Dressed to Die: A Lindsay Chamberlain Novel by Beverly Connor Page B

them, are you?"
    "No. I was called to look for a body and I assisted with
the autopsy. It's my job."
    "I thought your job was to study ancient cultures."
    "That, too. Look, Sinjin, why don't you stay for a while?"
    "Would you like that?"
    "Yeah, I would."
    "We'll probably end up in an argument."
    "Maybe not. I'd really like to get to know you better.
Are you still with Kathy?"
    "No. She left."
    "I'm sorry."
    "So am I. She's kind of like Derrick, I guess. The last
fire before she left was a bad one, and she decided she
couldn't take not knowing if I'd come home a crispy critter." He took another long drink of beer. "Do you think I
could ride Mandrake some?"
    There were only three people Lindsay would allow to
ride her black Arabian stallion: Susan Gitten, who sometimes house-sat for her and trained horses of her own; her
mother, Ellen Chamberlain, who raised and trained Mandrake; and her brother.
    "Sure. The tack is in the stable."
    Sinjin drained the last of his beer and set the bottle down
on the porch. "That's the one thing I owe your mother. She
taught me how to ride, and I've always enjoyed it. Those
were the only times we got along."

    Lindsay started to disagree with that but changed her
mind and said nothing. She and Sinjin were getting along
now and she liked it.
    Darkness came rapidly now, and Lindsay could barely
make out Mandrake in the pasture.
    "I think there were more lightning bugs when I was a
little girl," she said.
    "Yeah," agreed Sinjin. "There don't seem to be as many
these days."
    In the morning Lindsay sent her brother off with a map of
Atlanta. He looked tense, as if he'd had a sleepless night
and was not looking forward to his destination. She wanted
to ask him where he was going, but had he wanted her to
know, he would have told her.
    When Lindsay arrived at her office, the lights were on in
the main lab and the door to the faunal lab was open. She
could hear the chatter of students talking as they worked.
Bethany was helping Luke Ferris glue pot sherds together.
Lindsay had unlocked the door to her office and turned on
the light when Liza Ferris tapped on the door frame.
    "Yes, Liza?"
    "Dr. Chamberlain. I hope you don't mind." She hesitated.
    "Mind what?" Lindsay locked her purse in the bottom
drawer of her desk and sat down.
    "Well, my brother ... you know, the accident. Well, he
hasn't been back to his classes and, well, he's worked for
Dr. Carter before, and he knows what to do."
    "What is it you're asking, Liza?"
    "He needed something to keep his mind occupied, and I
didn't want him to stay alone in his apartment. He's taking
the accident very hard and it wasn't his fault. Anyway, I
thought since he already knows how to do the work, I'd
have him do some sorting. You know how there is always so much to do. And it's the kind of work where you can talk
to people and-" She let the rest hang in the air.

    "Are you asking my permission or pardon?" asked
Lindsay.
    Liza smiled. "I guess both."
    "Well, he's worked for Frank before. We can put him on
as a temp. We do need to get the stuff sorted."
    "Thanks, Dr. Chamberlain."
    Liza left and Lindsay turned on her computer. She
looked up at another tap on her door. It was Robin, one of
Rachael Bienvenido's students.
    "Hi, can I help you?" asked Lindsay.
    "Amy didn't show up yesterday and I heard that she is in
Atlanta today. We're supposed to be working on the South
Carolina faunal remains. She's missed a lot and I've had to
do them myself, and I'm way behind."
    "Are these the ones from Bienvenido's colleague?"
    "Yes, and there's a deadline. I don't think I can make it."
    Lindsay sighed. "OK, will it help if I do some sorting
this morning?"
    "Well, yeah, but-would you?"
    "Sure." Lindsay rose from her chair and went with
Robin to a table near the faunal lab. Liza and her brother,
Luke, were at a nearby table sorting bags of grid square fill.
She had met him once when he was doing work for Frank,
the department