M4M.
Turn-on: Victorian America, cake, mystery, handcuffs, men w/ badges.
Turn-off: Decaf coffee, PPE, being arrested.
“So what can you tell me about Frank?” I asked, redirecting the conversation to the matter at hand.
Gould nodded, munched another bite of hot dog, and said, “Assistant curator. He is—er,was?—a nice guy. Really smart. Passionate.”
“And last Wednesday morning, he received a package with human remains?”
“Toes,” Gould confirmed with a shudder. “I deal with bones all day that are millions of years old. Not fresh, still all squishy and bloody.”
“And then he got a second one. With an ear inside.”
She shot me a quick look, and a passing gust of wind blew the ends of her light-colored hair into the ketchup-and-mustard-splattered hot dog. “He did?”
Oops.
I cleared my throat. “Uh… did Frank ever say who he thought might have sent those packages? Or… who… wasinthem?”
Gould shook her head. “God, no. He didn’t say anything to me, at least. It definitely spooked him, though.”
“Did Frank have any enemies?”
“No. I mean, I can’t imagine he would. He was a really sweet guy. Dr. Thyne squabbled with him a lot, but you met him. He can be a… difficult personality.”
“That’s diplomatic.”
Gould took another bite.
“Were their arguments ever severe?”
“I’m still new. Dr. Newell and Dr. Thyne have been here for a decade at least.” Gould finished her hot dog and crumpled the wrapper in her hands. “But Dr. Newell had been working on details for a visiting exhibit. His pet project. Dr. Thyne wasn’t impressed with all of the artifacts. They’d been…discussingit since the day I was hired.”
Discussing. Sure. We’d go with that.
“Did you know Frank’s girlfriend?” I continued. “She reported him missing.”
“For a few days.”
“What do you mean?”
“She used to work here,” Gould said, like I should have known that. She leaned close and murmured, “She was let go.”
“Really.”
Gould nodded. “Angela London.”
“Why did she leave the museum?”
“Everything I’ve heard is hearsay.”
“I won’t say anything,” I promised.
“Well….” Gould was frowning. She shivered a little and admitted, “She might have been stealing.”
“Money?”
