Seriously, Laura. I’ve been in bad situations many times. I’ve never before experienced that level of fright. I was almost immobilized at times.”
“But you got away. Even gave the son of a bitch a black eye. You got through the woods. You made a friend along the way. And you kept your presence of mind at the Barres’. I reiterate: You don’t have a problem.” She held up a hand when Diane started to speak again. “But if you want my opinion, I’ll tell you what I think.”
“Please.”
“I think you are happy,” she said.
“What?” Diane expected more.
“After Ariel was killed, your psyche felt that nothing worse could happen, and it responded with this fearlessness that you’ve possessed. But now, with this job you’ve become comfortable in, your friends, Frank, Star, you have become happy, and it scares you. Now you have something to lose again. You responded by being afraid. It’s normal. And in addition, you think you don’t deserve to be happy, because of what happened in South America.”
“I don’t deserve to be happy? That’s a little Psych 101, isn’t it?”
“It’s called 101 because it’s basic. That’s what you are feeling,” said Laura.
“Okay, say I buy that. What can I do about it? I don’t want to ever feel afraid like that again,” said Diane.
Laura took a deep breath, changed her position on the couch, and looked back at Diane. “First, you can acknowledge that just because you lost Ariel, it in no way implies that you will lose what you have now.”
“Is there a ‘second’? I need something more concrete. I can’t acknowledge feelings that I didn’t know I have,” said Diane.
“You can find out who the skeleton belongs to and who killed the Barres. Slaying dragons is always a good way to get your mojo back,” said Laura.
Diane thought for a moment. “Okay, that’s more practical.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “Diane, you are really the limit sometimes.”
Laura was about to say more when Andie knocked on the door and slipped in.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Fallon, but there’s this man in my office who insists on speaking with you. He said his name is Sheriff Leland Conrad.”
Chapter 13
“Talk about slaying dragons,” said Diane.
Laura rose. “I’ll go out your rear door and leave you to it,” she said. As she glided out the door she said, “Have fun. Off with his head.”
“I’ll see him in my office,” Diane told Andie, straightening her clothes and running her fingers through her hair.
“I need to go to archives,” said Andie, “but I’ll stay if you want.”
Diane smiled at her. “I’ll be fine.”
“He’s not going to arrest you or anything, is he?” asked Andie. “I mean, you just found the bodies.”
“It will be all right,” insisted Diane. “Go to your meeting. This is the meeting with the collection managers, right?”
Andie nodded. Diane had been giving Andie more responsibilities because she had asked for them. Andie was in charge of a webcam project they were starting up for the schools, and she also met with the collection managers. She had been doing quite well and Diane was proud of her.
Diane walked into her office with Andie, closing the door to her meeting room behind her. She sat down behind her desk before she asked Andie to bring Sheriff Conrad in.
Andie opened the door and introduced Diane’s guest, Sheriff Leland Conrad. Diane had heard about Sheriff Conrad, but had never met him. His son looked nothing like him. The sheriff had a large, square, stern face with permanent frown lines on either side of his small mouth. He had smooth skin pulled tight, almond eyes, and high, rounded cheekbones. He had a small nose and deep nasal folds. His thick brown hair was reminiscent of the fifties hairstyles in men. He wore his brown sheriff’s uniform, which looked like it had been starched. Leland Conrad was a tall, barrel-chested man who looked as if he liked to scare people into a confession. Diane found his whole demeanor to be off-putting, but it may have been simply that she didn’t like the things she had heard about him. He didn’t look like a happy man; nor did he look like he thought he ought to be happy.
“Afternoon, Miss Fallon. I usually ask people I interview to come to my office. Most people find that intimidating, but I reckoned that you wouldn’t, being in the business yourself, so to speak.”
Diane raised her eyebrows. So, he was interviewing a suspect.
