work in advance and set everything up so they’ll be safe.”
“Still. .”
“I know, but Mike is very safety conscious. He’s one of the best caving partners I’ve ever had-and that’s mainly because he has good sense when it comes to danger.”
They took the stairs down to the second floor and walked across to the conservation lab, where they met David at the door. He shrugged his shoulders as they all entered. He clearly didn’t know what this was about either.
The conservation lab was similar to the osteology lab-a room filled with tables and all manner of equipment, with a large environmentally controlled storage vault for special items. It was outfitted with equipment that allowed them to keep at bay the natural tendency for things to disintegrate. The lab mostly worked with bones, fossils, botanical specimens, objects from nature used in exhibits, and documents, but the staff recently had had the opportunity to work with a mummy and Egyptian artifacts. Now they were working with textiles.
Jin was standing, grinning over a table laid out with clothing from Plymouth Doe. Another table contained rows of evidence bags, presumably trace evidence from the clothing. There was a bra-more substantial than what most women wore now-cotton panties, a slip. All the underclothes had been white, but were now badly stained. The yellow gingham dress was laid out with the apron beside it. Plymouth Doe had been a slim woman. Diane already knew from the length of her long bones that she was five-foot-five.
They walked around the table and stood near Jin and Korey. Diane noticed that the apron was scalloped and had RAY’S DINER written in blue embroidery-she had been a waitress.
As interesting as the apron was, however, it was the sweater that Jin and Korey were focused on. Jin looked from David to Diane to Neva, still grinning. Clearly there was something he expected them to notice right away.
It was a woman’s sweater, a gray hand-knitted piece, stained from being in water near a decaying body all those years. It had a row of silver buttons down the front. Diane’s eyes widened in surprise. David saw it too. He grabbed his hand lens out of his pocket and bent over the sweater.
“I don’t believe it,” he muttered.
“Aren’t those buttons the same as the one you found in the cave?” asked Neva.
“Yes,” said David. “Definitely the same.” He straightened up. “These buttons are rare because they never came into general use. Which means we have a connection between Caver Doe and Plymouth Doe.”
Even though they didn’t know that the cave button was actually associated with Caver Doe, the coincidence was too much to ignore.
“Wow,” said Neva, “If Plymouth Doe was his girlfriend, I apologize for the things I thought about her.” Both David and Jin looked sideways at her. “We were discussing the photograph found with Caver Doe and I made some suggestions about her possible involvement in his death. But if she’s dead too. .”
“Not all the buttons are attached,” said Diane.
“No, only two,” Jin replied. “The others were found nearby on the seat and there’s the one from the cave.”
“Let me have a look at them first,” said Korey. “I can stabilize the decomposition. I’ve noticed the shanks are rusty. Some are eaten away.”
Diane nodded. “How are you coming with the clothes?”
“Jin’s been doing his thing,” said Korey. He jerked his head toward the table of evidence bags. “When he finishes, I’ll work on the fabric. Do you want it cleaned?”
“No,” said Diane. “Just keep it from falling apart.”
“Sure thing, Dr. F.”
“I haven’t found any blood so far,” said Jin. “I’m not sure I would after all that time in the water. But I thought you’d like to see the buttons. Especially David. Your button database is paying off. Who knew?”
“And all of you scoffed,” said David.
Diane shook her head. “This is just amazing-and unexpected.”
“It surprised the heck out of me,” said Jin.
“Yeah,” said Korey, “we thought he’d gone nuts.”
“Good work, guys.” She looked at her watch. “I need to get back to Plymouth Doe. Neva, why don’t you get to work on Plymouth Doe’s face. See if it’s a match with the snapshot found with Caver Doe.”
“Diane. Been looking for you.” Jonas Briggs, the museum’s archaeologist, and professor emeritus from Bartram University, came strolling into the conservation lab, his face lit up with his usual smile. “The archaeology faunal lab at the university thanks you profusely for helping out with its faunal remains.”
Diane looked at him blankly. “What was it I did for them?”
“Did Dr. Mercer not tell you? You were on vacation, so I guess she forgot.”
He handed her an envelope. Diane tore it open and found a thank-you note from the Archaeology Department head for allowing them to use the museum’s faunal lab to strip some of their remains. She looked up at Jonas.
“Some idiot stole their dermestid colony about three weeks ago. Probably some fraternity prank. They had fresh carcasses and were in immediate need and appealed to us-actually to me. I asked Sylvia Mercer, and she generously agreed to help.”
Diane stood looking at him for a long moment. She and David looked at each other.
“You don’t think. .” began David.
“It’s entirely possible,” said Diane.
“What?” said Jin.
“Not frat boys?” said Jonas.
“Maybe not,” said Diane.
“But you aren’t going to tell, are you?” said Jonas. “This is part of the business of the museum’s dark side, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Sorry-ongoing case. I suppose it’s too late to work the scene,” mused Diane. “But Jin, go ahead and have a look at the faunal lab sometime today.” He nodded. “Do they have any leads?” she asked Jonas.
“On the theft? No. It’s pretty easy to come and go in the lab. Could have been anyone,” said Briggs.
“I’ll check it out,” said Jin.
“What was that about?” asked Neva when she and Diane were out the door.
“David found a lot of beetles with Jane Doe. She had cuts all over her body, and she was found with other animals in various states of decomposition. Just a hunch, but I’m thinking that maybe the killer wanted to hurry the process of decomposition. One way to do that is to cut the body tissue to allow access to insects. I believe he also thought that putting out extra bugs and other carcasses would increase the rate of decomposition.”
“So maybe Jane Doe hasn’t been dead as long as we first thought,” said Neva.
“That could be the case. I was thinking maybe a month. But now I’m not so sure.”
On the way back to the stairwell they walked through Earth Science. Through the doorway that led to the rock room, Diane saw Dr. Lymon and Mike at the door to the geology lab.
“What is he doing out?” said Neva. She started to go to him when Diane put a hand on her arm.
“Let me handle this,” said Diane. “You start on Plymouth Doe’s face.”
“Is that Dr. Lymon?”
“I’ll catch up to you later,” said Diane.
“Yes, ma’am,” Neva said, though she hesitated for a moment before continuing on to the osteology lab.
Diane passed through the rock room, headed for the geology lab. Several people were looking at the igneous rocks, trying not to look like they were listening to the argument that was clearly going on. Dr. Lymon’s voice was getting progressively higher. Mike was trying to get out of the doorway, but she grabbed his arm.
Diane walked up to the two of them. “Let’s go into the lab. Now.”
“This is none of your damn business.” Dr. Lymon’s face was red with anger.
“You’re making a spectacle in the museum, and that makes it my business. If you don’t want to be escorted out by security, take this to the office.”
Annette Lymon looked at Diane as if she didn’t understand her. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you,” she said after a moment. “No one seemed to know where you were.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Diane saw Shelly Cates, the geology collection manager, in her office putting down the phone receiver. She dashed out and came toward them. Diane could tell by her body language that she
