Bones in Her Pocket by Kathy Reichs

Author:Kathy Reichs [Reichs, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Crime, Temperance Brennan, Forensics, Anthropology
ISBN: 9781476761978
Publisher: Arrow

Chapter Seven

Slidell asked a few more questions, then we returned to the Taurus. While gunning from the lot, he called the biology department at UNCC. From his end of the conversation, I guessed he wasn’t getting what he’d hoped.

I was totally amped by the lead Doris had given us. Wanted to jump straight on it. Slidell had another target on his mind.

Minutes after leaving raptorville, Skinny parked in front of a squat building with a sign featuring a grinning pig in a puffy chef’s hat. Lancaster Barbecue. I’ve never understood why BBQ joints put cheery smiles on the farmyard friends they serve up for lunch.

Entering was like crossing from Kansas to Oz, lackluster exterior yielding to NASCAR wonderland. Neon signs, antique gas pumps, vintage car paraphernalia adorning every surface, including the ceiling. A zillion TVs broadcast race reports in keeping with the stock car theme.

I didn’t need a menu. Pulled pork sandwich, hush puppies, slaw. North Carolina gold. Slidell was on the same page.

Our food had just arrived when Slidell’s phone rang. He listened, said “yeah” a lot. I watched him scribble an address on a paper napkin.

“Olsen finishes class at two, usually heads straight home.” Shoving the phone back into his jacket. Which was maroon polyester, a good choice given the sauce he was dribbling. “I’m thinking we drop by for a little chat.”

I checked my watch. Just past noon. “That works.”

“You know this jackass?”

“Only by reputation. We’ve never met.”

Slidell wiped grease from his chin. Chins.

“Living-thing departments don’t mingle with dead-thing departments?”

“Only when there’s free food.”

Slidell’s understanding of academia is limited at best. I wasn’t in the mood to explain the complexities of a major university.

“So what’s the campus scuttlebutt on this guy?”

“Earnest type. Go-getter. No rumors about sex with students, if that’s what you mean.”

“How’s this track? He and Blankenship get it on. She threatens to dime the wife, he caps her.”

“Other than Doris Kramer’s statement, we have no proof Edith and Olsen were involved.”

Slidell made an indeterminate noise in his throat.

“Strangling’s not like shooting a bullet or stirring poison into your boss’s tea,” I said. “It’s hands-on, up-close and personal. So I agree. We could be looking at a crime of passion. Still, I like Blount.”

“If Blount and Blankenship were birding pals, why kill her?”

“She has a change of heart, threatens to expose him for something he’s done? Maybe it’s an accident? Who knows?”

But with homicide you have to know. Murder’s not like B&E, extortion, or rape. With other crimes the endgame is clear. A murder investigation is always about motive.

Slidell’s next comment suggested he was reading my mind.

“Killing’s simple. Sex or money.”

“Maybe their passion for birds bound their hearts in love.”

“Who the hell you talking about, Blount or Olsen?”

Good point, Skinny. I’d tossed the comment out in jest.

“In my view, the easy answer is usually the right one.”

Another good point. Though he couldn’t have named it, Slidell was summarizing Occam’s razor, a principle stating that the cleanest hypothesis is usually the correct one.

“And that would be?” I finished the dregs of my lemonade.

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