Diane decided that this would be a good time to leave Bryce to his hunt.
‘‘Let me know when they’ve been found, Sheriff,’’ she said as she turned to go back to her lab.
She felt oddly ill at ease turning her back on Bryce and his crew, as if when she got back to her lab there would be a knife sticking between her shoulder blades.
Diane wrote a preliminary report for Sheriff Canfield on the results of the analysis of the few bones she had. She had learned very little from them, and it didn’t look like she would learn much more. She would take a sample down to Jin to see if he could extract some DNA.
She read over her summary again. She hadn’t found any fragments to suggest there was more than one individual. The lateral angle measurement of the audi tory canal made it probable the individual was male. The pattern on the pubic symphysis suggested he was in his early twenties. The piece of metal could mean that he had some type of body piercing. That was it: not much, mainly suggestions. She packaged and la beled samples to take to Jin and locked them along with the bones in her vault and changed the key code.
Diane locked up her lab and left via the museum side exit. As she passed the break room, she saw Jen nifer Jeffcote-Smith sitting at one of the tables drink ing her coffee. From the steam rising out of the cup, it looked hot. She didn’t look happy. Diane hesitated a moment, then went in.
‘‘Come to gloat?’’ asked Jennifer when she saw Diane. ‘‘No,’’ said Diane pulling up a chair.
‘‘Then what are you looking at?’’ said Jennifer. ‘‘I think I’m looking at a scapegoat,’’ said Diane. Jennifer looked up sharply. ‘‘What’s that supposed
to mean?’’
‘‘You know, Lloyd Bryce has a temper, and he loses
it easily,’’ said Diane.
‘‘You will have to be more clear,’’ she said. ‘‘Or
just leave—that would be good too.’’ She continued
to sip her coffee, breaking eye contact with Diane. ‘‘He didn’t lose his temper with the sheriff, and
Canfield was laying into him pretty hard.’’
‘‘So?’’ said Jennifer.
‘‘You need to ask yourself why,’’ said Diane. ‘‘This is your story. You ask yourself why,’’ she said. ‘‘Because he
‘‘Look. Will you get to the point or leave? In case
you haven’t noticed, today hasn’t been a good day for
me.’’ Jennifer set her coffee down. She twisted her
wedding rings.
to herself.
‘‘How long were you out of your lab?’’ asked Diane. ‘‘What do you mean?’’ Jennifer asked.
‘‘How long were you gone getting coffee? It was
about noon when you came up. That’s a busy time
for the restaurant,’’ said Diane. ‘‘It could have taken
a while.’’
‘‘I didn’t keep track of the time,’’ she said. ‘‘Doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t take long for some
body to get the bones,’’ said Diane.
Jennifer folded her arms and gave Diane her full
attention. ‘‘Why do you say I’m a scapegoat?’’ she
asked.
‘‘They hire you to come to Rosewood from Califor
nia with the promise of a lab and equipment. Then
they discover they don’t have a lab and equipment, so
either they will have to stock one for you or let you
go. You said you moved your family here and your
husband quit his job. That sounds like grounds for a
suit to me if they let you go. However, they could
sandbag you, then fire you and maybe save a lot of
money. After today they can let you go and say it was
because you were incompetent.’’
‘‘I’m not incompetent.’’ Jennifer raised her chin and
glared at Diane.
‘‘I’m not saying you are. I’m just talking about a
scenario—one you need to keep in mind,’’ said Diane. Jennifer was quiet for a long moment. ‘‘Why are
