Page 25 of Gem Warfare

“Deal,” I said. “How cold do you estimate the case to be?”

“I’m waiting on the ME for confirmation, but the remains indicate long past a decade to me. Perhaps two.”

“So you’re not looking at the Dugans as good for the crime?”

“Nope. It’s pretty unlikely they’re involved but I still need to run some checks on them. Unless something surprising comes up that narrows the death or the burial to the time frame of the period they owned the house, I’m not interested in them as my perps.”

“They’ll be pleased to hear that, but they would still like to be kept informed.”

“Of course, and I will do that, although that seems like your job too. Of course, there is a big obvious problem with this case.”

“That it’s so cold?”

“Yeah. I can’t say I remember much of ten-plus years ago beyond the big stuff. If that’s the time frame we’re looking at, it’s going to be hard to track down potential witnesses, and even if they can be found, the chances of them remembering anything is remote.”

“What about the jewels?” I asked.

“I showed them to the ME. She’s not an expert but she took a look under a microscope and thinks they’re real. She has no clue of the value other than, in her words, ‘a lot.’ Our listed consultant in Boston is away at a conference in California until next week.”

“Do you remember I said we worked a case at a jeweler’s a few months back? Why don’t I ask the client to take a look? Theycould give you the information you need.”

“That would actually be helpful, thanks.”

“I’ll call you back.”

“Take your time. The body isn’t going anywhere.”

It took me a moment to find my jeweler contact’s details before I left a voicemail asking if they could consult on something urgently. I had barely set down the phone when it rang again.

“Hi, Lily.”

“I. Cannot. Believe. You. Didn’t. Call. Me,” she seethed.

“Sorry? I should have texted last night and…”

“You should be! I have to find out from my own husband that my best friend fell through a ceiling! After being attacked! With Maddox! What happened to you?”

“Well, I saw the thieves during surveillance. Maddox and I followed them into the crawl space and then we had to hide and…”

“No, I got all that, except the bit about Maddox being there. Why was he there? Anyway, I meant, where’s your girl code? Why didn’t you call me immediately and tell me everything? Why does my husband get the juicy deets before me?”

“I had to get cleaned up. I was covered in hair products and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. I needed a shower. Plus, Jord was there. He made the arrests.”

“I bet you smelled nice. What a waste of a wash and cut.”

“True, but the case is successfully closed. I just have to fill out the paperwork and I’m done.”

“Do you think you’ll get salon vouchers as a bonus?”

“Probably not. The salon was a mess when I left. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I got preoccupied and…”

“I’m not done being mad at you yet!” snipped Lily.

“Oh. Sorry. Please continue,” I said, waiting for it.

“You. Found. A. Skeleton. In. The. Backyard.” Lily’s voice waslow and staccato.

“Mom found it and it wasn’t my backyard or hers,” I clarified. “But yes, a skeleton was discovered. Mom called me and said it was an emergency. There wasn’t time…”

---