Do-It-Yourself 2 - Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley

Author:Jennie Bentley [Bentley, Jennie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

13

I was pretty much stuck where I was for the time being, a fact that hadn’t occurred to me until now. But with Derek’s truck in the shop, and Derek off with Brandon, and Melissa long gone, and with Wayne stuck here processing and keeping watch over the new crime scene, I had no way to get back to Waterfield unless I wanted to walk. Which I didn’t.

Luckily, a ride arrived shortly in the form of Josh Rasmussen and Shannon McGillicutty.

Wayne wasn’t happy to see them, something the look on his face made abundantly clear as he stalked across the grass toward the blue Honda. “Listening to the secure channels again?” I heard him inquire tightly as Josh rolled down his window.

“Actually, dad,” his son responded, “it’s all over the news. Tony the Tiger on channel eight has been broadcasting live for the past two hours. Talking to the neighbors, giving updates of the cadaver dog, stuff like that. When he reported a second body twenty minutes ago, we figured we’d come see if there was anything we could do.”

“You did, huh?” Wayne said, ominously. Josh shrugged. “I’m paying fifteen grand a year for you to cut class, is that it?”

“Relax, dad.” Josh rolled his eyes. “I’m between classes, OK? I’ve been helping the anthropology department process the bones from the crawlspace. Dr. Hardiman said he’d be calling you this afternoon.” I’d heard Wayne and Josh mention Dr. Hardiman. He was a forensic anthropologist who had joined Barnham’s faculty a few years ago but still worked on a freelance basis for the Portland medical examiner. He’d probably never expected to have a case so close to home. “The dentist, Dr. Whitaker, stopped by this morning. He made a record of the teeth—marked which teeth had fillings and which didn’t—and said he’d check his records and notify you if he could identify the skeleton. Also, it is Professor Hardiman’s educated opinion that the skeleton is that of a young woman, and that she’s been in the ground no more than six years and no less than two.”

“So Derek was right,” I said.

Josh continued, “I took a photograph of the skull. I figure I’ll try to use a facial reconstruction program on the computer to see what I can come up with.”

“Facial approximation,” his father corrected. “You know how unreliable it is.”

“It’s mostly just for fun,” Josh said calmly. “You’ll probably get a hit on the dental records long before I get any results on the facial reconstruction, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.”

“As long as you let me know what you find,” Wayne said. “In fact, why don’t you go get started right now? I have work to do.”

“Can you give me a ride back to town?” I shot in. “Derek’s car is in the shop somewhere on Broad Street.”

“Sure,” Josh said. “Get in.”

I crawled into the back seat while the kids pestered Wayne for details on what was going on. He was circumspect, but a lot of what they’d discovered was public knowledge, thanks to Tony the Tiger.

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