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Jonas. I d like you to help me look at some of her work
tomorrow, said Diane.
Be glad to, but surely she doesn t want to work on her
sherds? he said. His expression said that kind of dedica-
tion to work would be going beyond reason.
No. She wants me to see something she found, said
Diane. The desk was one of the things that concerned her,
but the sherds she was gluing together are another.
Diane decided not to mention that the pottery Marcella
was finding around her home was bone tempered. She re-
membered she hadn t told them about the desk either. She
would put that off. They didn t need to have on their minds
what it all might mean.
Does this stuff she wants you to look at have anything
to do with what happened to her? asked Paloma.
I don t know, said Diane. I wouldn t think so, but it
was something that seemed to concern her. Most of Mar-
cella s side of the conversation was one or two words.
Paloma nodded. That s the way it was with us. Still, she
made sense.
That was a concern for Paloma, Diane could see that
her mother would still have her brain function and that she
would still be her mother.
Yes, she did, Diane agreed. She seems very coherent.
Mark drove Diane home. She hated for him to leave Pa-
loma in the hospital, but they both seemed better now that
Marcella was awake.
Frank s car was in the drive when Diane arrived. She said
good-bye to Mark and went into the house. She was too tired
to eat much. She drank a handheld soup and took a warm
shower. When she came out she lay on the bed and Frank
massaged her back something he did very well. She was
enjoying his hands on her bare skin when the phone rang.
Don t answer it, she said.
Frank did anyway. She s here, he said, and handed the
phone to her.
DUST TO DUST 121
She turned her head and made a face at him. He grinned
and continued stroking her back.
Diane, I thought we were beginning to have a good
working relationship.
Detective Hanks? she said. I thought we were too. So
why are you calling me this late? she thought. What s up?
Why didn t you call me when Marcella Payden woke
up? he asked.
I thought you had left word with the hospital to call
you. I assumed you were informed. It s not my job to in-
form you, she thought.
Her muscles must have tensed, for Frank increased the
pressure on her back, kneading her muscles with his fin-
gers.
If I had been thinking, I would have called, she said.
But I ve had a long day and was tired. Making efforts
to soothe over Hanks hurt feelings was a lot easier when
Frank was there to rub her back.
What did she say? The doctor wouldn t let me in until
tomorrow, Hanks said. Her daughter told me that Dr.
Payden didn t remember anything about the attack.
She was concerned about the pieces of pottery she d
found on her property. As we figured, she recognized they
were bone tempered. Marcella was letting me know she
had sent samples off for analysis. She also wanted to tell me
about the desk. I told her I d seen the message. Marcella
told me to examine the pottery myself, but she didn t say
what I was to be looking for. Her side of the conversation
was mostly just one or two words at a time.
Do you think this pottery business has anything to do
with her attack? asked Hanks.
I don t know, said Diane. I wanted to ask her how old
she thought the pottery was, but she was very weak and not
up to it. Her nurse ran me out.
I suppose she has no idea who attacked her, or why?
said Hanks.
She didn t even know why she was in the hospital. To-
morrow when you speak with her she may be more clear-
headed. But she probably will never remember the events
surrounding her attack.
Hanks seemed mollified when Diane hung up. She was
122 Beverly Connor
trying to keep a good working relationship with the police
and detectives, but sometimes they didn t make it easy.
She turned over to face Frank. No more answering the
phone.
Absolutely not, he said.
Next morning, Diane met Jonas in his museum office.
Together they pulled out the boxes from Marcella s that
Diane had packed. She gently took the ceramic mask out
and set it on the desk facedown, cushioning it with batting.
She twisted Marcella s work lamp over the piece of pot-
tery and began examining the back side with a magnifying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]