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As the backhoe dug into the ground, Lucien winced. “Yeah. Coming out here on Saturday freaked her out. And that was before caskets started coming up out of the ground.”
“Most people would take a pass. If you ask me, this is the worst part of the job.”
Lucien unwrapped the napkin he’d brought and showed off the long-bladed knife. He glanced over at Brent. “This is for you or, rather, the crime lab. Maybe you can get prints off of it.”
“Where’d you get that?”
“A present from the person who showed up late last night in our orchard. He was carrying it before Stella ran him off.”
“Thank goodness for dogs. Did you get a description?”
Lucien repeated what he’d told Brogan the night before. “I’m not sure why he was there, though. If it’s the guy responsible for Gidget’s murder, he doesn’t fit the timeframe. Too young.”
“How’d you determine that?”
“I looked through the videos from the cameras at the back of the house. Those images were too far away. Unfortunately, our visitor tampered with the camera set up in the trees, so there’s no closeup of his face from that angle.”
“Not a stupid intruder, then. Maybe he was a relative trying to cover tracks that might lead back to a father or an uncle.”
Lucien’s brow furrowed. “How does killing us make sense? Only a deranged person would plan on showing up at my house armed with a weapon like that. After getting involved in this case, Marley warned us to watch our backs.”
“Not a bad idea. I’ll increase the patrols in the area. Speaking of which, I hired a new patrol officer with the money you and Brogan generously provided. His name is Theo Woodsong. He starts a week from today.”
“Glad it worked out. Did you find anything in Vera’s house that might ID the man in the box or tell us who Vera was, where she came from?”
“Not a thing.”
“Do you mind if we give it a try?”
“You want to go back in there and look around?”
“Not exactly. We thought we might try digging in Vera’s yard, see if she might’ve buried anything outside the house.”
Brent narrowed his eyes. “That’s a unique perspective. CSI would be proud. Although the neighbors may object.”
“You’ll get calls?”
“Oh yeah. But we can handle the complaints.”
“That sounds like a go.”
“If you think it might yield an answer, by all means, dig.”
“What about inside the walls? Did you check there?”
Brent sent Lucien a sidelong glance. “You want to knock down walls? We didn’t even put holes in the sheetrock. Keegan and Cord did give us the okay to do what needed doing. They’ve decided to rehab the entire house anyway. Finding a decades-old body tends to force a change of plans.”
As Gidget’s casket rose from the ground, Lucien looked away, focusing on another section of the cemetery. He wasn’t there to gawk but to pay his respects to Gidget. He heard metal scraping metal as the coffin slipped into the casing for transport to the morgue. “Exploring what’s behind the walls might sound extreme, but I think it’s necessary. It’d make me feel better. It’s the only way to know we didn't miss anything.”
“I’m all for ticking all the boxes.”
“By the way, we have Birk looking for any male who disappeared back in 1969 from the Midwest.” Lucien held up a hand. “Yeah. We know it’s a shot in the dark. But there’s no way we’ll discourage anyone if they offer to help.” He could only hope Birk hadn’t changed his mind about helping after last night's blowup. Keeping a positive attitude was a big part of sleuthing, so he made sure Brent understood. “Birk’s information has proven to be first-rate in the past.”
“It’s Birk’s time to waste. Imagine, though, if he could come up with our victim’s name. Sometimes long shots are worth taking. But if it doesn’t happen, we’ll rely on the lab to extract DNA from what’s left of his bones or teeth.”
A disgusted look crossed Lucien’s face. “I’m done here. Looks like I’m taking that image with me whether I like it or not.”
“You’ll have to toughen up if you want to—”
