Boneyard Read Free Page A

special favor, I’ve arranged to have a Massachusetts State Police chopper pick you up in Boston to shuttle you the rest of the way. Thought that might cushion the blow.”
    Kelly smiled weakly with what she hoped looked like gratitude. “Thanks, Gerry.”
    He waved her off. “Don’t thank me, I know if I were you I’d be cursing my name the whole way there. But I won’t forget this, Jones. Next time a cherry assignment comes along, I’ll see you’re first in line.”
    “Great,” Kelly said with marginally more enthusiasm. Which was curious, she pondered ten minutes later as she settled in behind her own desk. A year ago she would have jumped at the promise of first dibs on important assignments. Hell, she would have chosen nearly any assignment over a vacation; the thought of lounging on a beach would have been completely unappealing. Funny how things change, she mused. Of course, the murder of her partner last year had hit her hard, making her question for the first time in her life the path she’d chosen. During her decade-long career at the Bureau she’d been driven, single-minded in her need to hunt down killers like the one who stole her brother’s life when they were children. But despite all of the interesting cases the transfer to BSU had brought her, she’d felt her enthusiasm flagging lately. When it came right down to it, she was tired of being surrounded by death.
    Her eyes drifted across the matte-gray walls of her cubicle. To call it spartan would be putting it kindly. The only evidence that she’d ever used the space was a university mug on her desk that held a handful of pens. Not a single photo or newspaper clipping decorated the walls, and her computer monitor was set to the default image. Of course she’d barely spent any time there, she reasoned, knowing full well that even if she never left the office she probably wouldn’t have been tempted to add anything personal. That just wasn’t her style.
    She gnawed her lip in agitation, eyeing the desk phone as if it might bite her. After a minute she picked it up, muttering, “Might as well get this over with.”
    It rang twice before someone answered and asked, “All packed?”
    Her eyes squeezed shut as she responded, “I’ve got some bad news.”
    “Great to see you,” the bald man exclaimed, shaking his hand heartily. “How are the wife and kids?”
    He matched the enthusiasm of the grip. “Doing great, enjoying the last bit of summer.” He smiled widely, casting through his memory for baldy’s name. Finally, it came to him. “How about you, Allen? Haven’t seen you folks at services lately.”
    “Oh, you know…” Allen’s voice trailed off and his gaze shifted to the ground.
    Belatedly, he recalled a rumor he’d heard at the church potluck, something about Allen’s wife and a gardener. His ratcheted his grin up a few notches. “How about this weather, huh? Unbelievable!”
    “It sure is. No better place to spend the dog days of summer.” Allen’s expression brightened again. They were standing outside the Wal-Mart in North Adams, Massachusetts. The enormous white-block building looked particularly incongruous set against the backdrop of rolling hills and trees. “Planning on taking full advantage,” Allen continued, holding up his shopping bag and nodding toward the fishing pole jutting out the top. “How about you, what you got there?”
    “Nothing much, just doing a little work around the house,” he said, keeping his own bag down, handles firmly closed.
    “I hear you. Hey, how about those bodies they found up by the border? I hear there were a dozen of them, maybe more.” Allen lowered his voice. “I’ve got half a mind to take the kids back to the city early this year, cut the summer a little short.”
    “No need for that.” The man scoffed. “Probably just some lost hikers. Half those assholes on the Appalachian Trail have no right being there.”
    “Maybe.” Allen sounded doubtful. “Still,