Beverly Connor - Dead Secret

David, Chief Garnett and Lane Emery, head of security for the crime lab, sat at the round metal table in a corner of the lab.

“I was beginning to wonder where you were,” said Garnett, looking at his watch. He slid his hand over his salt-and-pepper hair.

Diane ignored Garnett’s cross tone. She was rather cross herself. “Tell me what happened,” she asked Emery.

The head of crime lab security looked to Garnett as if for permission. Diane hadn’t hired him-the Rosewood police had-and he looked to Garnett as his boss. Diane didn’t like that, but so far it hadn’t been a battle she wanted to fight. She suspected that that would now change.

“Mr. Emery, tell me what happened,” Diane repeated in a firmer tone.

“Oh, sure. At three sixteen A.M., someone bypassed the security system and broke into the crime lab. They hit Lee Carey, the night receptionist, with a stun gun and chloroformed him. Did the same with one guard, Joe Rich, and stole two microscopes, along with a box of evidence-I’m not sure what was in it.” He looked at David.

“The box contained railroad spikes, the Moon Pie wrappers, the rope and the Mickey Mouse flashlight from the cave. Korey had the clothes, and Jin had the rest of Caver Doe’s stuff locked up in his station. All our other evidence was either in the vault or in the police evidence room downtown.”

“That’s a blessing,” said Diane. “Where were the security guards?”

“Brady was in the elevator-side lobby of the crime lab,” said Emery. “He never saw a thing.”

When the crime lab was put in the west wing on the third floor of the museum, Diane had had an outside elevator and reception room built so the lab could have a separate entrance. In the daytime there was always a guard and a receptionist. The night receptionist stayed in a small glass-walled office on the museum side of the crime lab. The separate entrance had one guard.

“So you think the thief came in through the museum side?”

“Definitely. Joe Rich and Lee Carey were the only people they attacked. Brady never heard or saw a thing.”

“What about the video cameras?” asked Diane.

Emery looked chagrined. “They managed to disable those too-the museum cameras and the crime lab surveillance. Whoever did it bypassed the security system control box in the basement and used a computer to decode the lock on the bone lab. Someone had to know what they were doing. It’s a state-of-the-art system. This has the markings of a professional job.” He said the last statement as if it were a defense-a reason why security was breached.

“Interesting,” said Diane. “I just got off the phone with the director of the museum in Britain who owns the bones that were stolen. He told me that he expected an attempt to be made to steal them. He gave me the name of the person he suspects, and as it turns out she visited the museum last week with a friend. She’s a middle-aged Druid.”

Emery looked startled, as if someone had just shocked him with a stun gun. “A what?” he said.

“A Druid. It’s a pagan religion, I think. She didn’t strike me as a professional burglar.” Diane had her forearms on the table. She clasped her fingers together and waited for a reaction.

Emery was an ex-marine. He was fit and sported a short haircut. Right now he stared at Diane, dumbfounded.

“Do you have a name for this woman?” asked Garnett.

“Charlotte Hawkins.” She looked at David. “I assume you processed the labs and the basement.”

David nodded.

“I have a sample of her DNA. I took it to verify that the witch bones were from her ancestor.” Diane turned to David. “Did you find anything we can use?” she asked.

“We found glove prints and some blue wool fibers in the basement. The inside of the keypad on your osteology lab door had powder residue used in medical gloves. We traced the brand of glove to a supplier in Atlanta. That’s about it. They didn’t leave a whole lot to work with, and so far, nothing that we can use for a DNA comparison.”

The osteology lab, Diane’s bone lab, was technically part of the museum, though it was located adjacent to the crime lab and used the crime lab’s security. She was thinking about changing that arrangement.

“Why didn’t the receptionist see them coming down the hallway and raise the alarm?” Diane asked. “There’s no way he could have missed someone breaking into the lab from the museum side.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Emery. He hesitated a moment. Emery still seemed rattled with all the talk of witches. Probably the idea that a middle-aged Druid got by his security system didn’t sit too well with him either. “But the guard said he was coming back from the bathroom and they jumped him from behind. He said he never knew what hit him. I’m thinking they hid in the museum until it closed. That’s how they got in. Easier than trying to get access to the lab from outside.”

“They jumped him.” She turned to David. “Did you. .”

“We processed his clothes. No transfer,” he said, shaking his head.

“We are still looking at him,” said Garnett.

“I would expect so,” said Diane. “I’m suspicious when burglars get a lucky break, like him being in the bathroom.”

“Why was the Druid lady-Charlotte Hawkins-here in the museum, and why did your British guy expect the bones to be stolen?” asked Garnett.

“Two factions are laying claim to the set of bones that has been on display in his museum-a woman who says she is a descendant, and the owner of the cave where the bones were originally found. The cave owner is suing for custody of the bones. The woman has made threats. She came here with a Wiccan friend from the United States to ask me to turn the bones over to her. I talked her into giving me a swab so I could check her DNA against the bones to verify whether she truly is a descendant.”

Garnett shook his head as though trying to clear water out of an ear. “That’s strange. Did she want them badly enough to hire professionals?”

“I don’t know. Would professionals risk breaking into a crime lab?” asked Diane.

“I’ve known people who’ll go anywhere for enough money,” said Emery.

“Do you know where this Charlotte Hawkins is staying?” asked Garnett.

Diane gave him the card Charlotte Hawkins had given her.

Garnett dropped the card into an evidence envelope and put it in his coat pocket. “I’ll look into it. Diane, we are trying to keep it quiet that the crime lab was burglarized. We don’t want any defense lawyers getting the idea that evidence has been compromised. When David called it in he had the good sense to say it was the museum that was broken into. We need to find out what happened as soon as we can. I’m handling this one myself.”

“If you don’t need me anymore, I’ll be going,” said Emery. “I want to solve this too. I don’t like this happening on my watch. I know a few people I can talk to about who might be for hire.”

Emery stood up, looked around as if searching for something he’d forgotten, then left the lab by way of the elevator. Diane thought she noticed that his shoulders slumped. This was a blow. He had recommended the security system they had.

“I assume he’s been been checked out,” said David.

“He will be. We aren’t leaving anyone out.” Garnett smiled, and David smiled back at him.

“Is there any news about the stabbings at the funeral?” Diane asked.

Garnett shook his head. “It’s hard to believe, but no one saw a thing.”

“David, did the Odells provide you with anything useful?”

“The Odells?” asked Garnett.

“My neighbors,” Diane explained.

“The Addams Family,” said David.

“They attend all funerals of any interest,” said Diane. “And take notes.”