“Maybe. But it may also contain leads.” He put the file under his arm and rose. “I thank you for dinner and the illumination.”
After he left, Diane pushed crime and murder out of her mind and practiced the piano. Frank had found her an intermediate-level version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D that she was learning how to play. It was a nice way to end the day before going to bed. Frank always played the piano before he went to bed. He chose Diane’s favorite Chopin nocturne.
Diane lay awake thinking about the Walters family. It would be more than a coincidence if they were related to the artist who disappeared more than fifty years ago. She kept going over scenarios for all that had happened. What if someone in the Walters’ household killed Ellie Rose? Who would it be? Did Wendy know who it was? There was a good possibility that she would. Whom would she protect? Her son? Certainly. Her husband? Probably, but maybe not. Then again, many women would protect the father of their children in order to keep the stigma away from them. Her father-in-law? Less likely, but most people hate scandal. The son was the most logical. Mothers are driven to protect their children.
Diane had another thought. Kathy Nicholson, the neighbor across the street from the Walters, had a son the same age as Wendy’s son. Did he know what happened? Was he involved? He did move far away from Georgia-as far as he could get without going into the ocean. He rarely came home. Curious.
“I know you have lots of questions.” Frank’s husky voice came out of the dark. “But you need to get some sleep.”
Diane smiled to herself. “Was I thinking too loud?”
Frank gave a deep-throated chuckle. “I just know you.” He leaned over and kissed her.
“What you need to be thinking about is how to get a judge to issue a search warrant for their cars and houses,” he said. “Word games aren’t going to convince any judge, and most aren’t impressed with coincidences either. I don’t know all the evidence you’ve collected, but I don’t think any of it actually connects directly to anyone in the Walters family.”
“It doesn’t, and you’re right. But I have some ideas,” Diane said. She moved over to the crook of Frank’s arm, snuggled against him, and went to sleep.
Diane’s bodyguards followed her to work and took up their positions in the lobby of the crime lab. It was probably one of their easier assignments, thought Diane. At least it would be until something happened.
The crime lab was empty when she arrived. She went straight to her lab and began working on the remaining bones David had excavated from the well. She measured and examined each one, adding the new information to what she already had. She stood back and looked at the young male skeleton with its missing bones.
It would have been necessary to remove all flesh, blood, marrow, and sinew from the bones before they could be crushed to make the temper. Almost certainly, they were skinned and boiled. Not a pleasant task. Something you wouldn’t want to do in your kitchen. In a shed, perhaps.
Diane cast her mind back to Marcella’s place. There were two outbuildings-three, if the carport was counted. One of them, Marcella identified as a potter’s shed. The other one, her daughter, Paloma, told Diane, was filled with junk from previous owners and should be torn down. Did it have a vent in its roof? A chimney? She didn’t remember.
She did have a clear image of the yard filled with various items of decor. She wondered which owner had put them there. Did they have meaning? Were there any clues to be had from the concrete statuary?
But not everything was concrete. Diane remembered seeing a large cast-iron pot planted with flowers. It would have been perfect for boiling body parts. She would ask Marcella where she found it. Probably not in the yard, if it was old. She didn’t think cast iron would last long out in the weather. Or would it? Perhaps it was in one of the sheds.
Diane repacked the bones, washed her hands, and put the paperwork on her desk. She called down to museum security to see if everything was calm. It was. No incidents whatsoever. That was a relief. Her team should be in the crime lab by now. She went to speak with them.
Neva, Izzy, and David were there working when she entered. Diane called them over to the round table and asked them for updates on the crime scenes they were working on.
“We almost don’t have time for any more crime,” said David. “We need to open a branch office. Not that I’m complaining. It’s good for business. Never a dull moment.” He gave a rundown on the various evidence they had in process, then turned to Marcella Payden.
“We’ve started the backyard research project again at Marcella’s. Scott’s been a big help. He’s a little too careful where he steps-jumpy about the prospect of more abandoned wells-so he’s slow, but I can’t say I blame him. And the paramedics haven’t made a run out to the house in several days. So things are good.”
Diane smiled. “David, you speak French. Why didn’t you tell me that Gauthier is the French word for Walters?”
David looked at her for a moment. “Why would I?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said.
She realized they knew next to nothing about the Carruthers, Walters, and Nicholson families. They knew only about Stacy Dance and her crime scene. She gave them a brief description that turned to a long description when they started asking questions.
“Talk about your weird coincidence,” said Izzy. “Jeez, this case is full of them. You think it’s the same family-Gauthier and Walters?”
“I don’t know,” said Diane.
“You know,” said Neva, “sometimes people change their names if they don’t want to be associated with an infamous relative. Imagine how Jeffrey Dahmer’s extended family must feel.”
“Sometimes they do it because the old name is just too hard to pronounce,” said David. “Or they don’t want to sound foreign.”
“It’s probably just a weird coincidence,” said Diane, “but I’d like to investigate the possibility.”
“What you’re thinking is that the Walters family doesn’t want the connection made between them and their Mad Potter relative,” said David. “Assuming the Mad Potter was a Gauthier, and the Walters are really the Gauthiers.”
“I think it may be a possibility,” said Diane. “The Walters are a prominent family. Gordon Walters, the oncologist in Gainesville, is testing the waters for a run for Congress. He, or his father, Everett Walters, might want to keep the skeletons in the closet.”
“Who wouldn’t want to keep these skeletons hidden?” said Neva. She shivered and pushed her hair back behind her ears. “I gave the facial reconstruction drawings to Hanks. He’s going to show them around some of the area retirement homes. He doesn’t hold out much hope that anyone will remember them after so long, but there’s always a chance.”
“You did a good job on the drawings. I hope we get some hits,” said Diane.
“You know,” said Izzy, “I think we need to have our own Web site where we can post Neva’s reconstructions. A lot of people have computers these days. Who knows? We might get some hits there.”
Izzy wore jeans and a T-shirt like the rest of her team usually wore. He started out with slacks and button-up shirts. Diane was glad to see that he had adapted well to her team. Not that he should dress like them, but she wanted him to feel a part of the team, to identify with them. Not everyone could.
“Good idea,” said Diane. “Would you like to do it?”
Izzy raised a hand as if shoving the idea away from himself. “I’m just learning about computers. But good ol’ David here…”
“I think it’s a good idea too,” said David. “It wouldn’t be hard. The hard part is to make it so people can find it. Your average person doesn’t go surfing for missing persons. But we can give it a try.”
“Okay, in your spare time, then, go ahead,” said Diane. “Neva, I want you to remember everything you can about the black Escalade you saw. Did it have any stickers on it? Did it have a front plate that identified the dealership? Anything?”
“I’ve gone over it in my head,” said Neva. “I believe it had a UGA parking sticker on the front window, but I’m not sure. It didn’t have a dealer plate, or any front plate.”
“Find out if anyone among the Gainesville families we discussed has a car like that,” said Diane.
“Will do,” said Neva. “I can probably get a list of Cadillac Escalades registered on the UGA campus. You want me to do a little investigating and see if the Tyler guy might be a hiker?”
