Read Online Dust to Dust by Beverly Connor - Free Book Online Page A

sites result if the early people had pottery on shelves or racks in their houses? I know it seems like a lot of work for useless information, but archaeology is a lot like crime scene reconstruction—you keep adding pieces to the puzzle and after a while you have the whole scene. They are trying to reconstruct the past in as much detail as they can discover.”
    Diane didn’t think she told it as clearly as Jonas did when he spoke with students or tour groups, but Hanks’ and Garnett’s expressions weren’t entirely glazed over with confusion. Then again, neither had she enthused them to become archaeologists.
    “So she didn’t take a lot of care making the pottery pieces if she was going to break them,” said Hanks. “They probably weren’t valuable.”
    “I think she did take a lot of care,” said Diane. “She wanted to get as close as possible to matching the kind of vessels the Indians used. I doubt her pots were valuable enough to steal. But it may be the thieves thought they were real. Perhaps someone working on her house saw them, knew there was some money to be had in trading in antiquities, and came back with some of his buddies to steal them. Just a thought,” she said. “Do we know who the body in her backyard was?”
    Hanks nodded. Apparently he felt more comfortable sharing, at least in the company of Chief Garnett.
    “His name was Ray-Ray Dildy. He was a high school dropout, a day worker, and petty thief. Not much on the ball, so I’m thinking he wasn’t the mastermind, just the muscle. I’m looking into his associations now.”
    “Could he have worked on Marcella’s house?” asked Diane. “I noticed her front porches are new, as is the floor in the living room.”
    “Could have. I’d like to get her daughter to go through her mother’s receipts,” said Hanks. “They might tell us something.”
    Diane had been hesitant to ask. Afraid of the answer. But, she had to know. “How is Marcella?” she asked.
    “The doctors have her in an induced coma,” said Hanks. “Something about her brain swelling.”
    That was what Diane was afraid of. She didn’t know Marcella well, but to a person of intellect like Marcella the possibility of brain damage could be of greater fear than the possibility of death. Diane needed to find out who did this to her.
    No one said anything for a moment. Finally Hanks broke the silence.
    “You believe Jonas Briggs is innocent of involvement in the attack, don’t you?” Hanks asked Diane.
    “Yes,” said Diane.
    “Why?” asked Hanks.
    “The same reason I believe Chief Garnett wasn’t involved. I know them both,” said Diane.
    “That’s hardly a reassuring answer,” said Hanks. “No offense, sir.”
    “It is if you trust my judgment,” said Diane. “But you don’t know me.”
    “Is your judgment that good?” he asked.
    “I think it is most of the time,” she said.
    Hanks actually started to smile.
    “Other than the fact that he discovered her and called for help,” Diane continued, “there is no reason whatsoever to suspect Jonas. You might as well suspect me.”
    “There is the matter of the arguments that were overheard,” said Hanks.
    “That’s nothing,” said Diane. “That is the world they live in. Many academics revel in debate. Marcella is one of them. You might as well use breathing as evidence.”
    “The witnesses said they were pretty heated,” said Hanks.
    “They may have been perceived that way from an uninformed observer’s perspective, but I’d have to have wit nessed it myself to put any value on it,” said Diane.
    “Are you that rigid with all eyewitness testimony?” asked Hanks.
    “I don’t really deal in eyewitness testimony,” said Diane. “I collect empirical data. But when confronted with eyewitness accounts, I don’t automatically believe them without corroboration. In this case it would take a lot of corroboration because I’ve known Jonas long enough to be able to judge his