Terry Odell - Mapleton 02 - Deadly Bones (12 page)

Quinn glared at him. “Lucy’s trained to find human remains. Period. She may sniff around at other interesting scents, but she’s not going to alert on someone’s leftover pizza. Or anything else.”

Gordon lifted his hands in surrender. “No offense. Have to cover all the bases.”

“A well-trained dog is one hundred percent reliable.”

“In that case, if Lucy doesn’t mind, we might as well use her some more. Whatever she found isn’t going anywhere.”

Quinn threw the ball for Lucy a few times. Gordon used the tape to encircle an area of trees with Lucy’s site in the center. On the third return, Quinn said, “Break’s over, girl.” Once again, they moved far enough away so Lucy wouldn’t pick up the scent of the recent discovery. And once again Quinn gave Lucy the reap command.

An hour later, Quinn declared that Lucy had found everything there was to find here. “You want to go somewhere else?”

“Wouldn’t have a clue where to start, and I don’t think our citizens would appreciate having Lucy checking their yards for remains. Thanks for your help.” He cocked his head toward the dog. “Can I thank her, too?”

Quinn removed Lucy’s harness. “Sure. She knows she’s not working now. Off duty, she’s a regular dog.”

Gordon leaned down and thumped Lucy’s chest. “Good girl, Lucy. Thanks for your help.” She flopped onto her back, clearly asking for belly scratches. Gordon complied and got his own reward—the leg twitching that told him Lucy enjoyed it.

After saying goodbye to both Quinn and Lucy, Gordon called Asel and let him know that they’d found three additional locations.

“Any visible bones?” Asel asked.

“No. If Quinn hadn’t convinced me that the dog was an expert, I’d have said she was wandering around, picking spots at random for her reward. But he swears that if she alerts, there are human remains in the ground.”

“Carlos Quintana and Lucy?” Asel asked.

“Yep.”

“Then you’ve got human remains. You don’t need me to excavate, but once you’ve uncovered something, give me a call.”

“Will do.” Gordon hung up and called Solomon. “Hate to bother you on your day off, but you said you were interested in the bone case.”

“You found something?”

“Cadaver dog alerted on three sites. Now we need to excavate. Your skills would come in handy.”

“Damn. I wish you’d have called me sooner. I’d have loved watching the dog work.”

Gordon suppressed a chuckle. “Not all that exciting. She wanders around, then sits when she finds something. Watching dogs at the park is more exciting.”

“Yeah, but this is cop stuff we don’t ever see in Mapleton.”

“Next time, I promise to call. I’m putting together a team. Meet me at the station.” Even as he spoke, Gordon wondered how he’d justify the extra manpower and overtime to the mayor. Screw it. His job was to manage the department. Assigning tasks to officers was his responsibility, not the mayor’s. Should he call in the county deputies? No, not yet. This still couldn’t be designated a crime worth bringing in supplemental manpower. One man and one dog were enough to justify for now.

* * * * *

“Solomon’s lead on this assignment,” Gordon said to the three officers gathered in his office. He tapped a printout of the property map, pointing to three circles. “These points are where the dog says there are bones. They’re taped off. Standard evidence collection procedures, but everything stays
in situ
until Pierce Asel from the Coroner’s Office shows up.”

“Um… how far down do you want us to dig, Chief?” Titch asked.

Gordon studied the burly officer, his biceps straining the sleeves of his uniform, his clean-shaven head reflecting the overhead fluorescent lights. Lloyd Titchener looked like he could dig to China if the task demanded it. He waited, standing at attention. Titch was new to the force, ex-military, and hadn’t adapted to the more laid-back attitude around the station.

“At ease, officer,” Gordon said. “From what Deputy Quintana told me, Lucy had to prove she could find something buried three feet down to be certified. If you don’t find something by then, go down at least another foot.” He thought for a moment. “You know, these dogs can find people in abandoned gravesites, which are typically six feet down. You might have to go deeper than three feet.” He shifted his attention to Vicky. “McDermott, you’re to make sure these two brutes don’t mess anything up.”

She laughed. “Yes, Sir.”

He’d selected Vicky McDermott because she not only had a good eye for detail, but because she was patient and would make sure everything was taken one step at a time. If they did find more bones, uncovering them without disturbing them would be tedious work. Solomon knew what he was doing, but Gordon feared his eagerness to get results might have him taking a few shortcuts.

“All right. Dismissed. Keep me apprised of any finds. I’d like to be there when Asel shows up.”

Once his team had loaded up and gone, Gordon checked his cell in case he’d missed a message from Sam, but there were no texts, missed calls, or voicemails. He set the phone aside and stared at his inbox. He’d cleared everything yesterday, but, as always, slips of paper took on lives of their own, multiplying as soon as he left the office.

He buzzed his admin. “Laurie, anything urgent?” He didn’t need to add the understood, “like from the mayor?” Dare he hope the mayor was out of the loop on the bones? Gordon’s weekly summary wasn’t due until Friday, and he hoped that by then, everything would be resolved.

“You’re clear, Chief.”

“Thanks. Can you get me a list of everyone who’s lived in Mapleton for more than thirty years? Start with property tax rolls, voter registration records, and anything else you can think of.”

“Will do.”

That’s what he liked about Laurie. Not only was she competent, but she didn’t ask questions.

Next, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he knew more about Rose’s condition, he called Davey Gilman and asked the paramedic if he had any news.

“No significant change,” Gilman said. “The antibiotics aren’t kicking in fast enough, so the doctors are reevaluating. I’ll let you know if I can tease any other information out of the staff.”

No change. So maybe Rose had remembered whatever had been nagging at her, and it wasn’t anything worth mentioning. Fever dreams. “Don’t get in trouble,” Gordon said. “You or anyone else.”

“Me? Never.”

Gordon visualized Gilman’s white-toothed smile and his own lips curved upward. “Catch you later. Be safe.”

After requesting that Connie go through the dispatch calls Irv handled, Gordon glanced at his inbox. Making a silent promise to get to its contents soon, he pulled out a stack of index cards and the notes he’d already made from his earlier database searches. To those, he added the notes he’d taken when he’d spoken to Rose and Sam. Maybe he could cheer Rose up if he uncovered some information about the whereabouts of Benny and Zannah. Plus, he admitted to himself, he was curious. According to his notes, they’d retired and left Mapleton twenty-seven years ago, which was close enough to Asel’s thirty year approximation to warrant a little digging. And if the bones turned out to belong to one of them?

Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head?

Chapter 13

Megan rubbed her palms on her slacks, then grasped Justin’s hand. “Upbeat, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“Wait.” Megan pushed Justin against the wall and smothered him with a kiss. His surprise shifted to tenderness, and she absorbed his strength. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

Justin pushed Rose’s door open. Megan took a deep breath, then wished she hadn’t. As soon as she stepped inside, hospital smells—disinfectant mixed with something she could only describe as “sickness” assaulted her. Her stomach lurched.

Rose, looking tinier than ever, and barely a shade darker than the white hospital sheets, lay propped up in the bed, her eyes closed. IV tubing in the back of her hand connected her to a stand with hanging bags of liquids. More tubing went into her nostrils. A machine behind her head bleeped and displayed numbers. Megan gripped Justin’s hand even more tightly. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “I’m not sure I can do this.”

“Sure you can.” Justin took her hand in both of his and approached the bed. “Hi, Oma. We’re here to say hello.”

Rose’s eyes flickered open. She turned her head away. “You shouldn’t have come.” Her voice was hoarse, and cracked as she worked to speak. The bleeping sped up.

Megan couldn’t get words beyond the tightness in her throat. Thankfully, Justin covered for her.

“Oma, of course we’re going to come. You’re family, and family is always there for each other.”

“I don’t like being this way,” Rose said. “I want to go home.”

Megan blinked back tears. “You’ll be well soon. You need to get plenty of rest and do what the doctors say.”

“Sam?” she said, as if just realizing he was missing. A pained expression crossed her face. “The bones. I need to tell Sam.”

“You already did, Oma,” Justin said. “Remember? Yesterday, when Gordon was at the house. He knows all about them.”

“Where is he?” Rose asked.

“The nurses didn’t want more than two of us in the room.” Justin took her fingertips in his. “He’s getting some tea for you. While he’s gone, you’ll have to put up with us.”

“Then sit.”

Megan sat in Sam’s vacated chair and noticed a paperback on the night table. “Was Sam reading this to you?”

Without waiting for an answer, Megan started reading. Speaking words from a page was so much easier than trying to make conversation when all she could think about was how frail Rose looked, and how she wasn’t sure the doctors were doing enough, and what might happen if the antibiotics didn’t take hold.

Within two pages, Rose’s eyes closed again, and the rhythmic hiss of the oxygen filled the room. The bleeping slowed to a sedate, almost reassuring pace. Megan kept reading. Justin stepped from behind her and took the book from her hand. “She’s asleep.” He replaced the bookmark and set the book on the nightstand.

Megan rose. “You can sit with her. I’m going to find a restroom.”

“Megan—”

She rushed from the room. Even if Rose was asleep, Megan wouldn’t cry in her presence.

* * * * *

After indulging herself in a brief meltdown in the relative privacy of a ladies room stall, Megan splashed cold water on her face, trying to erase the evidence that she’d come apart. She reapplied her makeup, fluffed her hair, and practiced smiling into the mirror. If she didn’t get any closer than the foot of Rose’s bed, and if Rose didn’t have her glasses on, she
might
get away with looking upbeat. Lots of
ifs
and
mights
, and Rose rarely missed anything.

Still, Megan had to try. She gathered her composure with a few deep breaths and kept the smile on her face as she trudged down the hall. A few steps before reaching Rose’s room, Megan straightened her spine and tried for a little bounce in her step.

Justin looked up when she entered Rose’s room. His quiet nod reassured her the way no doctor’s medical-speak could. “Her breathing seems steadier. How about you? Are you all right?”

Megan’s smile switched from forced to genuine. “Yes, I am.” She dragged a second chair over beside Justin, who still held Rose’s hand. Megan dovetailed her fingers with Justin’s other hand, and it was as if the two of them projected their strength to Rose. Thoughts of Angie’s
feelings
trickled through. Maybe there
was
some sort of indefinable power, and it manifested itself differently to different people. Whatever it was, she felt… connected.

She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there when a nurse came into the room. The nurse checked the IV, the oxygen, and after looking at the bleep machine, wrote something on a chart.

“Is she improving?” Megan asked.

The nurse consulted the chart. “She’s holding steady.”

Which wasn’t as good as improving, but was a lot better than hearing Rose was getting worse.

Sam returned, sporting clean clothes and smelling like soap and Old Spice. “She sleeps,
ja
?”

“Yes,” Justin said. “The nurse was in a few minutes ago and said she’s stable.”

“
Gut.
I will call Katya and let her know her mother is doing well. She and Paul do not need to come back.” Sam set one of the two travel mugs he carried onto the nightstand, along with a small paper bag. “Herbal tea. The doctor said she could have some, but the hospital has none. I went home and brought her favorite tea bags for her.”

“She’ll like that,” Megan said. She untangled her fingers from Justin’s and gestured Sam to her chair.

“No, Opa, you sit here.” Justin jumped up. “We’ll go get some coffee in the cafeteria, and take turns sitting with her.”

“I am not a baby needing someone to sit with me.” Rose’s voice was a croak, followed by a cough. Her eyes didn’t open.

Sam reached for the travel mug from the nightstand. “Have some tea. It should help your throat.” The bed made a grinding noise as Sam adjusted the height. He slid one hand behind her pillow to elevate her further, and held the mug to her lips.

Rose sipped, still keeping her eyes closed. Megan remembered being a young child and thinking if her eyes were closed, then nobody could see her. Was Rose hiding?

“Rose.” Megan stepped closer. No response. “Next trip I’m going to bring you some nicer things. I’m sure you’ll feel better wearing one of your own nightgowns. What else would you like?”

Finally, Rose’s blue eyes—red-rimmed and watery—opened. “Meggie, you don’t need to do anything. Shouldn’t you be getting back to work? And you, too, Justin. The gazebo is finished, the party is over. You both have important jobs. People depend on you.”

“I have two more days,” Justin said. “I can use the time to finish that grant proposal.”

“Nothing’s as important as you are, Rose,” Megan said. “I’m taking a few more days off myself. I asked my boss, and he said there was nothing critical—they can do without me for a bit.” She forced a laugh. “Let them see how much work I do around there. Besides, I can do a lot from my laptop.”