The Last Dig Page 2

  Rand and his deputy, Carlson, walked into his office.

  “Do you know Caroline from somewhere?” Carlson asked.

  “Yeah, we used to date when we were in high school.”

  “Hmm, she seems less than please to see you,” Carlson commented. “Who do you want to interview first?”

  Rand smiled thinly and said, “Let’s do Caroline first.”

  “Okay. Are we ready?”

  “Yes.”

  Carlson left to get Caroline. When she walked in, Rand was seated behind his desk with stacks of papers scattered haphazardly all over the oak top.

  “Have a seat, ma’am.” Carlson motioned to a chair facing Rand.

  Caroline acted annoyed when she plopped down in the chair and looked around.

  Rand had a twelve-by-twelve enclosed office with a window that overlooked the department’s fleet of squad cars. On his desk was a computer, a telephone, and a tape recorder. He had a coat rack to hang up his jacket. Other than that, it was basically a bare-bones office. No pictures or credentials on the walls.

  Rand looked up at her. “Caroline, I hope you realize that I have to conduct a full investigation of this victim’s death and that I have to suspect everyone until they are either excluded or retained for further questioning. Do you understand this?” Rand asked, looking into her brown eyes.

  “Yes, I understand,” she retorted swiftly.

  “Good. Now I’m going to turn this tape recorder on and it will record our conversation as I ask you questions. Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she grimaced.

  Rand clicked the recorder button and then said, “Please state your full name for the record.”

  “Caroline Priest.”

  So, she’s married or was married. He wondered if she was still married. “What is your occupation?”

  “I’m a field paleontologist, hired by the North America Museum of Natural History.”

  “What are you doing at the Hell Creek State Park?” Rand asked, observing her demeanor and studying her body language. She seems defensive.

  “I’m working on a dig site.”

  “What exactly are you digging for?” Rand shifted in his chair.

  “T-rex or any other type of dinosaur.”

  “Tell me what happened this morning leading up to the discovery of the body near your site.”

  Caroline let out a deep sigh. “My team and I are staying at the Jordan Motel. We loaded our stuff into my SUV and drove to Hell Creek State Park to continue the excavation. I gave everyone their instructions, and Eddie and two other members of the team headed down to dig site one. Apparently they noticed a body down there, and ran back to tell me about it.”

  “Who were the other members of the team that went to dig site one with Eddie?”

  “John Elms and Jody Tempf.”

  “Did they touch the body?”

  “Not that I know of. Eddie came back to me and told me what he discovered and that I needed to call the sheriff. I went to the site to look for myself and—”

  “Did you touch the body?” Rand interrupted. He stroked his chin as he regarded her carefully.

  “No, I didn’t touch the body. The rest of the team came down to where we were and no one recognized him. I called 911 and reported it.”

  Rand watched her movements, noticing how her hands were laced together in front of her, and then he asked, “Have you ever seen this man before or do you know who he is?”

  “No, I don’t know who he is. There’s something familiar about him, and I’ve been trying to think of where I’ve might have seen him before. I think I saw him at the River Basin bar, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure of that.”

  “What was he doing at the bar?” Rand asked.

  “I don’t know. I was sitting there having a drink at the bar and he came up and sat next to me.” Rand noticed that she brought her arms up and crossed them in front of her chest.

  “Did he talk to you?”

  “Yes, he introduced himself, although I don’t remember his name, and asked if I was new around here. I said no.”

  “What else did he say?”

  “Nothing that I can remember.”

  “Are you positive that you don’t know this man?” Rand asked, pressing her further. He had a sneaking suspicion she was holding something back.

  “Yes, I’m positive.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “About two weeks ago. What did he die of?” Caroline asked curiously.

  “A bullet hole in his chest. The coroner thinks that’s what killed him.”

  “Up close or far away?” Caroline now pressed Rand for more details.

  “So far it looks like it was pretty close range.”

  “If that’s the case, there’s no reason to seal off both dig sites. You could open the second one up so my team and I could get back to work.”

  “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” Rand looked over and scrutinized her body movements. Man, if only I didn’t know her. I can’t keep my eyes from roaming. Her beautiful chest, a thin waist… Stop! He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests with one elbow bent so he could put his chin on his fist.

  “Why not?”

  Rand watched with interest as Caroline’s temper started to show. “The CSI may need to return there to see if they can find additional evidence. I’ll let you know when you can return to the dig site. Sorry, Caroline, but this is protocol. One thing I can do is release your gun back to you. The deputy ran a test on it and took a bullet in case we have to match it with the one taken from the victim. We checked it for powder burns and found that the gun hasn’t been fired.”

  “I could have told you that,” Caroline retorted as she looked into his eyes. “Are there any more questions, Rand?”

  “Yes, did you make any arrangements to meet with the deceased?”

  “No,” Caroline answered quickly.

  Rand caught the quick answer, almost too quick. What is she holding back? He watched as her eyes scanned the room and then collided into his steady stare.

  “Is there anything else you want to ask?” Caroline dropped her gaze.

  “Not at this time, but don’t go leaving town any time soon. I may be in touch with you again with more questions.” He stared at her closely. He could have sworn that she just lied to him. Something in her body movement tipped him off.

  She got up and proceeded to walk out then turned around at the door and asked, “When do you think you will be able to clear the site so I can get back to work?”

  Rand thought for a few minutes. “Probably in a day or so.”

  The deputy walked beside her back to the conference room and called the next person.

  Rand basically went through the same questions with the rest of the team as he did with Caroline. Although, he spent a little extra time with Eddie since it was he who found the body. By the time he had released everyone, it was late afternoon.

  * * * *

  Caroline drove the team back to the motel. “Well, you’re pretty much on your own for the rest of the day and probably tomorrow. However, keep your cellphones charged and handy in case they do open the dig site up tomorrow,” Caroline said with obvious disappointment in her voice.

  “Do you think they will open it tomorrow?” John asked.

  “It’s hard to tell. Rand said in a day or so.”

  Jody asked Caroline, “Do you know the sheriff from somewhere?”

  “Yeah, we were high school sweethearts here in Jordan. But after graduation we went our separate ways.”

  Caroline had known she would run into Rand sooner or later, but didn’t realize she’d run into him under such odd circumstances. Seeing his handsome face and beautifully formed body made her dormant body come alive. She couldn’t understand her own reaction after all these years. She couldn’t get over how sexy he still looked. He still had that million dollar body. His dark brown hair sported that casual look and those piercing brown eyes…

&nb
sp; She played back the image in her mind of him standing in his office. He looked like he belonged here in the west. Instead of business attire, he wore a pair of jeans with a gun and holster strapped to his hip and a lightweight plaid shirt that was opened at the neck, revealing a healthy summer tan. Completing the look was a pair of western boots adding two more inches to his already six foot two stature.

  The abrupt way Rand had dumped her made her concentrate more on her studies. She took advantage of the opportunity to go on several dig sites in other countries. She determined that she had no room for marriage and family. Her digs took her all over and could last from three months to eight months, sometimes longer, depending on the climate. That was something she wouldn’t be able to do if she were married. She took that plunge once, and disaster followed. Never again would she allow a man to abuse her and never again would she get involved with a man. She enjoyed her freedom and career too much to settle down again.

  Caroline and the team got out of the SUV at the motel, all going their own ways until she could summon them back to the dig. She chose to use the free time to catch up on her email and her blog. She also decided to do a little research on the humerus that the team had found. About six o’clock, someone knocked at her door and she got up to open it. Eddie stood at her door and asked if she’d like to join the group for pizza.

  “Yeah, I’ll go in on a pizza with you guys.”

  They all met at Jody and Cathy’s room and each settled down with pizza and pop to watch the local news. Caroline’s eyes were riveted to the television when the news of the victim’s death popped up on the local channel with Rand Callahan being interviewed by the news reporter. Caroline watched him with keen interest as he talked in his abrupt to-the-point demeanor. She wondered what could have happened to him to cause him to be that way.

  He didn’t give much information about the murder, only that they couldn’t identify the victim and if anyone knew him to call the office. They put up a picture of the deceased, cleaned up of course. Rand indicated that the victim died from a bullet to the chest at Hell Creek State Park, near a dig site.

  “Gee, that’s great, Rand.” Caroline smirked. “All we need now is for the public to come to the dig site.”

  * * * *

  Earlier today the mysterious man used his little tool box to pick the lock of Caroline’s room. Once inside he took a couple of strands of hair from her hairbrush and put them in a plastic bag. Later that night he went to the murdered man’s apartment. He snuck in quietly and carefully, walked over to the middle of the living room, and dropped Caroline’s business card on the floor along with several strands of her hair. He then walked into the back bedroom where the murder took place and deposited a couple of fossils and her pick on the floor near the bloody encounter. He went back to the master bedroom and pulled the suitcase out from under the bed. When he unzipped it and looked at the bags of cocaine, weighing about a gram each, he hoped that he had gotten all of it. He received the first suitcase full of cocaine the night he murdered the guy. He’d ship this second suitcase back to his contact in Florida. He zipped the suitcase back up and walked out of the apartment, looking around to be sure no one saw him.

  Chapter 3

  Caroline sipped on her coffee the next day while waiting for someone to answer the telephone at the sheriff’s office.

  “Sheriff’s office, how can we help you?”

  “Hello, is Sheriff Callahan there?”

  “May I tell him who’s calling please?”

  “This is Caroline Priest, and I’m calling about the dig site at Hell Creek State Park.”

  “One moment please.”

  After a few minutes, Rand came on the phone. “Callahan.”

  “Hi Rand, this is Caroline. Any news about the man that died at my dig site, and any possibility of my team and me getting to the dig site today?”

  “No, no news, and not yet on the dig site,” he answered briskly.

  “Have you identified the body?”

  “No,” came the curt reply.

  Caroline debated whether to tell him that she’d had a brief conversation with the guy she met at the bar about some fossils he had found. “Oh, there’s something else I should tell you.”

  “What’s that?” Rand asked gruffly.

  Reflecting more on it, she decided against telling him, thinking it wasn’t important. “Um, never mind. Do you know how much longer?”

  “I think the CSI team will be done today.”

  “Will you let me know?”

  “Yes, I’ll contact you.”

  “Okay, thank you.” Caroline hung up the phone.

  * * * *

  Caroline decided to take the humerus and walk over to the historical museum where there was a partial T-rex on display to see if she could compare her bone to the one they had. The historical museum was located two and a half blocks away from the motel. Most of the area’s businesses in this quiet country town came from tourists heading up to Hell Creek State Park as well as the other natural attractions surrounding the area.

  The curator greeted her when she walked into the museum. “Hello. Welcome to Jordan Historical Society.”

  “Thank you.” Caroline smiled.

  “Are you here for a tour or for a specific reason?” he asked as he looked her over from head to toe.

  “A specific reason. I am a paleontologist working a dig site up at Hell Creek State Park, and my team and I found this humerus. I’m wondering if I could look at the T-rex you have here and do some comparisons between the humerus on the T-rex you have and the bone I have.”

  “Certainly. Let me unlock the glass door so you can go inside and look.”

  “Thank you very much,” Caroline said gratefully.

  The curator unlocked the glass door and Caroline stepped in. She’d brought her tape measure with her to measure and compare. As she studied the bone, she drew the conclusion that the bones were very similar, but the humerus she found was slightly smaller than the one on display.

  As Caroline stepped out of the glass cage that held the partially encased T-rex, a group of young students on a field trip came up to her.

  “What have you got?” one of the students asked Caroline.

  “This is a humerus bone that we found at a dig site at Hell Creek State Park.” Caroline showed them the bone.

  “Is it a T-rex?” another student asked.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure it is yet because we’re still digging, but it’s looking that way.”

  “Do you know anything about the T-rex?” another student asked her.

  “Well, T-rex is short for Tyrannosaurus rex, and it was one of the largest land carnivores of all time. They can be measured up to about forty feet long, and about twelve or thirteen feet tall at the hip. As you can see here...” Caroline pointed at the head of T-rex in the glass cage. “The neck forms an S-shape curve, which is short and muscular to support its huge head. The arms have two clawed fingers. The hind limbs are long. You don’t see the tail here, but usually the tail is very heavy and long. They can contain up to forty vertebrae in order to be able to balance its massive head and body. You can tell by their teeth they have an extremely powerful bite.” She pointed at the teeth as she spoke. “The tip of the upper jaw is U-shaped, and with a jaw that big, you can imagine the amount of tissue and bone a T-rex could rip out with one bite.”

  “Wow!” all the students chimed in unison.

  “This T-rex is only a partial body, but there are other places that have almost the full body intact.”

  “How do you know so much about them?” one student asked.

  “I’m a paleontologist, I went to school for many years to learn all this.”

  One of the adults with the students walked up to her. “You seem to know quite a bit about dinosaurs.”

  A student spoke up and said, “She’s a palentogist.”

  Caroline smiled at the mispronunciation of the word.

  “I see.” The woman, who looked l
ike a teacher, smiled at Caroline and thanked her for the information.

  * * * *

  Caroline walked out of the Jordan Historical Society and decided to stop by Callahan’s Diner and grab something to eat. She had avoided going there because Rand’s family owned the diner. She walked down two blocks, entered the cafe, and went to a corner booth to sit down.

  “Well, hello there,” a voice from behind her sang out.

  She looked back and saw it was Rand’s sister, Penelope Harper. She and Debbie, Rand’s other sister, worked at the diner as waitresses, while their mother and father were the cooks. Callahan’s Diner had changed very little over the years. It was long, about eighty-five feet, but not very wide. There was a counter with bar stools, about seven or eight tables with chairs, and several booths.

  “Hello, Penny. How are you?”

  “I’m doing fine, Caroline. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

  “Yes, it has been.”

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Penny asked.

  “Coffee please.”

  “Okay, I’ll let Mom and Dad know you’re here too.” Penny walked away toward the kitchen. “Hey Ma, Dad, guess who’s here?” Caroline heard her shout before disappearing through the doorway.

  Soon Penny came out with Dave and Bobbie Callahan, all coming up to Caroline and wanting hugs. “How are you doing, Caroline?” Bobbie asked.

  “I’m doing fine.”

  Dave remarked, “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you. We heard you came back to town, and we wondered why you hadn’t stopped in to see us yet.”

  “Oh, I’ve been quite busy trying to get the dig site going and didn’t have time to stop by until today. It looks like things are going well here,” Caroline remarked as she looked around the restaurant.

  “Yes, business has been pretty good this year for us,” Bobbie said as she sat down in the booth across from Caroline.

  “So, have you seen Rand?” Penny asked.

  “Yes, I have.” Caroline tried to keep her disappointment about her encounter with him and the murder investigation to herself.

  “Yeah, Rand now apparently has a murder investigation to solve. Not unheard of, but doesn’t happen very often in this part of the country, that’s for sure.” Dave shook his head. “Can you imagine? Someone ‘offing’ another person and leaving them at a dig site?”