Bone Box. Faye Kellerman

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СКАЧАТЬ turned to Rina. “You didn’t notice the hand sticking out right away?”

      “No. I just stepped back, heard a crunch, looked down, and saw the fingers.” She made a face. “Sorry if I ruined the crime scene.”

      Decker put his arm around his wife. “Why are you still here?”

      “Because I want to be here.” She stared at the open grave. “Can you age the skeleton?”

      “Not easily,” Donner said. “I’ll try once we get it into the morgue. You’ve got the hair. Dead hair, but at least we have a length and a color.”

      “Probably a woman,” Decker said.

      “Probably.” The coroner looked up. “Aren’t these things usually women?”

      Decker’s shrug was noncommittal. He said, “Once all the biological material is removed, we can poke around and see what else we can find.”

      “Like a purse with ID?” Donner asked.

      “In a perfect world.”

      “Paper by itself would disintegrate. Paper in a purse or wallet would take longer. Even if we can’t find ID, maybe we can get bits of clothing.”

      “How long do clothes last before disintegrating?” Rina asked.

      “If it’s an artificial fiber, it could be a while. If there’s a purse and it’s made from plastic, then we get lucky.”

      McAdams came over. “Reception’s really spotty, but I finally did connect to Kevin. He’s going to pull all the missing person cases going back around five years. I told him it could be anyone, although with long hair it’s probably female.”

      Decker nodded. “The body could be local or from anywhere. This is prime dumping ground.”

      “But she wasn’t dumped, she was buried,” McAdams said. “Someone took the time to dig a deep hole and cover her up.”

      Rina said, “If it was a random killing, would a random killer have taken the time to bury the victim?”

      “If he wanted to hide his handiwork and he had the time, sure,” Decker said. “Some killers get a big thrill out of the burial. But I know what you’re thinking: that the killer could have been someone close to the victim who thought it was disrespectful to leave her in the open.”

      “Any indication of how the victim was killed?” McAdams asked the coroner.

      “Nope.”

      “How long do you think it’ll take to remove all the bones?”

      “We’ll be working through the night.”

      Decker turned to Rina. “Let me walk you back to your car.”

      “Sure. You want my other tuna sandwich? I think I might even have two of them left. I always come prepared with lots of food when I hike.”

      “I’ll take the sandwiches. Cool it with the hiking for a while.”

      “Winter’s coming anyway.”

      “Let’s go, darling.”

      While they walked back, they made small talk. Then there was silence. Rina broke it. “She could be a student from the Five Colleges of Upstate. How far is the campus? A fifteen-minute drive?”

      “Not even.” Decker was quiet. Then he said, “Do you know anyone who has been at the colleges for a while? Someone who might remember missing girls from years ago?”

      “Tilly Goldstein has been at Hillel for over twenty years as administrative director.”

      “How old is she?”

      “In her late fifties. Want me to ask her about missing students?”

      “Sure. She’ll ask you why. You can tell her about the bones, but tell her to keep it to herself for the moment. And just ask her and no one else. I need to keep track of who we talk to.”

      “Of course. I’ll call her when I get home.”

      “Thanks.”

      “Anything else I can do?”

      “There’s a lot you can do, but unfortunately you can’t do it in public.”

      Rina smiled and hit him.

      “What?”

      “What what?”

      “It just means I’m still interested. At my advanced age, isn’t that a compliment?”

      She took his hand. “I suppose it is a compliment. When exactly is this little tryst supposed to take place?”

      “Certainly not tonight. Can I hold you to it at a later date?”

      “I’ll have to see if my calendar is open.”

      Decker smiled. “As they say in our former city, have your people call my people.”

       Chapter Two

      Despite having just a few hours of sleep, Decker felt refreshed. He woke up at seven, smelled the coffee, showered, shaved, and dressed, arriving in the kitchen with a spring in his step. Last night was a long one. He hadn’t expected Rina to wait up for him, but she did and that was very, very nice.

      “Good morning.” Rina gave him a kiss. “You look good.”

      “Considering …”

      “No qualifiers. You look good. Take a compliment. Your bones didn’t make the papers yet.”

      “They were still working when I left at two. Kevin and Karen took over for me.” He poured himself a cup and sat down. “I should give them a call. See what’s going on.”

      “Absolutely.”

      When Decker called, reception at the site was poor. He found out that the coroner’s office was still working on unearthing material, but that would soon be over and they could scour the grave for evidence. He told them that he was on his way and hung up.

      “Did they find anything?” Rina asked.

      “Not yet. But the coroner’s office is almost done. I should get up there and see if there is anything left in the hole.”

      “I’ve already packed some food for you and Tyler. I called Tilly last night.”

      Decker stood up as Rina sat down. So he sat down again. “The Hillel lady.”

      “Yes. She remembered two missing women in the last eight years and they both made the news.” СКАЧАТЬ