The Night Killer Part 30

"You found what?" said Agent Mathews. "Where have you been, anyway, Frank?"

"I thought I'd take a look around the area. I found a trail of damaged underbrush and followed it to a stream just a few yards down there." Frank gestured to the north and turned to Diane and grinned at her. "Glad to see you aboveground."

"We didn't get to do much sightseeing," she said, "but we found the bodies."

"You need to bring your bag of magic tricks and follow me," Frank said.

"This day is just going to go on forever," said Mathews. "I've still got to take Ma.s.sey over to his pasture to find the bodies he buried. Well, h.e.l.l . . . not that I don't appreciate finding more evidence, but I really hate being out in the woods," he said. "Let's go look. Then I'll leave you and Diane here to take care of this site and I'll go on to Ma.s.sey's pasture." He turned to Diane. "I think the Rosewood morgue will be quicker to get to and leave these bodies. I'll send a couple of agents over with them. I'll take your suggestion and d.a.m.n the consequences. I'll tell the bureaucrats they can get their b.u.t.ts out in this tick-infested jungle if they're not happy with the way I handle it." He swatted his arm.

Diane left the cave evidence with the GBI agents and called Neva over with the crime scene kit. Frank led them through the tangle of underbrush, showing them the damaged and flattened plants along the way. The rains had helped many of them stand back up, but Diane could still see a definite path.

"When I saw the damaged brush, I figured they might have dragged the bodies from the creek to the cave," Frank said.

The trip through the woods reminded Diane of her earlier one that dark, rainy night when the brush and small trees whipped her legs and arms and stung her face. Only this time she had supportive company and it was light and she was dressed for the trip.

They arrived shortly at a creek filled with rounded rocks and bordered with ferns. As they began their examination of the area, Diane saw that Mike and Liam had tagged along. She caught a glimpse of them coming through the thick green brush. She also noted that they had lagged behind at a distance. Not an easy feat with Mathews going so slowly, but it was probably his string of nonstop complaints along the way that had drowned out the noise of their movement behind them through the underbrush.

"What are you two doing?" Diane asked.

"I want to follow this thing through," said Liam.

"Speaking of your client . . ." said Mathews, scratching his back and wiggling his shoulders.

"Was I?" said Liam.

"Why else would you want to follow it through?" said Mathews. "I think it's time you told us who your client is."

Liam sighed and nodded. "I know. His name is Wain-wright MacAlister," he said.

"You mean the real estate mogul who's thinking about running for Congress?" said Mathews.

"The one and only," said Liam.

"You should have told me that sooner," Mathews said.

"Would you have done things any differently?" asked Liam.

"Yes. I'd have brought more Tums," he said.

"I've got plenty. I can share," said Liam.

"You can stand over by that tree," said Diane to Liam. "Don't get in the crime scene." She turned to Mike. "And what's your excuse?"

"There've been so many strange things going on, I thought you could use someone to watch your backs," said Mike.

"Fine. Watch our backs from a distance-over there with Liam," she said. She hesitated a moment and turned to Liam. "What were their names?"

"Larken MacAlister and Bruce Gregory," he said.

Diane turned back around and followed Frank to the edge of the creek. It wasn't a large creek, perhaps five feet across at its widest point. It was very beautiful, almost the stereotypical mountain stream. Only the stain of blood on the rocks along the creek's bank and covering one side of a small tree trunk marred its picturesque feel. Even with the rains, the blood was still there. It obviously had dried before the rains fell. Another clue.

She noticed a s.h.i.+ny metal dish the size of a large skillet wedged between rocks in the creek.

"Looks like they were panning for gold," said Mike, pointing to the dish.

Diane looked over at him.

"That's a pan for panning gold," he said. "See, I'm helpful."

She frowned at him.

Get equipment was one of the items on the dead couple's list, thought Diane. She wondered if this was part of the equipment. Diane remembered Liam saying that the two copied geologic maps at the library. Liam thought they were looking for abandoned mines. was one of the items on the dead couple's list, thought Diane. She wondered if this was part of the equipment. Diane remembered Liam saying that the two copied geologic maps at the library. Liam thought they were looking for abandoned mines.

"Perhaps they were panning at different creeks close to mines," said Diane, "hoping the density of their finds would point them to the right mine."

"Possible," answered Mike. "But you never know what's going on underground. The stream being close to a cave or mine doesn't necessarily mean it's carrying material from there."

"But they might very well have thought that was a plan," said Frank.

"Well, I guess I've seen all I need to see," said Mathews. "I'm going to leave it with you."

"Can you find your way back?" asked Frank.

"There's nothing wrong with my sense of direction," said Mathews. He headed back the way they had come, retracing their steps.

"Send up a flare if you get lost," said Frank.

"Up yours, Frank," he said, before disappearing into the undergrowth. "Doesn't anybody ever mow up here?" they heard him say.

Frank smiled at Diane. "Gil's not much of a woodsman." He looked around at the scene. "What can I do to help?"

"Neva and I are going to take photographs first. Then you can help Neva with some measurements. I'm going to collect blood samples. And we need to search the area to see if there's anything else to be found. A murder weapon would be nice." But Diane had a feeling that it was taken, to be used again on the Barres and the Watsons. "Neva, will you have a look at the pan and see if there are any prints on it?"

Neva nodded and they began the meticulous work of collecting evidence. After photographing the area, with close-ups of the blood and the pan, Diane took blood samples from the tree and the rocks and she looked for fibers that might have rubbed off from clothing onto the trees or underbrush. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mike was a little restless. But Liam seemed perfectly calm. Different training, she supposed.

"Hey, Doc," said Mike, "why don't I walk the creek and look for anything that may have washed downstream?"

"I can go with him," said Liam. "We each can take a side of the creek."

Diane stood up from her stooped position and looked at them. "When this goes to court, we have to be above reproach in our collection of evidence," she said.

"I'm a detective and I've given evidence in court before," said Liam. "And Mike here . . ." He turned to Mike. "What are you exactly?"

"Geologist," said Mike.

"See," said Liam. "Geologist, rocks, cave, mines, gold." He gestured with his arm over the area. "It fits. I think you're covered."

"Okay. Watch where you put your feet. If you find anything, call one of us. Don't pick it up," she said. "Take those small orange flags out of the pack and mark anything of note."

"Gotcha, Doc," said Mike. "It's not like I haven't helped before."

Diane watched for a moment as the two of them walked along the bank. She saw Liam cross the creek at a narrow point and proceed out of sight. She went back to collecting blood samples. She found a fiber stuck under a spot of dried blood on the tree. She lifted it and put it in an envelope. Neva was drawing the scene as she and Frank measured the distance between objects. All in all, they were going pretty fast.

Diane had taken her last sample and Neva was examining the pan and lifting prints when they heard shouts downstream from Mike and Liam.

Chapter 49

When Diane and the others found Mike and Liam, they were on the bank looking at an object under the water. Diane squatted for a closer look. It was a leather drawstring pouch about the size of a cantaloupe wedged between two large rocks of about the same size as the pouch. Water flowed around and over it. Diane could see from the contours of the bag that there was something in it.

Diane photographed it from several angles. Neva set about drawing it while Frank got Mike to help take measurements.

"See, we were quite helpful," said Mike.

"Yes, you were. This is only about forty yards from the primary site. What took you so long to find it?" said Diane.

"Is she always this exacting to work for?" Liam asked Mike.

Neva grinned. Mike made a face back at her.

"I a.s.sure you, Liam, Mike is more demanding in his department than I am in the whole museum," said Diane. "Now, what did you do, miss it the first time and find it on the return trip?"

"There was a glare on the water," said Mike. "I missed it. And yes, we were coming back when we found it."

"We both missed it the first time," said Liam. "He's right. With the glare, we couldn't see under the flowing water."

"Just wondering," said Diane, stifling a smile.

When she and Neva finished recording the find, Diane rolled up her jeans and waded into the water to retrieve it. She had on latex gloves and the chill of the water came through immediately. It was colder than she expected and the phrase cold mountain stream cold mountain stream came to mind. The drawstring of the pouch was hung up. Diane tried to push the rocks aside to release it. It proved harder than she expected, but she finally unseated one of the rocks and the pouch came free. came to mind. The drawstring of the pouch was hung up. Diane tried to push the rocks aside to release it. It proved harder than she expected, but she finally unseated one of the rocks and the pouch came free.

Diane waded out of the water to the bank. Neva had spread out a large envelope she had cut open to make it even larger.

"I thought you'd want to see what was in it right away," said Neva.

"You did, did you?" said Diane.

The four of them-Frank, Mike, Neva, and Liam-gathered around Diane as she opened the bag. Diane sniffed it first, just to make sure it wasn't something unpleasant, like someone's old lunch. Not much of a smell. She looked inside. It looked like rocks. She poured the contents out on the paper Neva had provided.

A glittering array of what appeared to be gold nuggets tumbled out onto the paper. The stones were mostly solid gold but some were clearly quartz with gold flecks.

"Well, I'll be," said Liam. "They did find gold-I suppose this is theirs."

"No," said Mike, "it's not gold. It's pyrite. Or, as some call it, fool's gold."

"It's not gold?" said Neva.

Mike looked over at her. "And here I thought you'd spent a lot of time studying my reference collection in the museum," he said.

Neva rolled her eyes. "Every chance I get," she said.

"It's pyrite-iron sulfide," he said.

He took a slender stick and divided up the rocks.

"These s.h.i.+ny square pieces are pyrite in its isometric crystal habit."

"What's that in layman's terms?" asked Liam.

Mike smiled at him. "Crystal pyrite. This piece here that's amorphous in shape is what's called ma.s.sive pyrite."

"What about this?" Liam pointed to the quartz that had the gold flecks.

"Pyrite in quartz," said Mike. "Like gold, pyrite often occurs in combination with quartz.

"No gold?" said Liam.

"Gold is also found in a.s.sociation with pyrite," said Mike, "but I don't see any here in this cache."

"I hope they weren't killed over this," said Frank.

Mike stood up and walked to the creek to an acc.u.mulation of sand that had been dropped by the flowing water where it slowed down in a curve. He scooped up a handful of the sand and came back. Over the gra.s.sy bank of the creek he picked through the wet sand in his palm.

"We've got a lot of quartz, feldspar, magnet.i.te-that's these black grains. When you're panning for gold you look for magnet.i.te. It and gold are heavy and they settle out together in streams, and the magnet.i.te is more plentiful and easier to spot."

He moved his fingers over the sand, looking.

"Here we go."

They stood around Mike so they could see what he was pointing to.

"I don't see anything," said Neva.

"Here, that tiny flake. That's gold."

"That's it?" said Neva.

"That's pretty good," said Mike, "for just one handful of sand. Panning for gold is labor-intensive." He dropped the sand on the bank of the creek and dusted off his hands.

"How sad," said Neva. "Do you think they thought all this was gold?"