Beverly Connor - Dead Secret

“Mike’s not making too much of it,” said David. “You know, he’s looking to me like the guy who stabbed Mike.”

“Well, what if he comes back after him while I’m at Frank’s playing Monopoly?”

Neva’s voice was getting high-pitched. As much as she tried to hide it, she was scared.

“I’m staying at the museum for a while, so I’ll ask Mike to go over to my place,” said David. “You can go there too, if you like.” David explained to Neva why he would be at the museum.

While they were talking, Diane was examining the photographs.

“This last one-is this Jane Doe. . I mean Flora Martin?” she asked.

“Yes. The one next to it is the aged version of the woman in Caver Doe’s snapshot. I sort of thought she would turn out to be Flora Martin, but they are completely different,” said Neva.

Diane had had the same thought, that the snapshot would turn out to be the older woman found in the woods-she wasn’t. But Diane did recognize her, and she could almost hear the dominoes clinking against each other as they started falling.

Diane surprised David and Neva when she told them who the aged version of the woman in the snapshot looked like.

“It could be a coincidence,” said David, “but her family does have money.” David paused a moment and rubbed his bald head. “You know, you can publish the drawings in the newspaper or give them to the TV stations in Atlanta. I bet you’d have people coming out of the woodwork who recognize the drawings.”

“I agree, but first, I need to secure the museum.” Diane turned to Neva. “David and I are staying in the museum for a few days. You are welcome to stay, or-”

“I’ll stay here with you. Can Mike stay?”

Diane shook her head. “I don’t want any civilians. No one outside the crime unit staff.”

Neva didn’t want to give up. “But what if whoever it is follows Mike to David’s? He would be safest here.”

“I’ll ask Frank to pick Mike up. He’ll see if anyone is following.”

Neva nodded reluctantly. “I hate this. It’s like somebody is after all of us.”

“Not all of you,” said David. “Just you guys who found the body in the cave.”

Diane was taken by surprise at David’s statement. He was right. Finding the body in the cave was like stumbling over a tripwire. Everything started happening after that event was in the newspapers, including all the current murders.

“He’s right,” whispered Neva. “Why didn’t we see that?

It’s so obvious. I mean, obviously Caver Doe is central. We knew that. But I never quite realized that all of us who were in the cave have become targets. The newspaper article named us all.”

She looked at Diane. “MacGregor,” they both said simultaneously.

Diane took out her cell, punched up the list of caving buddies and called MacGregor, who was also with them in the cave.

“MacGregor.” Diane was relieved to hear him answer.

“It’s Diane Fallon, Mac. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How are you?” He sounded slightly puzzled but glad to hear from her.

“Mac, has anything strange happened to you lately?”

“Strange like what?”

“Has anyone broken into your house?”

“No. But there is something kind of weird going on.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve been getting these calls for the past couple of weeks-some guy tells me that he’s the one who’s the top of the food chain and I’m just a bottom-feeder and that I can’t have his rabbits.” MacGregor laughed. “It cracks me up just thinking about it. I asked him what the heck he was talking about and he just hung up. He’s called several times. Once in the middle of the night. I told him the calls had to stop, and if it made him feel better, I wouldn’t get any of his rabbits.”

“What did your caller ID say?”

“No data. I was hoping to be able to call him back in the middle of the night and tell him I’d changed my mind, that I like rabbit stew.” MacGregor chuckled.

“What was his voice like?” asked Diane. She frowned at Neva and David, who stood watching her closely. The calls were sounding less and less like a prank.

“Kind of high-pitched, like a girl’s, but I could still tell it was a guy.”

“Are you at work?” Diane asked.

“Yes, I’m here at my daddy’s hardware store.”

“Can you stay at your parents’ house for a while?”

“Why?”

“Mike’s getting the same calls. In the last one he referred to Neva as a nice little rabbit.”

“Oh, shit, is this some kind of real nutcase?” MacGregor’s voice went up several decibels, and Diane had to hold the phone away from her ear.

“I don’t know for sure what it is. I can’t give you any details, Mac, but there is some serious stuff going on. Why don’t you stay with your parents, or at your cousin’s?”

“I guess you haven’t heard. My cousin’s place burned down.”

Diane looked wide-eyed at David and Neva. “Mac, your cousin’s home burning falls under the category of unusual things I was asking about,” she said. Diane’s heart beat faster; it was like discovering a danger that she hadn’t known existed.

“I didn’t think about it. Nobody was hurt, but his trailer was gutted. The thing is, my cousin and his wife and kids are staying with my parents and it’s kind of crowded. And frankly, I kind of get on everybody’s nerves, if you know what I mean.”

Diane did. “Is there anyplace else you could stay?”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

David was making motions with his fingers to give him the phone. Diane handed it to him.

“Hi, Mac, this is David Goldstein; I work with Jin and Diane at the crime lab. I’m going to have Mike stay at my condo, and you can stay there too until we figure this out.” He paused awhile, listening. “You’ll be fine. I’m a paranoid guy, and I have a steel-reinforced door with four different locks, and bars on my windows.” He paused again for several long moments. “Good. Why don’t you come to the museum and I’ll give you directions to my place. Just ask for Diane at the front desk.”

David clicked off the phone and jiggled his ear with his little finger. “The guy can talk up a storm.”

“He’s getting the same calls as Mike?” asked Neva.

“Yes,” said Diane. She squeezed her eyes closed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know, this is not fitting together. The threats I’m getting about the museum are completely different in content and tone from the food-chain threats, or whatever they are.” She shook her head. “But MacGregor did say his cousin’s trailer burned down. His cousin owns the land the cave is on. Was that in the paper too?”

Neva nodded.

“I need to get in touch with Jin. Has anyone heard from him since he left?” Jin was in the cave with them too.

“No,” said David. He took his own phone and punched up Jin’s cell. “Jin, this is David. Call the lab as soon as you get this.” He shook his head. “It went straight to the answering service.”

“We need to find him,” said Diane. “Call the DNA lab. If you can’t get him, let me know. Kendel’s set up a meeting with the museum staff. I’ve got to send them home.”

Diane met with her staff in the auditorium on the second floor of the museum. When they were all assembled, she told them she was closing the museum for the weekend so that repairs could be made on a critical environmental system that was failing. It was a lame excuse. But most, she believed, would welcome a free vacation. It was the faculty curators who were conducting experiments whom she expected to have trouble with, and she was not disappointed.

“I have to check on my experiment every four hours,” said the botany curator.