Scattered Graves

her face hurt. David seemed off to her, even for David

in troubled mode. She couldn’t put her finger on what

it was, but it didn’t feel right to her. She went home

to Frank with an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach.

Diane liked rounding the drive and seeing the mu seum early in the morning. Until it came into view, she never knew exactly what she would see. The stone structure could be bathed in the glow of sunrise, or it could be shrouded in fog, glistening wet after a rain, or dark and gothic during a downpour.

This morning the building had a golden glow as the sun just rising above the tree line reflected off the gran ite. A fog from the pond rose from behind the building, giving the scene an ethereal, misty halo. The dark,

long dark fingers caressing leafless trees looked like the building.

The granite structure was a beautiful gothic-style building with large rooms decorated with Romanesque

moldings, polished granite floors, and mahogany-paneled walls. It began life in the 1800s as a museum on the first floor, with the upper floors rented out as office space. In the early twentieth century, the building was converted into a private medical clinic that closed down in the 1950s under mysterious circumstances—a history the employees loved to speculate about. The building

Vanessa

then stood empty until Milo Lorenzo and Van Ross decided to make it into a mu

seum again.

There were stories told by the docents of bodies buried in the subbasement—the hidden results of medical mistakes or fiendish experiments from the building’s dark past as a medical clinic. Good ghost stories are always fun.

As she drove up to her parking lot, she saw two figures rising from their seats on the steps, obviously waiting for her. It was Henry and his brother, Caleb.

‘‘I’m sorry for coming so early,’’ he said. ‘‘Caleb has to go to work and I have to go to school.’’

‘‘That’s all right. There are a lot of early birds around here,’’ said Diane.

The blast of warm air felt good as they entered the building. Chanell Napier, Diane’s head of security, was at the desk speaking with one of the guards about to go off duty. She was a slender African-American woman with a cheerful round face and a levelheaded disposition.

‘‘Blake told me about last night,’’ she said. ‘‘I can get a few guards and retake the third-floor overlook if you like.’’

Beside her, Diane saw Henry and Caleb exchange glances. That had to sound strange, she thought. Of course the whole thing was strange.

‘‘I’ll handle it with Bryce,’’ said Diane. She turned to Henry and Caleb. ‘‘You here to return the applica tion form?’’ she asked.

Henry nodded, handing it to her.

‘‘I’ve been trying to interest him in archaeology.’’ Jonas came strolling over with a wink. ‘‘I could use a good assistant.’’

Henry grinned proudly at his brother. ‘‘This is Ca leb’s last day on his job,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s going to work at the university.’’

‘‘I’m going to be working in the Advanced Compu tational Methods Department.’’ Caleb grinned. ‘‘It’s what I’ve been wanting to do.’’

‘‘Beats working that boring job at the bank,’’ said Henry.

‘‘That’s the truth,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘I’m real excited. Almost as excited as Henry.’’

‘‘Do you think they’ll accept me?’’ asked Henry, suddenly looking a little worried.

‘‘I’m sure they will,’’ said Diane.

‘‘That’s a shoo-in right there,’’ Jonas stage-whispered in Henry’s ear. ‘‘Everyone around here does what Dr. Fallon says.’’

Diane laughed. ‘‘I wish.’’

‘‘Sheriff Canfield had people out scouring the field again,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘He said somebody stole the bones?’’ Caleb looked incredulous.

‘‘Grampa said the sheriff’s fit to be tied,’’ said Henry.

‘‘Have they found anything else?’’ asked Diane.

Caleb shrugged.

‘‘I heard Grampa say they found a bullet,’’ said Henry.

‘‘People are always shooting around there,’’ said Caleb. ‘‘I’m surprised they didn’t find lots of bullets.’’

‘‘The hunters are crazy,’’ said Henry. ‘‘Sometimes they don’t pay any attention where they shoot.’’

‘‘Sounds like here,’’ said Jonas. ‘‘Is the third floor safe?’’ he asked Diane. ‘‘I heard we had a troll on the overlook.’’

Henry and Caleb looked curiously at each other.

The third floor overlook is getting a reputation, thought Diane.

‘‘It’s safe,’’ said Diane. Jonas was kidding, but she was a little annoyed with him. She didn’t want any rumors flying around.

* * *

When Diane got to her lab, she retrieved the box of bones she had selected for Jin to try to get a DNA sample from. She thought she would run into Shipman again when she opened the overlook, but he was gone.