down from her museum post, which was a relief to Diane. It had been clear to her that Dr. Lymon didn’t enjoy working at the museum, even though it virtually doubled her research space. Plus, the manager for the geology collection had come to Diane and complained about Lymon’s work on several occasions since Lymon arrived- something managers rarely did.
“Last month? Was that the first time?” asked Diane.
Neva nodded. “It was completely out of the blue.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “She grabbed him by the crotch and propositioned him. Then she got really upset when he turned her down.” Neva leaned forward. “It’s not just that. She came up to me in the parking lot and told me I’d better watch out, that Mike abused his last girlfriend. I didn’t believe her and told her so. Mike shows no signs of being an abuser. My cousin married one, and I know what they’re like. Even when they’re trying to make nice, I know what they’re like.”
“You’re right, it’s not true,” said Diane. “I know what she’s referring to, and I also know it wasn’t Mike. He was trying to help the victim-as was I.”
“I didn’t tell Mike what she said, but if she’s spreading it around. .”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“I know it’s asking a lot, but can you do it without letting Mike know I told you about the harassment?”
Diane nodded. “I’ll fix it.”
She rubbed her aching arm. As she tried to find a comfortable position in which to rest it, Neva’s eyes grew wide with what looked like fear. Diane checked to see if she was bleeding.
“What if it was her?” said Neva.
“What do you mean?” asked Diane.
“Everyone around here knows Mike thinks you’re great. What if she’s jealous of you two and she’s the one who stabbed both of you? I just now thought of that. There has to be a reason that you two were targeted, and I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out something that makes sense.”
Diane couldn’t imagine Dr. Lymon wielding a knife and disappearing like the Shadow, but Neva had a point.
“I’ll discreetly check into it. Don’t worry, Neva. Go and be with Mike and put this out of your mind. It’s something I can fix. If you need to be late in the morning or take a day off, that’s all right. We can call you if we need you.”
Neva nodded and gave Diane a weak smile.
Diane said, “I’m going to have to tell David about the harassment, because I need him to do some investigating. He’ll keep your confidence.”
Neva made a face. “David? He doesn’t exactly. . well. . have a lot of finesse dealing with people. I mean-”
“Not in his personal interactions, but I assure you, he can slither around in an investigation and you never know he’s there. . kind of like our elusive museum snake.”
David’s having any finesse obviously surprised Neva. “Okay. Thanks. Really, thanks. This is so unfair, and I’ve been worried about what to do.” She stood, still looking uncertain. Diane imagined she felt guilty for breaking a confidence. “I’ve got some work to do in the lab,” said Neva as she was leaving. “Then I’m going back to the hospital.” She went out the door, Diane hoped feeling better than when she came in.
When Neva left, it was suddenly clear to Diane that she needed to do two things. First, she picked up the phone and called Kendel.
“Kendel, something has come up. I don’t want to rush you, but have you seen Mike’s proposal yet?”
“Neva brought it by early this morning. I’ve just read it, and I like it. I like Mike, too. He did a great job on the Journey to the Center of the Earth exhibit. The new exhibits he’s proposing are cutting-edge stuff. He has my vote.”
“Okay, thank you, Kendel. Get with the accountant and work it out so that he has benefits.”
For her second task, Diane called David and asked him to meet her in her osteology lab. She arrived before him, and while she waited she opened the box containing the stripped skeleton of Caver Doe that Lynn Webber’s new diener had processed. He had wrapped the skull and each long bone in bubble wrap and put all the hand and foot bones in small boxes. He’d arranged the vertebrae in a separate box and wrapped each rib in thin paper. What surprised her was not so much his meticulous handling of each bone, but that he had separated out the hand and foot bones in boxes labeled left and right. Not easy, unless you happened to be a bone person. Diane began by laying out the bones in anatomical position. Because of his meticulous labeling, it went quickly.
Diane heard the door open and looked up to see David. “Nice wrapping,” he said, walking up to the table.
“Yes, it is. I’ve received bones from medical examiners with many different kinds of packaging, but I’ve never before had them individually wrapped, labeled and divided into left and right.”
David gave a short laugh. “He sided the bones for you?”
Diane didn’t know if the medicine was finally taking effect, or if it was the cathartic effect of good humor, but she felt better, and the pain in her arm was gone.
“Yes, he did. He even stacked the ribs together in order. Got it right too-side and all,” she said, then looked up from the bone she had just laid down. “David, I need you to investigate something-confidentially.”
David cocked an eyebrow. “Okay.”
She told him Neva’s story and of her sudden concern that Dr. Lymon might be the cemetery stabber.
David whistled. “You need to tell Garnett.”
“Yes, I do, but I can’t right now. That’s why I’m asking you to investigate.” She unwrapped the two sides of the pelvis and held them together in front of her. A glimpse told her it was a male pelvis-narrow pelvic basin, narrow sciatic notch. She set them down on either side of the sacrum.
“Sure. I’ll do it,” David said. “But just allow me to play the devil’s advocate for a moment, because I know how you like me to be your moral anchor. Aren’t you afraid that Garnett will accuse you of a conflict of interest- protecting the museum by conducting your own investigation?”
Diane picked up a tibia with a compound fracture mid-shaft. “No. The museum wouldn’t be hurt by this. I’m protecting the confidentiality of Neva and Mike-employees of mine. I have no knowledge that Dr. Lymon is the perp. If you uncover evidence that she is, we’ll take that to Garnett.”
David stared at the bone in Diane’s hand. “That break looks like it hurt,” said David.
“It did. Tibias often break through the skin because the shinbone is so close to the surface. According to Webber’s report, he got an infection from the wound.”
David wrinkled up his face. “Poor fellow. Okay, I understand you have no direct knowledge of Dr. Lymon’s guilt, but bear with me. It’s a lead. . ”
“Perhaps. As I said, if it turns out to be, we’ll tell Garnett.” Diane set the tibia down and lifted the skull from its nest on the doughnut ring.
David stroked his chin. “What do you want me to do?”
Chapter 15
Caver Doe’s clean bones looked like ivory ornaments on the shiny silver table. All of them were present-every bone in each hand and foot, the small hyoid bone from the throat, all the tiny bones of the ear. The diener had done a superior job in preparing them. Diane made a mental note to call and thank Lynn Webber and praise her assistant. To use her own words, flattery went a long way with Lynn.
David stood with his hands in his pockets studying Caver Doe, waiting for instructions as Diane collected her calipers, forms and pen and set them on the table in preparation for the examination. She stuck her forms in her clipboard and looked up at him.
“I want you to investigate Annette Lymon. I want to know if she could have stabbed Mike and me or if she could have had it done.”
“Do you think she could have?” he said.
“You want to start with a preconceived notion of what I think?” said Diane, putting a hand on the dome of Caver Doe’s skull.
