Double Blind (27 page)

Burt watched until her long legs and swaying hips disappeared through the kitchen door and then looked at Hollis.

“Now what?” Hollis asked.

“Wait for the wheels of justice to grind. You know, we couldn’t have done better if we had planned this ourselves. It’s perfect.” He took a swallow of Coke. “Well, almost perfect. It’d be better if Billy were dead.”

“Convicted of murder is about the same thing,” Hollis said. “As far as we’re concerned anyway.”

“True.”

“Do you really think he’s the one that killed Ted and Walt? And Varney?”

Burt gently squeezed the Coke can, denting its sides. “Who cares, as long as he takes the fall.”

“Yeah,” Hollis said, leaning back, eyes narrowing with concern. “But, do you
really
believe Billy did all this?”

Burt finished his Coke. “We’ve been through this already. Nobody could’ve survived that fall.”

“No human. But, he wasn’t really human anymore.”

“Oh, he was human all right. Human enough to bleed. And human enough to die.”

“Damn it, Burt,” Hollis said. “Don’t joke about this. If he’s out there, if he gets to the right people, we’re fucked.”

Burt smiled. “Relax. Everything’s taken care of.”

“Want to explain it to me then.”

“Billy goes down for the murders and we get what we want. His land and water. And the privacy to continue our work. Expand the lab as we planned. Without any more attorney’s fees or bribes. Meanwhile, we track down our former employee, if he indeed exists, dump his body down a mine shaft, and walk away clean.”

“And just who’s going to find him? Me and you? Wade?”

Burt smiled. “I have a tracker and two shooters coming in from Wyoming on Monday. The best there is. If he’s up there, they’ll find him.”

“So, you agree that he may be alive?”

“You know me. I cover all the bases.” He looked at Hollis. “Including the possibility that he might have survived.”

“And Sam? She seems convinced that Billy is innocent. And I’d suspect that a woman who laces on gloves and climbs in the ring isn’t one to back away. She could pose a problem for us.”

“Now that we have Billy in custody, a pile of evidence against him, and more on the way, any protests from her are going to sound pretty hollow.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” Burt crushed the empty Coke can in his fist. “The hair and the DNA should convince even her that Billy’s guilty.”

“If they match.”

“I told you. They will.”

Hollis looked at him and shook his head. “You don’t leave much to chance, do you?”

Burt shrugged. “Never have. Besides, she’s a small town cop. And cops like all that hair and DNA evidence. Makes them feel smarter than they are. She’ll buy it. And the other stuff? She knows nothing about that. No one does.”

“He does.” Hollis gazed toward the snow-capped peaks to the west.

“Details. If he’s alive, we’ll find him. And once we do, what he knew will be moot.”

*

The lunchtime crush at Mama Rose’s was larger than usual, but Sam, Alyss, and Shelby managed to get a table in the back corner. Apparently, Mama Rose had whipped up a pot of her famous chicken and andouille gumbo, which she rarely made, and the word had gotten out. Sam looked up as Edgar and Martha Locke came through the front door. Martha held Edgar’s arm, offering support, while they scanned the room for an empty table.

Sam waved them over. “Come on. We have plenty of room.”

Edgar shuffled toward them, held a chair for Martha, and after she sat, took the seat next to her. “Thank you. You’re very kind to share your table with us.”

“We’re glad you’re here,” Sam said.

“Edgar never misses Mama Rose’s Gumbo,” Martha said. “She always calls whenever she makes it.”

By the time they each finished a bowl of the rich, spicy soup, the crowd had thinned considerably. Jared brought apple pie and refilled their coffee cups.

“Where’s Don?” Sam asked.

“Cat duty,” he laughed. “One of the advantages of being on Mama Rose’s shit list, is that she only lets Don take Precious to the vet.”

“That’s because he’s nice to her.” Mama Rose peered through the window from the kitchen.

The front door swung open and Don walked in, Precious cradled in one arm.

“Speak of the devil,” Jared said.

“Who me?” Don asked.

“No. The cat.”

Mama Rose flew out of the kitchen. Don handed off Precious and she scratched and cuddled the cat, scowling at Jared. “What did Dr. Proctor say?” she asked Don.

“She’s healthy as horse.”

“Good. That’s better than some little smart ass is going to be if he don’t watch out.”

Jared looked at her. “I love cats,” he said. “They taste like chicken.”

Mama Rose glared at him. “Come on, Precious,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs and get you some food.” She headed toward the stairs near the back of the restaurant that led to their second floor apartment.

Don poured himself a cup of coffee and pulled up a chair. “Dr. Locke, I’m glad you’re here. Something strange happened that I’d bet you’d be interested in.”

Edgar perked up. “Really?”

“Over at Proctor’s Clinic. The MacCorkell twins brought in some bones they had dug up. Will couldn’t figure out what they were. Said they looked like bones from a giant rabbit or something.”

“A giant rabbit?” Shelby said. “Cool.”

“Will wasn’t sure what they were,” Don continued. “He had a book out and was looking up stuff. Said they sure looked like rabbit bones, but were too big or too thick or something.”

The right half of Edgar’s forehead furrowed. “Where did the boys find them?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t say.”

“Hmmm,” Edgar said.

Sam sensed his growing concern. “What is it?”

“Maybe nothing,” Edgar said, looking at his wife. “But, I’d like to see them.”

Martha smiled patiently. “Of course you would, dear.” She looked at Sam. “I must apologize for my husband. He’s always sticking his nose in other people’s business. The curse of an inquisitive mind, I guess.”

Sam glanced at Alyss. “See, I’m not the only one.”

“Are you the curious type, Sam?” Martha asked.

“More the meddling type,” Alyss interjected.

“Funny,” Sam said.

“Edgar’s always been that way,” Martha said. “Even his stroke didn’t slow him down. Of course, he’s no longer doing research, but he’s reading or writing or surfing the net all the time.”

“Well,” Sam said. “I’d like to see these mysterious bones, too.” She smiled at Edgar.

“Me, too,” Shelby chimed in, looking anxiously at her mother.

Alyss shrugged. “Why not?”

Fifteen minutes later, Sam, Edgar, Alyss, Shelby, and Martha stood by a table littered with bones. Will Proctor held up one of them for everyone to see.

“This is a rabbit femur. The upper leg bone.” He handed it to Edgar, who examined it closely. “However, it’s too long for any species we have around here. I guess it could be someone’s exotic pet, but I’d have to do more research to assure myself of that.”

Edgar Locke picked up a bone that had been snapped in half and peered into the empty marrow cavity.

“Leave to you to get right to the heart of the matter,” Will said.

Edgar shrugged. “I don’t know much about rabbits, but judging from the length of this one, it looks to me as if the cortical bone is thickened.”

“Exactly,” Will said. “This bunny ate his Cheerios and drank his milk.”

Shelby laughed.

Edgar shuffled through the bones, and then picked up the skull and turned it over, scanning its base. Again, half his forehead furrowed with concern. “The sphenoid and the entire floor of the skull seem thickened, too. And the parietal and orbital areas. Do rabbits get pituitary tumors?”

“That’s a good thought,” Will said. “That might explain a lot of this.”

“Will you guys speak English?” Sam asked.

Will laughed. “The pituitary is the master gland. It hangs off the bottom of the brain and sits here in this bony depression called the sella turcica.” He pointed to a fingertip-sized concavity in the skull’s base. “It produces a handful of hormones that stimulate or control most of the other hormone secreting glands in the body. The thyroid, the adrenals, the reproductive tissues. Some tumors of the pituitary cause it to overproduce certain hormones, particularly growth hormone. You’ve heard of giants, acromegalics?”

“We studied something about that in school,” Shelby said.

“If the tumor produces too much growth hormone, the bones thicken, muscles bulk up, things like that.”

“Like André The Giant? The wrestler?” Shelby asked.

“Exactly,” Will said. “He was big and tall and had a thick jaw, big hands, and a deep voice. That’s what too much growth hormone does.”

Edgar spent 15 minutes carefully studying the bones. When he replaced the last one on the table, he said, “Where’d the boys find these?”

 “They said near Silver Creek,” Will said.

“On Burt Eagan’s property?” Edgar asked.

“They didn’t say.”

*

Sam and Edgar walked up the sidewalk to the MacCorkell’s house. Everyone else waited in the Jeep so the entourage wouldn’t frighten the boys or their parents. The house was a modest white, wood frame structure with a cleanly landscaped yard. Two steps led to a small porch. The front door stood open behind a screen door.

Jane MacCorkell answered Sam’s knock. An attractive woman with wavy brown hair, she wore an apron and dried her hands on a dishtowel as she approached. “Can I help you?”

“Mrs. MacCorkell, I’m Sam Cody. A friend of Alyss Cameron’s. And this is....”

“Why yes, I know Dr, Locke. Please come in.” She pushed open the screen door and stepped back, allowing them to enter. “I’m Jane.”

“We hate to bother you, but we need to ask your sons a couple of questions,” Sam said.

Concern creased her face as she looked from Sam to Edgar and back again. “What’s this about?”

“Your sons found some animal bones today,” Sam said. “Took them over to Dr. Proctor.”

She shook her head. “They’re always digging up stuff.”

“Well, this time they uncovered something very unusual,” Edgar said.

“What?”

“That’s what we’re trying to determine.” The functional half of Edgar’s face smiled.

Jane wound the dishtowel into a knot. Sam could see the lines of concern on her face deepen.

“It’s nothing serious,” Sam said. “They didn’t do anything wrong. We simply want to know where they found the bones so we can see if there are any others. Maybe solve this mystery.”

Jane gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I never know what mischief those two are going to get into next.”

Jane led them to the kitchen. A chopping block near one wall was topped with a pile of fresh peaches. A large copper pot simmered on the stove.

“I’m making jam,” Jane said.

“Smells wonderful,” Edgar said.

Jane looked out the kitchen window. “Jeremy. Jonathon. Come in here for a minute.”

Two redheaded, freckle-faced boys clamored through the door into the kitchen. Dirt spotted their faces and the knees of their jeans. They stopped when they saw Sam and Edgar.

“Boys, this is Sam and Dr. Locke. They need to ask you some questions.” She eyed her sons. “About some bones.”

Their eyes widened. They mirrored each other’s movements, hands jammed into their pockets, rocking onto the sides of their shoes, staring down at the floor as if this would make Sam and Edgar disappear. Sam knew instantly that wherever they had found the bones, it was someplace they weren’t supposed to be.

Sam smiled. “I saw the bones you guys found. Good work.”

Now, both looked up at her and smiled, their eyes alive.

“Yeah. They’re cool aren’t they?” Jonathon said.

“Did Dr. Proctor figure out what they were?” Jeremy asked.

Sam pulled a chair away from the dining table and sat, so that she was on their level. “Not yet. That’s why we’re here. We need your help.”

“Sure,” they said at the same time.

“We’d like to see if there are anymore. Where did you find them?”

Their smiles evaporated. They looked at each other and then back at their shoes.

“I don’t remember,” Jeremy said.

“Me neither,” Jonathon agreed.

Sam lowered her head to capture their downward gaze. They looked at her, and then at their mother.

“I don’t know,” Jeremy said.

“It’s important,” Sam said.

“Over by Silver Creek,” Jeremy mumbled, too soft for Sam to hear clearly.

“Where?”

“By Silver Creek,” he repeated.

Edgar bent down toward the boys. “Where exactly?”

“Down behind that lab,” Jonathon said.

“Burt Eagan’s lab?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “They were buried under a shrub.”

“What?” Jane said. “When were you over there?”

“This morning,” Jeremy mumbled at the floor.

“You know you’re not allowed on his property,” Jane said. “And that lab must be two miles from here.”

They hung their heads, their eyes glistening slightly.

“How’d you find them?” Sam said.

Jonathon wiped a tear from one eye. “Oscar.”

Sam gave him a quizzical look.

“Our dog,” Jane said. “He’s about as poorly behaved as these two.” She frowned at her sons.

“It was Jeremy’s idea,” Jonathon said.

“It wasn’t either,” Jeremy said, hitting his brother on the arm.

“Stop it,” Jane said. “Or I’ll whack both of you.”

Sam suppressed a smile. So much for not getting them in trouble. “Why’d you go there?”

“Just because,” Jonathon said.

“’Cause the other guys are scared to go there,” Jeremy said, his chest puffed out proudly.

Sam smiled. “So now you can brag to the other boys that you guys weren’t chicken.”

“Yeah,” they answered together.

Jane, arms crossed over her chest, shook her head and sighed.

“You didn’t go into the lab, did you?” Sam asked.

“No way,” they said in chorus.

“It’s too creepy,” Jeremy added.

*

Still feeling guilty about the newly grounded MacCorkell twins, Sam drove the Locke’s back to their car, which they had parked along Main Street. In the rearview mirror, she watched the worry in Edgar’s face grow by the minute. After pulling to the curb behind their car, she stepped out and held the door as Edgar and Martha got out.