When shed seen him enter today looking so distressed, shed ushered him into one of the small booths against the wall that divided the pubs general area from the offices. Shed gotten him his scotch, and shed sat with him so she could try to calm him.
Oh, my God! I can just imagine when it hits the news! he said, looking at her with stricken eyes. And yet, she recognized a bit of awe in them.
Of course, he hadnt known Jeannette Gilbert personally. Kieran hadnt, either. Shed seen her once, on a red carpet, heading to the premiere of a new movie in a theater near Times Square.
Sadly, Jeannette hadnt been an especially talented actress. But shed been too beautiful for most people to care.
Im so sorry youre the one who found her, Kieran said. That shouldve been the right thing to say; usually, people didnt want to find a body. Still, John Shaw worked with the dead all the timethe long dead, at leastand he was going to be famous in the pop culture world now, as well as the academic world.
But it was obvious that he was badly shaken.
He was accustomed to studying bones and mummiesnot a woman whod been recently murdered.
I wasI amvery excited about the project. I dont understand how the church could have lost all those graves. Can you imagine? Okay, so, you know how they built Saint Pauls to accommodate folks farther north of Trinity back in the day? Well, they built Saint Augustines for those a little north of Saint Pauls. And, according to my research so far, the church was fine until about 1860, when way too many people went off to fight in the Civil War. It wasnt deconsecratedjust more or less abandoned because the congregations were so much smaller. Then, according to records, Father OHara passed away, and it took the church forever to send out a new priest. Apparently, there was structural damage by then, which closed off that section of the catacombs. You see, until about seventy-five years ago, there was an entrance to the catacombs from the street, and I suppose everyonechurch officials, city organizers, engineers, what have youbelieved all the graves had been removed. Of course, most of the dead were buried then in wooden coffins, and in the ground outside, so most of those became dirt and bone. But thered been underground catacombs, too. Coffins set upon shelves. Some of the dead were just shrouded, but some were in old wooden coffins, and they were decaying and falling apart, and I had workers taking them down so carefullyand then, there she was!
He sipped his scotch again and looked at Kieran intently. Youre not to say a word, not yet. The police...they asked me not to speak about this until...until someone was notified. I dont think either of her parents is living, but she must have family... His voice trailed off. My God. It was ghastly! he said a moment later. Gruesome!
Once again he picked up his glass and swallowed the scotch in a gulp.
Kieran wasnt sure why she turned to look at the front door when she did; it was always opening and closing. Maybe she wanted to look anywhere except at John Shaw. She was a working psychologist, and yet she wasnt sure what to say to the man.
She glanced up just in time to see Craig Frasier come in, blink, adjust to the light and walk toward the two of them.
She wasnt surprised Craig was there; they were seeing each other and had been since the affair over the flawless Capeletti diamond. It had all started as they danced around each other following a diamond heist. They were both assigned to the case, but Kierans involvement had been more than a little complicated. Theyd progressed to each having a dresser drawer at the others apartment, and were now talking about moving in together.
While she had truly fallen in love with Craig, she was a little hesitantand a little worried that the man she believed to be her soul mate also happened to be a special agent with the FBI. Her family was striving to be legitimate now, but that hadnt always been the case. Growing up, her brothers had had a few brushes with the law.
And trusting her beloved brothers to behave wasnt easy. They were never malicious; however, their ways of helping friends out of bad situations werent always the best.
Then again, shed met Craig because of the Capeletti diamond and Dannys determination to do the right thing...
And because of some criminal clientele.
Excuse me, she murmured to John, assuming that Craig had come to see her.
The door was still open; he stood in a pool of light, and her heart leaped as she saw him. Craig was, in her mind, entirely impressive, tall and broad-shouldered, with extraordinary eyes that seemed to take in everything.
But he had not, apparently, come to see her.
He greeted Kieran with a nod, held her shoulders for a minuteand then offered her a grim smile as he gently set her aside so he could move past her.
Something was up. Craig spent his free time here with her and her family. Her friends, coworkers and the usual clientele all knew that Craig and Kieran were a couple.
Today, however, there wasnt even a quick kiss. Craig was being very official.
He was heading straight to the booth where John Shaw was seated.
Kieran stood there for a minute, perplexed.
Jeannette Gilbert had been killed, but as a local woman her death shouldve remained a matter for the New York City Police Department, not the FBI. And John Shaw had left the body less than an hour ago.
Why would Craig be here so quickly? And more to the point, why was the FBI involved?
She didnt get a chance to slide back into the booth and find out what was going on; she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned.
Her brother Kevin was next to her. He was a striking manin anyones opinion, she thought. He was tall and fit, with fine features, dark red hair and deep blue eyes. They were twins, and it showed.
I have to talk to you, he said urgently.
Sure, she said.
Not here. In the office, he told her. To her surprise, he glanced uneasily at Craig, whom he liked and with whom he was pretty good friends.
Kevin whirled her and headed her down the entry aisle toward the bar, and then to the left and down the hallway to the business office. He peered in, as if afraid their older brother might be there, since it was, basically, Declans office.
He closed the door behind them.
Shes dead, Kieran! Shes dead! Kevin said, looking at her and shaking his head with dismay and anxiety.
She stared at him for a moment. He couldnt be talking about Jeannette Gilbertno one knew that shed been found at the church yet, not according to John Shaw.
Her heart quaked with fear. She was afraid he was talking about an old friend, or a longtime customer of the pub.
Someone he cared about deeply.
Kevin, who? she asked.
Jeannette.
She frowned. Jeannette Gilbert?
He nodded.
Okay, she said slowly. I know that, because John Shaw just told me. But he only found her body a few hours ago. The police asked him not to say anything.
Kevin took a deep breath. Well, John Shaw might not have said anything, but one of the workers down therea grunt, a student, I dont knowcame out and told people on the street, and the story was picked up, and there are already media crews there.
She studied her brother. Kevin, its terrible. A beautiful young woman hasIm assumingbeen murdered. But, Kevin, Im afraid that terrible things do happen. But...we didnt know Jeannette Gilbert. Not personally.
Kevin took a deep breath. Well, John Shaw might not have said anything, but one of the workers down therea grunt, a student, I dont knowcame out and told people on the street, and the story was picked up, and there are already media crews there.
She studied her brother. Kevin, its terrible. A beautiful young woman hasIm assumingbeen murdered. But, Kevin, Im afraid that terrible things do happen. But...we didnt know Jeannette Gilbert. Not personally.
Yes, he said. We did.
We did?
I did, he corrected. Kieran, I was the so-called mystery man she was dating! I might have been the last one to see her alive.
* * *
The NYPD had been called in first; that was proper protocol, since New York City was where the body had been found.
Shed last been seen by her doorman entering her apartment; she was a longtime Manhattan resident. She had, in fact, grown up in Harlem, a little girl whod lost both parents and gone on to live in a household filled with children and an aunt who hadnt wanted another mouth to feed.
By the age of seventeen, however, shed had an affair with a rock star.
While the rock star denied any kind of intimate relationship with her at the time, hed gone on to put her in one of his music videos soon after.
An agent had picked her up and it had been a classic talelittle girl lost had become a megastar. By twenty-five, she was gracing runways all over the world and, because of her modeling, doing cameo spots on television shows and even appearing in small roles in several movies. She was considered a true supernova.
Jeannettes physical appearance had been called perfect by every critic out there.
She could walk a runway.
She had beautiful skin, luscious hair, long legs and a body that didnt quit.
Craig Frasier had learned all this about Jeannette in the last few hours. Before that, shed only been a face he might have recognized on a magazine cover.
But hed made it his business to read up on her quickly.
Because her death had suddenly become the focus of his life.
Hed been in his office, reading statements from witnesses about the murder of a known pimp, when hed been summoned, along with his partner, Mike Dalton, to Assistant Director Richard Egans office.
Craig and Mike had been partners for years. Craig had been assigned a young, new agent when Mike was laid up on medical leavea shot to the buttocksabout a year ago. Hed learned then how much he appreciated his partner; they knew each others minds. They naturally fell into a division of labor when it came to pounding the pavement and getting the inevitable paperwork done.
And there was no one Craig trusted more to have his back, especially in a shoot-out.
Egan, a good man himself, was hard-core Bureau. His personal life had suffered for it, but he never brought his personal life into the office. He was the best kind of authority figure, as welldignified, fair, compassionate. And efficient. He never wasted time. There were two chairs in front of his desk, but he hadnt waited for Craig and Mike to sit down. Hed started talking right away.
I had a back-burner situation going on here, hed told them. Wed been given information, but the local police down in Fredericksburg, Virginia, were handling the case. A girla perfect-looking girl, an artists modeldisappeared about six months ago. A few weeks later, her body was found in a historic cemetery outside Fredericksburg, in a mausoleum. Shed been stabbed in the heart, then cleaned up, dressed up and laid out in a family mausoleum. She was discovered when the familys matriarch died, since shed been put in the matriarchs space. As I said, it seemed to be a local matter, and the Fredericksburg PD and Virginia State Police had the murder. We were informed because of the unusual aspects.
Egan had paused, running his hands through his hair. Then hed resumed speaking. Were all aware of the high-profile disappearance of Jeannette Gilbert.
Mike had nodded. Yeah, we were briefed with the cops about her disappearance when she went missing. We werent really in on it, as you know. But we were on the lookout.
Ms. Gilberts been found. An archaeological dig at old Saint Augustines.
You mean Mike began.
But Egan had cut him off. Yeah, he meant the new nightclub. Egan wasnt a fan. Hed gone on and ranted for a full minute about the destruction of old historic places. In his opinion, that suggested New York City had no real respect for the past.
Craig knew Mike hadnt been asking his question because of the club; hed been trying to ascertain if shed been found dead.
Mike had glanced over at Craig, who shrugged.
Theyd both just let Egan rant, figuring it was obvious. The poor girl was dead.
Egan had ended by saying, Yes, shes dead. And it is bizarreas bizarre as that Fredericksburg case, maybe even more so. Because in this case, the perp had to know shed be found quickly. He placed her in a historical site where anthropologists and archaeologists were expected to arrive imminently. Later, you can go over the info on the Virginia case, do some comparisons. Were part of the task force on this, but were taking the lead, and you two are up for our division. Because, gentlemen, I believe we have a serial killer on our hands.
Theyd asked about the security tapes at the club.
Techs were going over those now, Egan had said.
Thats a bitch! Egan had exclaimed. Try looking for something out of the ordinary when every damned customer in the place looks like an escapee from a B Goth flick or worse! Not to mention that the club closed down when the crypt was discovered. Theres no club security overnight other than the cameras, but cops have been patrolling the place since the historic folks stepped in.
From the office, he and Mike had gone straight to the church. The ME on duty was Anthony Andrews, a fine and detail-oriented doctor, but he hadnt really started his examination of the body yet.
Photographers were still taking pictures, trying to maintain the scene just as it had been after Professor Shaw had opened the first coffin and seen Jeannette Gilbert.
A half-dozen members of a forensic team were moving around, but Dr. Andrews delicately stopped the photo session to show Craig and Mike what hed discovered. Gilbert had been killed in another location, stabbed through the heart, and then bathed and dressed and prepared before being placed in the old coffin.
Seeing her was heartbreaking. Craig hadnt known the woman or really anything about her until today, but shed been young and beautiful, and her life had been brutally taken. She lay in the old coffin, dressed in shimmering white, a wilted rose in her hands. With her eyes closed, it looked as if she slept.
Except, of course, shed never wake again.
Defensive wounds? hed asked Andrews.
Not a one. She was taken by surprise. Whoever killed her stood close byhad to be someone who seemed trustworthy. Maybe someone she knew, the ME had speculated. Or she couldve had some kind of opiate in her system. Anyway, she didnt expect what was coming.
Time of death? Mike had asked. Shes been missing about two weeks.
Im thinking one to two weeks, Andrews replied. And I dont believe shes been embalmedbut she was somehow preserved. Maybe in a freezer while he worked on her or made arrangements or... He sighed. I need to get her on the table.