A Rumor of Bones: A Lindsay Chamberlain Mystery (18 page)

Things started taking an upturn when the sheriff
and Derrick found the motorcycle that had been used
to deliver the pot at a local hang-out. The sheriff took
the owner in for questioning, and they all believed the
solution was near. Lindsay felt safe and pushed the
events to the back of her mind.

Marsha Latimore had undergone a transformation. The metamorphosis had happened gradually,
but now it was complete. Her hair, no longer the bright blonde, lacquered bouffant style that all
Merry Claymoore Garden Club members wore, was
now a chin-length, subtle golden blonde with bangs
that stopped just above her eyebrows. Nowadays,
she often wore it pulled behind her ears and covered
with an Atlanta Braves baseball cap. The nails, too,
had changed. The once long, bright pink talons were
short and polished with clear polish. Marsha was
more relaxed, and she no longer followed Frank
around the site, nor did she make a lot of small talk
while she worked.

She stood in front of Lindsay in shorts, a T-shirt,
and sneakers, a trowel in her hand. Marsha was good
at assimilating.

"Frank said to ask you if I could work on a burial."

"Okay. I have one here I was about to open up "
Lindsay indicated a dark tan stain on the lighter tan
surface of the site floor. "The way we excavate a
burial is one end at a time so we can map the crosssection of the burial fill. I'll start until I find bone,
then let you work."

Lindsay began digging gently into the burial,
taking shallow shovelfuls and putting the dirt in a pile
near the burial. She stopped frequently and tested the
burial with her trowel.

"I'll get a crew member to screen your dirt for artifacts." Lindsay tested the burial again with the trowel.
"I've found bone." She shoveled as much dirt from
the top of the bones as she could without endangering
them. Marsha sat beside the hole and looked into the
burial, staring at the yellow brown shaft.

"Is that the bone?" she asked.

"That's it." Lindsay handed Marsha a collection of tools. "Take the trowel and remove the dirt from
around the bones, but try not to touch them. Use the
spoon or tongue depressor to loosen the dirt close to
the bones. Try not to scrape them. Use this paint
brush to brush the loose dirt away. Remember, always
work from the known to the unknown, from where the
bone is exposed to where it is covered. Take care. It is
a slow task, even for someone with a lot of experience. Ask for help if you need it."

As Lindsay talked, she was looking not at Marsha
but at Jeremy, the troublemaker she had taken off
Michelle's hands. Lindsay had assigned him to screen
fill dirt from Sally's burial, and he was picking things
out of the screen and throwing them on the ground.
"Just a minute," she told Marsha. She rose and walked
over to Jeremy. He was a big boy, almost six feet tall,
but much of his behavior looked adolescent despite
the fact he was a college student.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking the pebbles out" He did not try to hide the
derision in his voice.

"Save everything that doesn't go through the
screen."

"Even rocks?"

"What looks like rocks to you may have meaning
for archaeologists." Lindsay reached down and picked
up a small stone. "This is a section of a chunky stone,
a gaming stone. See the rounded edge. Don't throw
anything away. Your job is to sift and to save everything that doesn't pass through the screen"

"Well, do you want me to put the rocks back in?"

His arrogant attitude was beginning to irritate
Lindsay. "No, they have lost their provenience. You have mixed items from different batches. They are
useless."

"They were useless to begin with."

"That's not for you to decide. Just do the job as you
were instructed. It's an important job." Lindsay turned
to go but looked back in time to see Jeremy turn, grin
at a fellow student, and throw a few more pebbles
away. "All right, that's it, you are not going to destroy
artifacts from my burials. Get out. You are not working here anymore"

"You can't do that. You're not in charge here."

"That's where you're wrong. I'm in charge of the
burials, and I'm telling you to leave."

"I paid good money to come and do this, and I'm
earning course credits. You can't make me leave just
because you don't like my attitude."

"It is not because of your attitude that I'm kicking
you out. It's your behavior. You deliberately disobeyed
my instructions and threw away artifacts. Now, get
out!"

Jeremy stepped up to Lindsay, staring intensely at
her as if his eyes were a weapon. "If you want me to
leave, you'll have to throw me out." Lindsay's five
feet, eleven inches were almost as tall as Jeremy's six
feet, and she stared back at him.

They were attracting the attention of the other diggers, who stopped and watched. Derrick came over
from his transit. "Having trouble, Lindsay?" he asked.

"So? You can't handle things yourself, can you?
You have to get a man to do it for you!" taunted
Jeremy, not taking his eyes off Lindsay.

"I don't care who throws you out, just as long as
you go.

"Well, we'll just see about that"

Jeremy stomped off, apparently in search of Frank.

"Do you think he is really going to tell the head
archaeologist that he was throwing away artifacts?"
Derrick asked.

Lindsay shrugged. "Michelle said he was a troublemaker." She smiled at Derrick. "Thanks"

"Don't mention it."

Marsha had been watching the scene with surprise.
"Do you frequently have people like that?"

"That's the first time, and I've worked on many
digs," Lindsay said.

She and Marsha looked up to see Frank and Jeremy
coming across the site. "What happened?" Frank asked
when he reached them.

"Jeremy was throwing away things from the burial
he identified as useless rocks. I told him to stop, and
when he thought my back was turned, he continued."

"She's lying," Jeremy sneered.

"Lindsay doesn't lie," said Frank. "I think you had
better pack up your things."

"It's her word against mine, and she's lying."

"She isn't lying," Marsha said. "I saw it, too"

"I paid my tuition. You can't tell me to leave."

"You'll have to take the matter of your tuition up
with the university. But you're off this site."

"What about my grade?"

"Since you were on Dr. Chamberlain's crew, it will
be up to her what grade you get on your performance.
If I were you, I would withdraw gracefully and cut my
losses."

"Aw, this is stupid. Just wait till my father hears
about this. He'll shut this site down so fast-"

"Derrick, tell Brian to drive Mr. Reynolds into
town." Frank turned and went back to the structure
he had been excavating.

"He's an unpleasant young man," Marsha said,
when she and Lindsay returned to the burial.

"He certainly is. You may have to sift your own
burial till," Lindsay said. "It looks like I'm short one
crew member."

"Oh, I don't mind. I think that will be fun."

"I hope you keep your enthusiasm in the heat of the
day. When you finish the first half of the burial, I'll
come and show you how to smooth the cross-section."

Lindsay picked up the surveying rod Brian had left
and helped Derrick with mapping for the rest of the
workday.

"Lindsay," Frank said as they were closing the site for
the day. "I know I haven't been giving you the attention you deserve." He ran his fingers through his hair.
"Damn, that didn't come out right. What I mean is, I
have wanted to spend more time with you."

"A lot of things have been happening," she agreed,
shoveling dirt into a burial from which bones had just
been removed.

"Come stay at my house. If not for yourself, for
me. Hell, for the sheriff and Derrick. We all are worried about you."

"But Frank, Burial 23 has been found. The damage
is done. If they're smart, whoever they are, they'll just
sit tight. It's been in the papers that I use x-rays,
dental records, and photographs for identifying
bones. They would know that I don't have any of
those things in this case. The bones are too old."

"Come anyway."

She sighed, "All right, I'll give it a try."

"Good." He seemed to relax. "I'm sorry about
Jeremy. Michelle's been complaining about him, and I
talked to him, but it obviously didn't do any good"

"No big deal."

"I hope he didn't do too much damage."

"I don't think so. We would have noticed major
artifacts strewn around"

After work Lindsay and Derrick lounged on the
makeshift beach the crew had built on the bank of the
river.

"I'm going to try moving into Frank's house,"
Lindsay told him.

Derrick didn't say anything for several moments.
"You'll be safe there"

"I'll miss being here"

"I'll miss having you here" Derrick smiled at her
and took her hand.

"Don't let anyone get my tent," she said.

"I'll guard it with my life."

They were silent for a long while, watching the sun
go down.

"Lindsay, I think you and I need to go to Atlanta or
Savannah this weekend and go dancing."

"I've got Burial 23 to analyze."

"It can wait. Come away with me. I'll keep you
safe"

Lindsay looked over at him, surprised. "You really
believe I'm in danger, don't you? If Burial 23 might
get me killed, I should get the examination completed
so I'll be safe."

"It's not just that I believe you're in danger. I
would just like to spend time with you. Work on 23
during the week"

Frank had said the same thing about wanting to
spend time with her, Lindsay thought. She looked at
Derrick in his jeans, white T-shirt, and ponytail, and
was tempted.

"We do need to get away and forget everything,"
she said.

"Then you'll go?"

"Yeah, I'll go."

Derrick settled back comfortably in his lounge
chair and closed his eyes.

Lindsay moved into the upstairs bedroom Frank had
prepared for her. "This is fine," she said, looking at
the double bed, desk, and throw rugs on the hardwood
floor.

"I'm glad you're here." Frank kissed her gently on
the lips.

"I still am not convinced of the need"

"I am. Listen, I have to go out tonight. The mayor
and his wife invited me to dinner. Under the circumstances, I think it is a good idea to go, or I wouldn't
leave you"

"You're going to leave me alone after all this talk
about my safety?"

"I'll lock the doors. No one knows you're here."

"I was joking. I'll be fine. I brought Burial 23 with
me. She'll keep me company."

"I'm going to get dressed," he said. "Marsha is
picking me up in an hour."

"Say hello to the mayor for me."

Lindsay cleared off the table in the corner of the
bedroom and set out the clay bust she had been working on. By ten o'clock, she was ready to go to bed.
Frank hadn't returned, she noted. Still out with
Marsha. She put on a night shirt and slipped between
the covers. The sheets were cool, and the bed was
soft. She drifted off to sleep quickly.

Lindsay's dreams were fearful, and she awakened
with a start. She wanted to get up and run across to
Derrick's tent, then realized she was not in her tent.
For an alarming moment, she did not know where she
was. Suddenly she remembered. Frank's house. The
room was dark, full of unfamiliar shadows moving
with whatever source of light there was outside. As
her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, a shape in
the corner emerged, a tall body with broad shoulders,
wearing a hat. Lindsay's heart pounded. Slowly and
silently she reached for the light and turned it on. It
was a hat and coat hanging on a hat rack.

She put a hand over her heart and took a breath.
This is just great, Lindsay, she thought. You knight as
well go back to the site. Suddenly, she heard the front
door open and close. Frank. She sat up in bed listening and heard only muffled sounds. Leaving the questionable comfort of the bed, she tiptoed across the
hardwood floor. It was cool on her bare feet and
creaked as she walked across it. She opened the door
only slightly so it would not make noise, slipped out,
and peered over the landing.

It was Frank and Marsha, and they were kissing.

Lindsay quietly backed into her room. She crawled
into bed and turned out the light. Only a few minutes
later she heard a car door shut and a car drive off, then footfalls ascending the stairs. The footsteps stopped for
a moment in front of her door, then passed. Lindsay fell
asleep and didn't awaken until 4:00 in the morning.

She showered and dressed quickly. Frank was
already downstairs. She packed her things, including
Burial 23, and carried them down to the living room.
Frank was in the kitchen. The aroma of fresh coffee
and pancakes flowed through the house.

"Hi," he greeted her when she came through the
door.

"Do you do this every morning?"

"Hardly. This is for you. Sit down."

She sat in front of a plate and a glass of orange
juice. Frank put several pancakes on her plate. He
heaped his own plate and sat opposite her.

"This tastes good," she said, tasting the warm pancakes. "I appreciate it."

"It's nothing." Frank seemed to want to say something to Lindsay, but instead he picked up his fork and
began to eat.

"I'm going back to the site to stay"

?
"Why?"

"I'm more comfortable there"

Frank was silent a moment, studying her face. "Is
there a particular reason?"

Lindsay shook her head. "I'd rather stay at the site.
I never believed I was in danger there. Anyway, did
you enjoy your evening with the mayor?"

"Wasn't too bad. But I had to spend the evening
explaining to him and his wife that the Southeastern
Indians were perfectly capable of building large
mounds and earthworks without the help of aliens or
lost people from Atlantis."