are absorbed in our bones, which means we can measure the ratios with a mass spectrometer and possibly find out what the person ate all his life. Like carbon fourteen tests, it’s more complicated, but you get the idea. Using it for this bone is a long shot. Most people in the U.S. have pretty much the same diet, but it could supply some more information about the individual. We might get lucky and he ate only red meat and potatoes all his life.”
“Kevin, come here and look at this.” David Reynolds motioned his stepson to another of the computer animations. Kevin was reluctant to leave the conversation, but his mother, Cindy, pulled him away and went over to watch the mammoth animation with her husband.
“That’s fascinating,” said Frank. “I’ll suggest it to the Rosewood police when I give them the bone.”
“Did you get in touch with your friends?” asked Diane.
He shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve been calling. I think George said he was going out of town for a couple of days. He should be back today, though. I’m going over there tomorrow.”
They were interrupted by the muffled strains of “Ode to Joy” coming from Frank’s jacket.
“Should have left this thing at home,” Frank mumbled. He stepped away from the others and answered his phone.
Diane stole a glance at him and saw him drop his arms to his sides, lean on the column and put a hand to his face. She went over and touched his arm.
“Frank?” asked Diane. “Are you all right?”
He shook his head. “I have to go. It’s George and Louise. The ones with the missing daughter. The two of them and their son were found dead in their home.”
“Dead?” whispered Diane. “How?”
“I don’t know. I’m going over there. Look, Diane, I need to. .”
“It’s all right. Do what you have to do.” She walked him to the door. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’ll call later. Tell Kevin I had to leave. Poor kid’s used to me taking off in the middle of things.” He kissed her cheek, and Diane watched him walk to the parking lot before she closed the door.
Dead-a whole family gone. She put the flat of her palm on the door to steady herself. A missing daughter, and now this. A sudden tap on her shoulder made her jump.
“I’m sorry, Doc.” It was Jake Houser, the security guard. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Just fine. I wanted to tell you that I’ve been hearing the phone ringing in your office. I wouldn’t mention it, but whoever it is is persistent.”
“Thanks. I’ll go look at the caller ID.”
“Oh, and. .” He grinned broadly. “My son’s here. Guest of Kenneth Meyers. He has a summer job working for him. I’d like you to meet him.”
“I’d like that, Jake. Let me check this out, and I’ll introduce myself. I overheard you talking to Frank yesterday. You must be really proud.”
“Proud’s putting it mildly. Dylan’s a great kid. It’s hard these days to raise a good kid. I’m proud-and lucky. Was that Frank I saw leaving just now?”
“He had to leave. Some friends of his were found dead in their home.”
Jake’s happy expression dissolved into a frown. “Do you know who?”
“I think their names are George and Louise Boone, and their son, Jay.”
Jake backed up and leaned against the wall, his mouth open. “George and Louise. I know them. I play poker with George. Are you sure?” He reached for his cell phone. It rang in his hand and he almost dropped it. “Houser here.”
He paused. Diane watched the frown on his face deepen.
“I think so.” He held his hand over the mouthpiece.
“My God, it’s true. George, Louise, Jay too. They need me down at the station. We’re shorthanded. I know you’ve been very flexible with me. . ”
“It’s all right. Tell Leonard you’re going. I think I saw him heading for the upper floors not long ago.”
“Thanks, Doc. Thanks.” He paused, looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead contacted Leonard on his walkie-talkie.
Diane walked to her office and unlocked her private door. She was just about to punch the play button on her answering machine when the phone rang again. It frightened her. Frank’s, Jake’s, and now hers-a conspiracy of phones bringing bad news? She trembled slightly as she reached for it.
“Diane Fallon,” she said into the receiver.
“Diane. I’m glad I found you. I’ve been calling your home.” It was Gregory. “We’ve lost track of Santos, and believe his right-hand man, Joachim, may have entered the United States last week. I’m trying to verify it.”
Diane’s knees suddenly felt weak, and she sank onto her chair. “You think he’s coming here?”
“We don’t know that. I don’t even know if the reports are true. You know how hard it is to verify things. I’ll find out. I just wanted to warn you of the possibility. I don’t want you to worry, Diane. I wouldn’t even have called, but I thought you might hear the news from another source.”
“Is the team still down there?”
“I’ve called them back. . temporarily. They think they’ve located two more mass graves, and I don’t want to start excavation until things are a little more settled.”
So Gregory was more worried than he let on, she thought. “Is something else going on?” she asked.
“I don’t know. President Valdividia told some of his friends he’s going to take a vacation. You know how unsettled Puerto Barquis has been the past few months.” He paused. “He may be. . what do you Americans say? Getting the hell out of Dodge.”
“Something rather disturbing has happened here.”
“Something to do with Santos? What is it?”
Diane told him about the museum party, the music and the note.
There was a long pause before he spoke. “Of course, it could be a coincidence.”
“It probably is,” she said. “But if it isn’t, what would be the point? What would he gain?”
“The point might be to put fear into those who took your place.”
“Of course, if he shows he can reach any of us, wherever we are, that would be an effective weapon of terror. But it may not be him at all. There are other things going on, things related to the museum.” She opened the drawer and fingered the printouts from the fax as she explained the duplicate orders. “I suppose it could be some clumsy attempt to discredit me.”
“You don’t think that might be related to Santos too?”
“It hardly seems likely. I’m under pressure to move the museum and sell the property to developers. This probably has more to do with that. I just can’t see him sending someone up here to make it look like I ordered too many specimens.”
The two of them chuckled for just a moment, and it tasted to Diane like fresh air.
“The quartet playing ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King.’ Could that also be related to the museum situation?”
“Unless it’s a simple coincidence, it has to be. I don’t know how anyone here would know about the music.”
“People can find out things. Do you have anyone from South America working at the museum?”
“Yes, we’ve had a graduate student and a lab technician, but I’ve had no reason to suspect them. Besides, they were both from Venezuela.”
“I think the music is probably an unfortunate coincidence, but let’s not take any chances. We can’t allow people like him to take revenge on humanitarian workers, and certainly not in their homes. I’ll contact our people who are watching him.”
“It’s so hard sometimes.” Tears brimmed her eyes and almost overflowed onto her cheeks.
“I know. But remember that you have many friends. Call me anytime, even if you just need to talk.”
“Thank you, Gregory.”
She placed the receiver back on the phone. She could handle whoever it was who had placed the orders. But she wasn’t sure she could handle whoever had left the note for the quartet. If the music wasn’t an innocent coincidence, then it was something very mean and ugly. She finally stood up to go back to the party when she heard movement just on the other side of the adjoining door to Andie’s office.
