A Rumor of Bones: A Lindsay Chamberlain Mystery Read Online Free

deputies put this place on their night
route"
    "Thanks. We appreciate that"
    "Thank you for the analysis. I'll be in touch."

    He mouths a sentence as curs mouth a bone.
    -Charles Churchill
    The Rosciad
     

Chapter 2
    LINDSAY HOPPED OUT of the sheriff's car and walked
straight to her tent, one among six that formed two
opposite sides of a square where the professional site
crew was housed. The third side was a long tent that
functioned as a laboratory and storage area for artifacts. The fourth side was another storage tent and
another crew member's tent. Lindsay dropped her
backpack inside the doorway of her tent and went to
find Jane, whom she had left in charge of the burials.
    It was three o'clock, and the blistering sun was
reflecting off the ground in waves of heat. The digging had stopped for the day, and only a few supervisors milled around discussing what was to be done
the next day. Jane was nowhere to be seen, and the
site was covered with different-sized squares of protective black plastic anchored with stones. Derrick
came out of a group of trees bordering the site, wiping
his face with a damp T-shirt. His long brown hair
hung dark and limp on his bare shoulders.

    It had been a hot day at the dig. Derrick had a sly
smile on his face, and his soft brown eyes appeared to
twinkle. He was known for his elaborate practical
jokes, and Lindsay wondered what he was up to.
    "Who's going to get it this time?" she asked as he
approached.
    Derrick feigned a look of innocence and asked her
what she meant. "Never mind. I suppose I'll find out
soon enough. Have you seen Jane?"
    "We heard you were taken by the local gendarmes.
We thought they might keep you overnight, so Jane is
off raising bail."
    "Really. Where is she?... Sorry, I didn't mean to be
short"
    "Were you short?" Derrick said kindly. "I didn't
notice. Jane is in town. She said to tell you all the
open burials have been photographed and packed and
are in the lab."
    "Thanks."
    "Found three more today," he said, pointing to a
patch of black plastic. They walked to an area adjacent to the open excavations. Derrick kneeled and
lifted the plastic, revealing a large dark stain in the
smooth soil in the shape of a lopsided heart with a
rounded point. "Looks like one burial intrudes into
the other," he said, "I don't know which is older. Jane
gave them numbers: 22 and 23"
    "Okay. Heard the weather report?"
    "Clear. Looks like the rain may have passed us by.
I guess ole Ned was right about the weather."
    Derrick supervised the digging crew, whose job was
to remove the overburden from the site floor, then shave
it clean, revealing patterns left by the ancient inhabi tants. He was also in charge of mapping. It was the services of Derrick and his crew that Lindsay may have
committed to the sheriff. She must have had a guilty
expression, because Derrick gave her a quizzical smile.

    "And just what are you up to?"
    "You said there were three new burials?" she
asked, diverting his attention. She wanted to speak to
Frank before she discussed digging the crime scene
with Derrick.
    "The other burial is near the new structure." He
placed the plastic over the burials and pointed across
the site.
    "Where is Frank?"
    Derrick frowned. "Arguing with Ned."
    "Doesn't Ned ever get tired of arguing?"
    "I think he probably gets more tired when nobody
pays attention to him. He's going on like Chicken Little
about the dam"
    "Even if they were to start on the dam today, we
would still have time to finish a thorough investigation before the place is flooded, wouldn't we?"
    "Yes. But you know Ned. Just because he spent his
summers surface collecting around here, he thinks
he's got some psychic link with the place."
    "You'd think he would appreciate Frank's thoroughness"
    Derrick shook his head. "Ned's really just upset
because Frank has top billing here."
    Lindsay frowned and gazed out over the site. She
spotted a lone crew member digging just outside