Free A Rumor of Bones: A Lindsay Chamberlain Mystery by Beverly Connor Page A

her hand and held it. "I don't understand it," he whispered.
    "Neither do I. I told the sheriff about the massacre
site. This is the same kind of madness."
    "You know what we need to do?"
    "What?" asked Lindsay.
    "Go dancing. Real dancing."
    "Yeah, we do. We haven't done that in at least a
year."
    "I'll scout around for a place. Maybe good old
Marsha knows somewhere"

    Lindsay grinned. "Maybe she does."
    "You and Frank seem to be getting close again."
    "We went to the movie the other night, that's all."
    "Did you have a good time?"
    "It was nice. Why do you ask?" She gave him a
sideways glance.
    I like to keep an eye on you, Lindsay. I have to
make sure my best dancing partner is happy"
    " 1 think I would be a lot happier if I hadn't become
involved in identifying these bones. I love working
with bones, but ... it's hard when they are children."
    Derrick reached over and took her hand. "I know."
    "Well, speak of the devil," said Lindsay, "isn't that
Good Ole Marsha's Lincoln parked beside Frank's
Jeep'? We can ask her about a place to go dancing."

    ... and the bones came together, bone to his bone ...
the sinews and the flesh came up upon them,
and the skin covered them above:
but there was no breath in them.
    Ezekiel 37:7-8
     

Chapter 4
    WHEN LINDSAY AND Derrick arrived at the site,
Marsha, Frank, Jane, and Thomas were sitting at the
picnic table drinking Cokes and laughing. Marsha's
hand was resting on Frank's arm as she ended some
funny anecdote about her garden club. Lindsay sat
down opposite Marsha and Frank while Derrick got
the two of them a Coke from the cooler.
    "Marsha. Just the person we wanted to see." Derrick sat beside Lindsay and handed her a bottle. "Is
there any really good place to go dancing near
here?"
    "Oh, yes, is there?" cried Jane. "You should see
Lindsay and Derrick dance. They've won tons of
competitions."
    "I had forgotten that you and Derrick dance,"
Frank said. "I didn't realize it was that serious. So
you've won competitions together?"
    "Well, as a matter of fact, there is a place," said Marsha, before Lindsay had a chance to speak. "Not
here in Merry Claymoore, but about 40 miles from
here. Why don't we all go? I'd love to see Derrick and
Lindsay dance."

    Great, thought Lindsay. Marsha just wrangled a
date with Frank.
    "Let's do it," agreed Jane. "You all are in for a
treat."
    Lindsay gave Jane a pained smile. "You're building
us up quite a bit."
    "We can deliver." Derrick grinned and put an arm
around her shoulder.
    "Speaking of delivery," Frank said. "A package
arrived for you, Lindsay. I put it in your tent"
    "Oh, I know what it is." She downed the rest of her
drink. "See you guys later. Let me know when we're
going dancing." She left for her tent just as Marsha
invited Frank for coffee in town.
    The package was from the forensics department at
the University of Tennessee. It was the kit she needed
to reconstruct the face of Burial 23. Lindsay laid out
the supplies on her desk and began placing the skin
depth spacers on the skull. When she finished, she
began with the modeling clay, smoothing it to a
thickness that just covered the spacers. It was like
connecting similar elevation lines on a map.
    When Lindsay stood and stretched her stiff muscles, she realized that it was well after dark. She
looked down at the rough image of a face emerging
from her effort. Coarse though it was, she could see
the countenance of Burial 23 taking shape.
    It was still early enough to take a walk by the river,
and the night was lit by the moon. She put away her work and left her tent. No one else was home in the
crew's tent village. The tents were dark and empty.
Probably in town, she thought, or taking a moonlight
swim. It was cool, and she hugged herself as she
walked down the deer trail toward the river. No one
was there, and she turned around to return to the
tents. Just ahead she could see a dark form coming
down the path toward her. For a moment, she