Beverly Connor: One Grave Too Many

Diane awoke suddenly, breathless, sweating. The phone on her nightstand was ringing. The illuminated radio display read 3:40. She snatched the receiver off the phone.

“Diane. It’s Gregory. I’m sorry for calling so late.”

Diane sat upright, hearing the familiar British accent, and held her breath. “Gregory. No, it’s all right.”

“I wanted you to know. They turned us down. They’re not going to arrest him.”

Diane was silent.

“We’re not giving up. I’m going to the United Nations next week-and to the International Court of Justice. We won’t stop. We’ll never stop.”

“Thank you, Gregory.” Diane suddenly hadn’t the energy to hold the phone. She lay back down on the pillow, propping the receiver to her ear.

“I wanted you to hear it from me, just in case a wire service might have picked it up. It’s not big news. For now we want to keep it that way.”

“I understand.”

“Are you all right? You sound out of breath.”

“I’m better.”

“Nightmares?”

“Occasionally.”

“How’s your weight?”

“Weight? It’s fine.”

“Are you eating?”

“Of course.”

“You know how it is in our line of work. Even now, Marguerite sometimes has to remind me to eat.”

“I’m better, Gregory, really.”

“Are you?”

“As well as is possible. I miss Ariel every day. I curse myself every day for not leaving in time, and I still break down in tears when I look at her picture.” Tears were now streaming down Diane’s face. She was angry at Gregory for making her talk about the most painful thing that had ever happened to her, but in a strange way she was relieved to talk about it. No one here knew about her daughter. As painful as it was, Ariel lived on only when Diane talked about her with someone who knew her.

“I know,” said Gregory. “I curse myself for not rushing through the adoption papers so you could take her out of the country, or for not arranging to smuggle her out for you. I thought she was safe at the mission. I didn’t know Santos’ men would cross the border, that he would retaliate. . ” His voice trailed off.

“What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“And it wasn’t yours. We were getting too close, hurting him, showing the world he’s a liar and a cold-blooded mass murderer. I thought President Valdividia was stronger. It was a miscalculation I made, and I have to live with that every day.”

“Why is it so hard to have evil men arrested, even with a mountain of evidence against them?” It was a question she’d asked before, and didn’t expect an answer.

“We’ll keep trying. It’s thanks to you and your team that we have that mountain of evidence. You paid a terrible price to get it.”

“I am better, Gregory, really. A year away from everything was good for me. I’m completely off the benzodiazepine. I love the museum. It’s just what I’d hoped it would be.” I wish I’d gotten out with Ariel before. . The thought was too painful to finish. She would have loved it here.

“Met any new friends?”

“A great many. Renewed some old acquaintances too. Frank Duncan came by today. You remember, I told you about Frank.” She told Gregory about the bone and the missing girl.

“You were able to handle that all right, then? Examining the bone, I mean.”

“It wasn’t easy, and I don’t intend to do it again. I did it for Frank because he knew the missing girl and her parents. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“But you were able to do it-that was good. I’ll call back at a more decent time and we’ll talk again.”

“I’d like that. Thanks for the call. Let me know if anything happens.”

Diane lay for a moment, listening to the dial tone after Gregory hung up. She swung her legs to the floor, replaced the phone on the nightstand and stumbled into the bathroom. She splashed her face with cool water and stared into the mirror, running her hands over the angles and planes of her face. She did look thin. The result of six months of eating nothing but cottage cheese and yogurt because it hurt less coming back up.

She went back to bed and lay her head on the pillows. She clenched her teeth until her jaw burned, and didn’t release the grip even when she escaped into sleep.

As Diane opened the large carved wooden doors to the museum at 8:10 the next morning, she felt late and tired. The guard on duty at the information center greeted her with a broad smile on her friendly round face. Diane returned the smile as she passed, trying to remember her name. She’d just hired her last week.

Andie was arranging reproductions of large prehistoric plants at the entrance to the exhibition hall. Inside the hall, the folks from CyberUniverse were setting up computer monitors next to each display.

The Pleistocene room looked grand. Murals covering three walls depicted stunning panoramic scenes of the Paleolithic period, perfectly complementing the exhibits. The tall paintings on hardwood panels, discovered during renovation behind a layer of plaster and a layer of wainscoting, appeared to have been part of the original design of the building, a late 1800s museum turned private clinic, and now back to a museum. In the dinosaur room in the opposite wing, more wonderful old murals painted at a time when scholars still thought dinosaurs dragged their tails behind them now formed the backdrop of the dinosaur exhibits.

The current remodeling had removed false ceilings to reveal high domed ceilings with Romanesque molding in the exhibition halls, forming enormous rooms for the display of enormous beasts.

The head guy from CyberUniverse motioned her to the computer monitor at the sloth exhibit. “You’re going to love this.”

Diane watched a narrated animation explain how animals can become fossilized after they die. “I do like that. All of you did a great job. The animation is terrific and the explanation is clear and easy to understand.”

A young man wearing faded jeans and a blue short-sleeved shirt leaned against the podium and gave her a half smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re Mike Seger, aren’t you? From the geology department at Bartrum University?”

He had the kind of short hairstyle that looked as if he got out of bed and simply ran his hands through the top, then went outside to let the sun bleach the ends-a messy, rugged effect that probably took quite a bit of styling to achieve. He eyed Diane for a second before responding. There was something about him that seemed intense-his light brown eyes, studious expression, or maybe it was simply the crease between his eyebrows, like a permanent frown.

“Yes, I am. You asked Dr. Lymon to work with your education department on the computer lessons. I’m a grad student always looking for a job, so she assigned me.”

“You did a good job. I’ll write a letter of appreciation to Dr. Lymon, if you like.”

Diane thought he hesitated a moment before he said, “Sure. That would be good.”

She turned to the computer guys. “Are all the displays ready?”

“We want to do one more check, but it looks like they’re ready.”

Bang! A loud shot behind her caused her to start. Her breath caught, she whirled around, eyes wide.

“Sorry,” said Andie. “The mop fell over. Loud in this hall, isn’t it?”

Diane put a hand over her breast, her heart still racing. Ashamed of herself for being so skittish, she headed for the mammoth exhibit to see how it looked. She’d wait to talk with Donald about the vegetation until after the opening.

“Phone, Dr. Fallon.” Andie, still holding the mop handle in one hand, gave her the portable.

“Hi.” It was Frank. “I’m bringing you breakfast. Egg McMuffin. I know you didn’t stop to eat this morning.”