Alone (Bone Secrets, #4)(39)

A cold chill passed through him and he turned to stare at Rory. The man had his hands in his pockets and was staring at the bones in obvious distaste. He moved his gaze to meet Seth’s. Comprehension dawned in the man’s eyes.

“Jesus! Don’t look at me. I’d stepped in here a few seconds before she whacked me with the door.”

“He didn’t do this.” Tori defended her ex. She snorted. “Rory doesn’t care for bones.”

“They give me the creeps.”

How in the hell had Tori ended up with someone like this?

“And you married an anthropologist?” he asked Rory.

The man shrugged. “She didn’t bring her work home with her very often.” Another light of comprehension crossed his face. “I see she’s mentioned me.” His lips twisted wryly and he looked at Tori. “Tell any good stories?”

“I don’t tell stories,” she stated quietly. “Why are you here, Rory?”

Rory looked at Seth, plainly unhappy that there was a witness to his discussion with his ex-wife. “Can we talk somewhere?”

Tori glanced at the pelvises in Seth’s hands. “I can’t now. I need to get these back in order. And we need to figure out who did this.” She met Seth’s gaze. “I told you I saw someone going out the back door. Do you think this is what he was doing?”

“Someone broke into your lab? How can they get past Anita?” Rory asked.

“Good point,” added Seth. “Are there cameras anywhere?”

Tori shook her head. “I need to do an inventory right away.” She carefully dug through one of the boxes, muttering under her breath.

Seth studied the coding on his two pieces and placed one in the correct box. Tori dug through the box his second pelvis belonged in.

“Damn it. Two left femurs.” She stared at the bones in her hands. “I can read the code on this one.” She squinted at the other. “This one’s too fuzzy.”

“We’ll get it straightened out. Do you need help?” Seth set the pelvis in her box, and Tori’s gaze followed his hands.

“Wait a minute.” She quickly scanned the box and then moved to another one, gaze searching. “Look in that box over there. Is there a skull?”

Seth looked and shook his head.

All the skulls were missing.

Tori swore and rubbed at her forehead. “Damn it. Someone doesn’t want them identified.”


Mason could tell Dr. Peres was steaming mad about the break-in. Those brown eyes of hers shot daggers in every direction she looked. She didn’t rant and rave, but held it in. Her ramrod-straight posture and tight jaw told him how deeply the mess affected her. Seth’s words about the bone doctor rang in his head, as she described what was missing.

Takes a bit of digging to get to know her.

Mason admired the anthropologist. She knew her shit and didn’t complain about hard work. He’d been to more than one scene where the woman was deep in the dirt for hours to find answers for him and for the families. He studied her face as she explained about the teeth on the skull she was 99 percent certain was Lorenzo Cavallo’s missing sister. The Bone Lady cared. She gave a rip about a woman who’d been dead for decades. That was something he didn’t see every day. Her frustration with the missing bones was plain in her speech.

“I’d like to strangle someone,” Dr. Peres said frankly. “There’s never been a break-in here, but today they steal my bones? What really pisses me off is that I hadn’t done the full exam on some of the missing pieces. I have photos and X-rays, thank God. But I didn’t get to spend the in-depth time with them that I like to.”

“You can tell a lot from the X-rays, right?” Ray Lusco asked.

She nodded. “Age, breaks, ancestry, health. A number of things. But nothing is better than having the actual bones in my hands.”

Mason glanced at the other two men in the room. Seth Rutledge stood silently, arms across his chest, feet planted firmly, his gaze locked on Dr. Peres’s face as she spoke. Next to him stood the ex. Mason had never met Rory Gibbs. But what he’d learned in the last fifteen minutes told him he hadn’t missed out. Other than a brief greeting and introduction, Mason hadn’t spoken to the man, but he’d watched him carefully. Rory Gibbs couldn’t stand still. He shifted his weight constantly, scanned the room, and eyed Seth Rutledge with annoyance. Dr. Rutledge ignored him.

The man had no focus, Mason decided. And he was a college professor? He was as antsy as a student during a lecture on dirt. What had Victoria Peres seen in the guy? Mason was perturbed by his adult ADHD vibe. In Mason’s experience, men who couldn’t stand or sit still were usually guilty about something.

“You didn’t see anyone around?” Mason directed his question to Rory. Victoria had finished her description of the leg and foot she’d seen darting out the door. Good thing Lusco had been taking careful notes. Mason’s mental notes were on Rory Gibbs.

Rory looked at him. “No. Nothing. Anita gestured me toward the back, saying Victoria was back by her lab. Anita was on the phone, speaking to someone about an alarm that’d just gone off. I know my way around. I’ve been here a lot.”

Mason waited.

“Well, not recently. Not since we divorced.” Rory shot a glance at Victoria.