Beverly Connor - Dead Secret

Diane outlined her suspicions of Emery and her plan. Vanessa looked thoughtful as she spoke. When she finished, Diane blurted out, “If you want me to resign, I will. . or I’ll resign from the crime lab.” She suddenly felt like a child in the principal’s office.

“Don’t be silly, girl.” Vanessa did look cross now. She glanced up at Milo again. “We can’t have people making threats and controlling what we do, and we certainly can’t have them threatening the museum. Milo would have hated that. They must be found, rooted out and taken to task. They can’t be allowed to get away with it.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to see that they are arrested.”

“What both Milo and I liked about you is that we sensed that you would care for the museum more than for your career. We were right. That’s what we want for the museum-someone who sees it as their job to take care of it, not just themselves.”

Diane was relieved. “Right now, I feel like I’ve put it in danger.”

“No. It’s being held hostage.”

“The board is going to be very angry-about the closing in particular,” said Diane.

Vanessa smiled thinly. “Probably so. You will just have to handle that.”

Diane didn’t look forward to it. “I must ask you not to tell anyone about this until it’s over.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t quite know how to say this.”

“Say what, my dear?”

“The indications are that something very large is at stake here. Perhaps a great deal of wealth or power. Maybe an organization or a family. Someone had to pay these guys to do what they did. They hurt my family just so I’d leave town and they could steal the bones before I got a chance to identify them. Then they kidnapped me when that didn’t work.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“I don’t yet know who may be involved. I can’t anticipate the direction the investigation may take. There are not that many rich and powerful people in the area whom you don’t know.”

Vanessa’s face became stern. “Put yourself at ease, Diane. If anyone I know is responsible for this, then I would regard their actions as a betrayal and a threat to all those things I hold dearest to me. I would expect that every effort within your power be made to apprehend and punish them in the most severe way allowed under the law. Anyone who threatens Milo’s museum is not a friend of mine.”

“Thank you for that. And thank you for seeing me unannounced.”

“Did you think I was going to have Hattie kick you out? I think you’re feeling a little sorry for yourself. It’s not like you.”

“I know.” Diane rubbed her temples. “I’m getting pathetic.”

“It looks like you’ve been crying.”

Diane looked over at an ornate mirror hanging on the wall. Her eyes did look puffy. “I had to tell my parents why someone wrecked their lives, destroyed their tranquillity and ruined their reputation. They are very angry with me. My mother blames me for what happened to her.”

“Oh, my dear, I see.”

“She has suffered a lot.”

“No doubt. It was a cruel thing that was done to her. But her blame is misplaced. I know family relationships can be difficult-Lord knows, mine are complicated enough. But you have to keep yourself anchored in reality. The reality is that there are some very bad people out there who are trying to get their way.”

Diane liked talking to Vanessa-she was good at putting things in perspective. She wished she had the same relationship with her family.

“I know that, deep inside. It’s just hard to put into practice sometimes.” Diane looked at her watch. “I need to ask another favor. I couldn’t call Frank on my phone at the museum or my cell phone. May I use yours? It’s long-distance, to Atlanta.”

Vanessa nodded. “Of course, dear. You can use the phone on the desk.”

She pointed to a white French Provençal desk with a glass-covered top. The phone matched the decor-white and gold.

“Would you like me to leave you alone?”

“That’s not necessary.” Diane sat down at the desk and called Frank’s cell. “Frank, it’s me,” she said when he answered.

“Hey, Diane. How are you? I understand you called your parents and they blame you for your mom’s arrest. Did you find out what happened?”

Frank caught Diane completely by surprise. “How did you know?”

“Mike called.”

“Mike called? He shouldn’t have.” Diane felt a little annoyed.

“He called about Neva,” said Frank. “He wants her to stay at my house again.”

Diane’s annoyance evaporated. “Why?” she asked.

“There’s some nut who’s been calling him-says something about being the top of the food chain and Mike isn’t going to get his rabbits.”

“Neva mentioned something about that. They thought it was someone on drugs.”

“He called this morning and told Mike that Neva would make a pretty little rabbit.”

“Oh, my God.” Talking with Vanessa had had a calming effect on her, but now she was scared again.

“It shook him up pretty bad,” said Frank. “He was going to ask you to ask me, but he said you had a lot on your plate and he didn’t want to bother you. What’s going on?”

Diane told him the whole story as she fingered the feathered ink pen on the desk. She wondered if anyone ever wrote with it. She could just see him staring at the phone with his mouth open.

“Did they hurt you?”

“They made my arm sore again. Pissed me off royally. But I’m basically all right.”

“So you think one is a hacker?”

“Yes.”

“I have a database of known and suspected hackers.”

Diane smiled. “David would be envious.”

“Tell me everything you know about him and I’ll start looking for possibilities. If Jin can get his DNA, he may be in CODIS. That was good thinking, by the way, getting them to yell into your ear and leave their DNA.”

“Thanks. I think better in a blind panic.”

Diane told Frank everything she could think of about the men. It wasn’t much, but maybe he could find something useful.

“I’ll come stay with you tonight,” he said.

“That would be a comfort. Bring a bedroll; we’ll be sleeping in the museum.”

Diane hung up the phone. “Thank you, Vanessa. I appreciate your lending me your support and giving me some perspective.”

“I hardly said anything, dear.”

“Just talking it out helped.” Diane looked at her watch. “I need to get back to the museum. I just wanted you to know what’s going on, so you wouldn’t be shocked when I close it up.”

“I appreciate your keeping me informed. Take care of yourself.” Vanessa saw Diane to the door.

Diane drove back to the museum and straight to the crime lab, hoping that David had heard from Jin. He hadn’t. But he had swept the lab and her office for electronic bugs.

“We’re clean,” he said.

“We’re probably giving these guys too much credit,” she said. “At least I know I can talk on the phone now.”

Neva came in from the osteology lab carrying a stack of her drawings of the various victims. She laid them out on the table side by side.

“I have some new drawings,” she said, spreading them out on one of the empty tables.

Diane and David walked over to examine them.

“Frank told me about the phone call. Are you all right, Neva?” Diane asked.

“I’m fine. I think Mike is making too much of it.”

“What phone call? What’s going on?” asked David.

“You know how I told you that Mike’s been getting a bunch of strange messages?” said Neva. David nodded. “Whoever it is called again and made it more personal.”

She related the latest thing he said to Mike. Diane could see she was trying to downplay it.