just a few steps away, Sabine paused, looked around, and took out two items from her cardigan pocket. She took out a piece of rolling paper, and quickly rolled herself a cigarette from a little block of tobacco. She lit up with something like the same reverence I saw on Dora’s face when she smoked her cigar.
“Doesn’t want her parishioners to catch her with herfilthy rollies,” Andrew said with relish. “Not quite a holy enough image, you see, for all it is a sound socialist practice.” He shook himself. “Oh, don’t mind me. Sabine’s all right; we just get up each other’s noses. It’s nothing, really, just a long-standing habit.”
I had to wonder what had engendered the sparring in the first place. I decided to change the subject. “So those plates I see over there, they’re marking the ley line? Sometimes we use plates to mark postholes for aerial photography.”
“They will mark the line until someone gets annoyed enough to rip them off. Then Morag’ll put them back again. Jane claims she’s not the one doing it, but my money’s on her anyway. She and Morag don’t see eye to eye on much of anything and Morag doesn’t think twice about wandering around the site, trying to get others to feel the vibe, or whatever. I swear, you can almost see Jane’s blood pressure shoot up when she’s around.”
“Oh. What should I do next?”
“Write up your observations on the recording sheets. I’ll call the police and they’ll initiate a proper investigation. I’m afraid that’s it for you working here, though, once we help Avery get his pictures taken.”
I shivered at the thought; that guy Avery gave me the creeps. Andrew left and I soon finished with my few notes, so I decided to get a head start on preparing for the record photographs. I carefully started cleaning the dirt that had dried into little pills away from the bones I had exposed, then began to work my way across the rest of the skeleton. I didn’t get far when—
“Oh, God! Wait! Look, what is it you’re doing?” Andrew had returned from making his call and was almost hopping, torn between getting me to stop and trying to do it nicely. “Hold off, half a tic—”
I stopped, wondering what he was getting so excited about. “We’re done here; I’m cleaning off the surface so we can get some pictures.”
He tried to compose himself. “Right, yes, but…thereare certain things we need to look out for, especially now that we know it’s a recent crime scene. Comparatively recent crime scene. First we call Avery over, so he can start setting up. Then I’ll draw in those last three bones onto my plan, then I will clean it off.”
“Hey, okay, it’s okay!” I got the impression that one more minute, and Andrew might have snatched the trowel from my hand. “I’m not going to hurt anything.”
He made small, rigid chopping motions with both hands, as if he were measuring out each word carefully. “Emma, I know you’re not going to hurt anything, but I just want you to—”
I was tired of being lectured to by one and all. “Look, I know enough to hang onto any insect parts I find, note unusual soil stains, or anything like that. I know we need to be careful. I know anything I find might impact the police investigation.”
Andrew took a deep breath. “I know, I know, but it’s not like it is in America, this kind of burial is strictly the purview of the Home Office forensic pathologist. We wait on the police in these matters, let them dictate what they want done and how. It’s not that I doubt your skills—” here he let loose with a knee-melting smile, “—but it’s just, some of these students…well, let’s just say that there’s a wildly diverse range of abilities at work on this site. It’s easy to forget there are some real professionals here. I am a bit of a perfectionist, but it really does matter, particularly in this situation.” He examined my handiwork. “But there’s no harm done.”
I could
“Doesn’t want her parishioners to catch her with herfilthy rollies,” Andrew said with relish. “Not quite a holy enough image, you see, for all it is a sound socialist practice.” He shook himself. “Oh, don’t mind me. Sabine’s all right; we just get up each other’s noses. It’s nothing, really, just a long-standing habit.”
I had to wonder what had engendered the sparring in the first place. I decided to change the subject. “So those plates I see over there, they’re marking the ley line? Sometimes we use plates to mark postholes for aerial photography.”
“They will mark the line until someone gets annoyed enough to rip them off. Then Morag’ll put them back again. Jane claims she’s not the one doing it, but my money’s on her anyway. She and Morag don’t see eye to eye on much of anything and Morag doesn’t think twice about wandering around the site, trying to get others to feel the vibe, or whatever. I swear, you can almost see Jane’s blood pressure shoot up when she’s around.”
“Oh. What should I do next?”
“Write up your observations on the recording sheets. I’ll call the police and they’ll initiate a proper investigation. I’m afraid that’s it for you working here, though, once we help Avery get his pictures taken.”
I shivered at the thought; that guy Avery gave me the creeps. Andrew left and I soon finished with my few notes, so I decided to get a head start on preparing for the record photographs. I carefully started cleaning the dirt that had dried into little pills away from the bones I had exposed, then began to work my way across the rest of the skeleton. I didn’t get far when—
“Oh, God! Wait! Look, what is it you’re doing?” Andrew had returned from making his call and was almost hopping, torn between getting me to stop and trying to do it nicely. “Hold off, half a tic—”
I stopped, wondering what he was getting so excited about. “We’re done here; I’m cleaning off the surface so we can get some pictures.”
He tried to compose himself. “Right, yes, but…thereare certain things we need to look out for, especially now that we know it’s a recent crime scene. Comparatively recent crime scene. First we call Avery over, so he can start setting up. Then I’ll draw in those last three bones onto my plan, then I will clean it off.”
“Hey, okay, it’s okay!” I got the impression that one more minute, and Andrew might have snatched the trowel from my hand. “I’m not going to hurt anything.”
He made small, rigid chopping motions with both hands, as if he were measuring out each word carefully. “Emma, I know you’re not going to hurt anything, but I just want you to—”
I was tired of being lectured to by one and all. “Look, I know enough to hang onto any insect parts I find, note unusual soil stains, or anything like that. I know we need to be careful. I know anything I find might impact the police investigation.”
Andrew took a deep breath. “I know, I know, but it’s not like it is in America, this kind of burial is strictly the purview of the Home Office forensic pathologist. We wait on the police in these matters, let them dictate what they want done and how. It’s not that I doubt your skills—” here he let loose with a knee-melting smile, “—but it’s just, some of these students…well, let’s just say that there’s a wildly diverse range of abilities at work on this site. It’s easy to forget there are some real professionals here. I am a bit of a perfectionist, but it really does matter, particularly in this situation.” He examined my handiwork. “But there’s no harm done.”
I could
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