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“Well, Dr. Chaplin, if you wouldn’t mind stepping away, seeing as this is a crime scene,” he goes on.
I suppose it is. I hurdle the exhibit barrier carefully and begin to remove my examination gloves. “And you are?”
“Sheriff McEvoy. At your service,” he says with a kindly nod.
“You’re new here.”
Sherriff McEvoy chuckles. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes,” I reply.
His eyes widen. “Oh.”
He’ll get used to it. I don’t suffer fools and I don’t like to play games. Especially not when it comes to my bones.
“Um… well, can you tell me what happened when you arrived here this morning, Dr. Chaplin?”
“The door was unlocked. Nothing was taken except for the thirteen ribs and foreleg bones of the deer.”
“Are yousurenothing else was taken?” Sheriff McEvoy asks.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I haven’t been back to the office yet, but surely whoever took the bones couldn’t want anything to do with paperwork and bills. “All the more obviously extravagant artifacts are in their place. And they didn’t eventouchthe donation box.”
He hardens his jaw, looking at me with an expression some might describe as a lady killer, but I would describe as cringey. “You said the door was unlocked. Is it possible that youleftit unlocked?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be determining who took my bones, not whether or not I had a moment of indiscretion when it comes to locking upmymuseum?” I retort. “Which I assure you, I did not.”
Sheriff McEvoy opens his mouth to reply, but instead, he laughs.
I furrow my brow. “Whatis so funny?”
“Sorry, we’re just—” He slaps his thighs like he’s at some sort of comedy spectacular. “We’re talking aboutbones. We’re talking about animal bones. Whew!” He rights himself back to standing, wicking away literal tears.
“Sheriff McEvoy, your behavior?—”
He holds a flat hand toward me. “I beg your pardon, Dr. Chaplin, I don’t mean to make light of the situation, just…” he trails off, clears his throat. “I want you to know I’m taking this seriously.”
I suck on my lower lip, looking down my nose at him. “That remains to be seen, Sheriff.”
He might not take me or my work seriously, but little does he know that when it comes to my work, I am relentless.
And if Sheriff McEvoy knows what’s good for him, he won’t get between me and these bones.
2
Rory
I am almost frozen in place by this woman’s icy blue eyes. They’d be beautiful if they weren’t terrifying. People think just because you’ve got a gun on your belt and a radio on your shoulder, you must be untouchable, but I’m only human. I still get freaked out by things. Spiders, beautiful women, skeletons. Beautiful women.
Dr. Chaplin hasn’t crackedonesmile since I’ve arrived. And I know that it’s a stressful situation, her being in charge of this museum and all, but it’s not life or death. Surely she can offer me one smile if only to be polite.
I put my thumbs in my belt loops, a quintessential cop thing I always thought looked ridiculous until I became one and found myself doing it constantly. I’ve decided to lean into the archetype after all these years. “Forgive me, Dr. Chaplin, this…situationis a little different in terms of severity than what I’m used to.”
Constance’s eyebrows rise as her face grows red. “What could be more severe than precious artifacts being stolen?”
Plenty of things. But I don’t need to go through the laundry list. Our frames of reference are different. She probably spends her time running the museum and going home to her little house in the evening where she doesn’t lock her door and doesn’t care if her kids aren’t home before dark. I’m used to the streets of Chicago, where my “normal” day to day was dealing with criminals just as armed as I am and way more dangerous.
It’s all relative. I can’t hold that against her.
