Page 22 of Gem Warfare

“The owners of that dead body just walked in,” I told them as I stood.

Fletcher got to his feet and punched the air. “We’re in business.”

“Who said you’re invited?” I asked.

Fletcher pretended to be shocked, then hurt, as he turned to Flaherty then Delgado, who was standing in the boardroom doorway, his arms crossed, watching us all with amusement. “Do you remember when she was new and eager to prove herself and barely said boo to a goose? Now look at her. Practically telling me to sit down,” he said.

“Sit down. You’re in pain,” said Flaherty.

“True,” said Fletcher as he sat with a wince. “I think I need a massage or physiotherapy.”

“Or a new body,” said Flaherty.

“That too.”

I left the three men together and jogged down the stairs, arriving as the elevator doors opened and the Dugans stepped out. Both looked tired but they’d taken effort with their appearance. Pete was clean-shaven and his striped t-shirt and jeans were pressed. Carrie wore a floral summer dress, minimal makeup, and her dark blond hair was tied in a loose bun. For the first time, I noticed the rounded bump of her abdomen.

“Thanks for seeing us. I wasn’t sure if you would as we weren’t exactly at our best last night,” said Carrie.

“You’d had a shock. I wouldn’t expect you to be at your best, Dr. Dugan, but you were nothing but polite,” I said. “Come through and you can tell me more about any developments.” I led them to the nearest interview room, a small room with little more than a table, chairs and a console, which held stationery and paperwork.

“Oh, Carrie, please. We’re really not ones for formalities,” said Carrie, continuing, as she dropped into a chair. “Your mom was so kind to stay with us until we could leave. She really was insistent that we stay at her house overnight but we decided on a hotel. We thought we needed space to really decompress and talk.”

“Sensible choice,” I said. “Have you been back to the house yet?”

“No,” said Pete. He took the seat next to his wife and sat, folding his arms, his discomfort evident. “We called Lieutenant Graves this morning and he said they took the body away last night but the police needed more time in the yard for their investigations. I guess they want to check to see if anything else was buried with the body.”

“Or if there are any more bodies,” said Carrie, pulling a face.

“Do you think that’s a possibility?” I asked.

“I don’t know what to think! If you asked me this time yesterday if I thought there was any body at all, I would have laughed in your face and said there was nothing but weeds in the yard.”

“What if therearemore bodies?” asked Pete.

“Let’s find out before we make any decisions,” I said. There was no point worrying the Dugans further, although I knew they would no matter what I said, until there was conclusive evidence as to what happened.

“I keep having the horrible thought that we bought a serial killer’s burial ground,” said Carrie.

“You’d think the price would have been reduced,” said Pete, his joke falling flat as Carrie grimaced.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the case,” I said. “I grew up down the street and I think someone would have noticed.” Even as I said it, I struggled with the conviction. Plenty of serial killers lived in plain sight for years until they were caught. Their neighbors usually spoke of them as friendly, helpful people. Their victims couldn’t speak at all.

“Plenty of other cases didn’t get noticed,” Carrie persisted, echoing the thoughts I’d thought wise to keep to myself. “Look at all the times a serial killer got caught and all the neighbors said he was such a nice guy. People don’t notice everything. We’re all too busy with our own lives.”

“I can make some calls and find out if there was any sign of strange behavior over the years,” I said, hoping to reassure her. “I know it’s hard but there’s no point worrying about this. You can’t control it. It’s out of your hands. If anything worse comes up, we can deal with it then.”

The Dugans exchanged a look and I thought both of their faces softened. “So you’ll take the case?” asked Pete.

“It depends on what you’d like me to do,” I countered. “What do you think we can do to assist beyond what the Montgomery Police Department is already doing?”

“I’m not sure I trust the police entirely… oh, I don’t mean it exactly like that. It’s just, I want to knowsomeonebelieves us, right from the start. I’d like to know who the body is…was… and how it came to be in our yard,” said Pete.

“And I’d like someone to work hard to prove it wasn’t us,” said Carrie. “I’ve heard about people being railroaded by the police. I’m not saying that’s what will happen here, but I want to be sure we take all the precautions.”

“If I take this case, I can’t make any guarantees about what I’ll find,” I warned them, “but I think we can prove you have nothing to do with it. I can liaise with the police alongside, making my own inquiries to find out who the body once was and how it came to be in your yard. How do you feel about not liking the answers?”

“Fine by me since it’s not personal,” said Pete. “Any answers are better than none and I can’t help wondering if the police will drop this on their cold case file as soon as any leads dry up. Then we’ll always be known as the dead body house.”

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