Bone Box - Faye Kellerman

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hiking for a while.”

      “Winter’s coming anyway.”

      “Let’s go, darling.”

      While they walked back, they made small talk. Then there was silence. Rina broke it. “She could be a student from the Five Colleges of Upstate. How far is the campus? A fifteen-minute drive?”

      “Not even.” Decker was quiet. Then he said, “Do you know anyone who has been at the colleges for a while? Someone who might remember missing girls from years ago?”

      “Tilly Goldstein has been at Hillel for over twenty years as administrative director.”

      “How old is she?”

      “In her late fifties. Want me to ask her about missing students?”

      “Sure. She’ll ask you why. You can tell her about the bones, but tell her to keep it to herself for the moment. And just ask her and no one else. I need to keep track of who we talk to.”

      “Of course. I’ll call her when I get home.”

      “Thanks.”

      “Anything else I can do?”

      “There’s a lot you can do, but unfortunately you can’t do it in public.”

      Rina smiled and hit him.

      “What?”

      “What what?”

      “It just means I’m still interested. At my advanced age, isn’t that a compliment?”

      She took his hand. “I suppose it is a compliment. When exactly is this little tryst supposed to take place?”

      “Certainly not tonight. Can I hold you to it at a later date?”

      “I’ll have to see if my calendar is open.”

      Decker smiled. “As they say in our former city, have your people call my people.”

       Chapter Two

      Despite having just a few hours of sleep, Decker felt refreshed. He woke up at seven, smelled the coffee, showered, shaved, and dressed, arriving in the kitchen with a spring in his step. Last night was a long one. He hadn’t expected Rina to wait up for him, but she did and that was very, very nice.

      “Good morning.” Rina gave him a kiss. “You look good.”

      “Considering …”

      “No qualifiers. You look good. Take a compliment. Your bones didn’t make the papers yet.”

      “They were still working when I left at two. Kevin and Karen took over for me.” He poured himself a cup and sat down. “I should give them a call. See what’s going on.”

      “Absolutely.”

      When Decker called, reception at the site was poor. He found out that the coroner’s office was still working on unearthing material, but that would soon be over and they could scour the grave for evidence. He told them that he was on his way and hung up.

      “Did they find anything?” Rina asked.

      “Not yet. But the coroner’s office is almost done. I should get up there and see if there is anything left in the hole.”

      “I’ve already packed some food for you and Tyler. I called Tilly last night.”

      Decker stood up as Rina sat down. So he sat down again. “The Hillel lady.”

      “Yes. She remembered two missing women in the last eight years and they both made the news.” Rina picked up a scrap of paper on the table. “One had been from Clarion College—Delilah Occum—and the other had been from Morse McKinley—Yvette Jones.” She handed the paper to Decker.

      “Okay … hold on.” He took out his phone and checked the names against a list that was e-mailed to him by Kevin yesterday. “I have Delilah Occum at the top of the heap.” He looked down. “I don’t have Yvette Jones, but the list only goes back five years.” He showed Rina the compilation of names.

      “Wow, that’s a lot of people.”

      “It’s from upstate and down through the greater tristate area. It does not include New York City, which is an entity to itself. When did Yvette go missing?”

      “Don’t know.”

      “Hold on.” He took out a laptop and plugged her name into the search bar. A moment later, the results popped up. “Seven and a half years ago.” He read the article. “She was coming back from a free lecture at Morse McKinley and never made it back to her dorm.” He pressed several buttons and closed the laptop. “I’ll check it out once I get to the office. Did Tilly know the girls personally?”

      “I don’t know. We’re having lunch today at the Vegan Palace. I’ll ask her for details.”

      “Thanks. And you told her to keep quiet—”

      “Yes, yes.”

      “It’s probably irrelevant anyway. There are lots of people digging, so the news is bound to hit soon.” He stood up. “I’m off. Have a good lunch munching on rabbit food and tofu.”

      “I will, Mr. Me Want Steak Caveman.”

      Decker smiled. “You’ve got my number down.”

      “We can do a barbecue tonight while the weather’s still warm. Invite Tyler. He is also a steak man.”

      “Is he worth a ribeye?”

      “I suppose it depends on what he produces today.”

      “The kid’s been okay. More than okay.” Decker slipped on his jacket—more for professionalism than for warmth. The mercury was predicted to be in the low eighties. “I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. Do you know what the top firms pay Harvard interns for the summer?”

      “Around three grand a week.”

      “For ten weeks. That’s thirty grand. You know what he made this summer?”

      “Around ten grand?”

      “Not even. What a fool.”

      “Look at the workload, Peter. I dare say that the two of you have been spending way more time on the Xbox than at the station house.”

      “Not anymore. Cold cases are a bitch. If it’s one of the college girls, that means she’s not local. I’m going to have to track down people who probably won’t remember much. Students are transitory. Professors leave for better opportunity. Evidence—if there was any to begin with—gets old and lost.”

      “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

      “You’re such a cheerleader,” Decker said. “Why are you always so positive?”

      “Inborn genetics, supplemented by exercise and the right diet. Try some tofu, Caveman. It’ll not only help your arteries, it just might change your disposition.”

      Once the bones were gone, Decker could comb through the grave proper. There was nothing much retrieved for his effort except sweat. No ID, no purse, no wallet, no cell phone, no laptop. No books or schoolwork. No intact clothing, but there was a piece of cloth; one small, silver hoop earring; and one light gray button that might have been white at some point. He handed them over to the Scientific Investigative Division for analysis.

      All morning, Decker, along with Greenbury PD, searched the surrounding area, looking for something that perhaps the killer dumped or lost on the way to the victim’s burial. There were lots of rusted beer and soda cans, cigarette butts, and snack wrappers left over from summer hikes and picnics.

      After the items were bagged and tagged, Decker and

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