was not your fault.”
She looked up at Diane, her ice blue eyes swimming in tears. “I’m useless. I just disappear when things get hard.”
Diane noticed blood seeping through the fabric on the arm of Juliet’s shirt.
Chapter 18
“Were you hurt?” Diane reached over to look at her arm.
Juliet pulled it back. “It’s nothing.”
“Did you cut yourself?” asked Diane. Juliet was silent. “Dr. Price.” Diane used her title and a firm voice. “Let me help you. It looks like you need it.”
“There is no help,” she whispered. “I’ve tried.”
“What if there is help to be had? Isn’t it worth it to try again?”
“I’m sorry I deserted you.”
“You didn’t desert me. You were faced with maniacs with bats. Half the people in the museum would have collapsed in the face of that. I’m concerned about your cutting yourself. That is what you’re doing, isn’t it?”
Diane saw that the door to the bathroom was open. She usually left it closed. She guessed that Juliet had cut herself when she came in from the episode in the parking lot. Some kind of strange coping strategy that Diane didn’t understand.
Juliet was rubbing her hands, as if washing them, almost wringing them. Her face looked panicked.
“I know that seems strange, but I have to.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?” asked Diane.
“Now it does. That’s the point. It doesn’t at first. It’s as though I’m disappearing-I can’t even feel anything. The cutting brings back the feeling. It anchors me back to the ground. Without it, I’ll just fade away.”
Odd, thought Diane. Fading away was the way she saw Juliet.
“I said it was not my intention to mind your business, but I feel like you’re in this current situation because of me.”
“You? How?” asked Juliet.
“The men were more than likely after me, and you were just an innocent bystander.”
“Really?” She seemed surprised.
Diane wondered why. Did Juliet see everything as her fault?
“Yes, and I’m sorry. However, since I have a responsibility, I feel like I need to urge you to see someone. It doesn’t have to be Laura, and your job doesn’t depend on it. But for your own sense of self, give it a try.”
Juliet nodded, but Diane wasn’t sure she was even listening.
“Maybe,” she whispered.
“That’s good enough,” said Diane. “Now let me drive you home.”
“I can drive. I’m here now. I’m fine.”
“I’ll have the guards walk us out.”
“I’ll agree to that.”
It was good for Diane to be home in her own apartment. “I need a vacation,” she said to herself as she stripped off her clothes and got into the shower.
After a long shower, she slipped on a nightshirt and got into bed, hoping for no midnight phone calls or explosions. She fell asleep wishing Frank were here in bed with her.
It was her clock that awoke her and not the phone. Diane thought that was a good sign. She breakfasted on peanut butter on raisin bread and an apple and dashed off to the museum. As she was getting in the car, she looked through the woods at the tent city being disassembled. She was glad to be working in her own lab from now on. She got in the car and drove off.
After Diane checked in with Andie, she went straight to the Security office. Chanell Napier, her head of Security, was on duty.
“They tell me we had some excitement last night,” said Chanell. “Are you all right, Dr. Fallon?”
“I’m fine, Chanell. Have you found out anything?”
“The police caught the second guy. They have them both downtown. I expect they’ll let us know what it was about when they find out. You know how Chief Garnett hates anything to happen to the museum.”
Diane did. He hated anything that might make Diane rethink her arrangement with Rosewood about having a crime lab in a wing of the museum. He and the mayor had promised that the crime lab wouldn’t attract anything dangerous to the museum. They hadn’t been able to keep that promise, but Garnett certainly tried.
“Keep your ears open,” said Diane. “Find out if anyone else has had any problems at all going to their cars. But I actually came here on another matter. Aquatic Animals have had several valuable seashells stolen.” Diane handed her the folder that Whitney Lester had given her.
“Here are pictures of the seashells. There is a sheet with the value in there, too. I think the theft amounts to over six thousand dollars.”
Chanell shook her head. “Not another one. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“What do you mean?” asked Diane.
“Other departments have had losses. Always rare items and always small items.”
“Why didn’t I know about this?” asked Diane.
“Most of the complaints have come in just recently while you were at the explosion site. The collection managers just now noticed things missing. In some cases, less valuable items were substituted for the real ones, and it took a while to discover the difference.”
“What’s been stolen?” asked Diane, horrified that systematic theft was happening in the museum.
“Just yesterday, the Geology manager said three gem quality stones are missing, including a diamond donated by Vanessa Van Ross.”
“Oh, no, not her ten-thousand-dollar diamond.”
“I’m afraid so. They also have two valuable geodes missing. Entomology reported that a rare”-Chanell got a folder from her desk and opened it-“
“Anything else?”
“Paleontology reported fossils missing, including dinosaur eggs.” She waved a sheet with a list of items. “We don’t know the value yet, but right now we may be looking at about thirty thousand dollars worth of missing items.”
“What’s being done to get to the bottom of it?”
“I’m reviewing the videotapes. So far nothing stands out. The problem is we don’t have a specific time for any of the thefts. I’ve asked all the departments to tell me, as best they can, exactly when was the last time anyone can confirm that the missing items were still here. I’ve been in touch with the GBI and the FBI. Right now the value is not enough for them to sit up and take a lot of notice. But they are helping me look at collectors who are known to buy stolen property. I’ve asked all the departments to go over their inventory. That’s how Geology discovered the gemstones. The collection manager is beside herself. Someone put fake gems in place of the real ones so no one would notice anything was missing. She said Mike was going to be furious when he gets back from wherever he is.”
“He’s searching for extremophiles in caves in Brazil.”
“Lord have mercy… whatever that is. It’s an education every time I talk to one of these curators.”
Diane smiled. “Has Archaeology suffered any losses? They have some valuable artifacts.”
“I asked Jonas Briggs. He said no. I think he was a little offended.” She grinned. “But you know him.”
“Keep on this,” she said. “Keep me informed of all developments.”
“We will, Dr. Fallon. We’ve been talking with Dr. Williams while you’ve been working on those poor students’ remains. That whole business is just simply awful.”
“Yes, it is. It’s caused a lot of profound grief. It’s going to take a long time to recover-if ever. You don’t really
