Silver's Bones by Midge Bubany

one earring, an “S” pendant, and a ring. With those things, it was likely we could tentatively ID the victim. But all we had were photos, because everything, including the remains and soil surrounding the victim, was moved to the BRO lab in Bemidji. Dr. Kennedy agreed to stay on the case and help Dr. Edgerton, and we were confident we could have closure for one family very soon.
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    August 16
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    Around noon the sheriff called me and Troy to the conference room. We found her seated on the window side of the large oak table. We took our places across from her, in quiet anticipation of what she had to say.
    The circles under her eyes had grown puffier and bluer. Her hand, holding a pen, was visibly shaking as it hovered over a yellow legal pad of paper scribbled with notes. Ten days ago she appeared eager for a big case, but now it was clear the stress of the job was already taking its toll. Ultimately, it was all on her: she’d take the glory if it was solved and the heat if it wasn’t—along with us investigators, of course.
    â€œI signed out Silver Rae Dawson’s file a few days ago. There’s strong evidence our victim is indeed Ms. Dawson. Now, let’s go over what we know.”
    I began to take notes as she spoke.
    â€œSilver Rae Dawson, age seventeen, was reported missing in the early hours of July 27, 1997. Jim and Patty Summers had hired her to babysit their three young sons after the wedding of Patty’s sister on Saturday, July twenty-sixth. Silver Rae picked up the boys at the reception that evening before nine o’clock and drove them home to their farm, located a half-mile from the Dawson place and two miles west of Lake Emmaline. The Summers stayed until the end of the reception, helped move gifts to the newlyweds’ home, and visited for a while. When they returned home at two o’clock in the morning, Silver Rae was nowhere to be found. The Dawsons’ van was still in the yard and her purse was on the floor by the couch in the living room. It contained the van keys and her wallet with thirteen dollars in it. Nothing was missing from the home, and there was no evidence of a struggle or forced entry, but the Summers believed Silver hadn’t locked up the house because they never did. A search was commenced, even though, technically, Silver hadn’t been missing twenty-four hours.
    â€œSince it was Ralph Martinson’s case, I called and spoke to him this morning at length. He personally supervised the search team who went through the entire Lake Emmaline property. He can’t believe her grave was missed, because cadaver dogs had been used in the search areas. Ralph says they employed a couple light planes and a helicopter, and at one point, had hundreds of people walking fields and areas surrounding all four county lakes, which, by the way, were all dragged. So my question is, why didn’t they find that grave? If the soil had been disturbed, it would have been visible.”
    â€œThey simply missed it,” I said. “Maybe the searchers were talking and got distracted for the half-minute it took to walk by.”
    Sheriff Clinton continued, “Ralph said any tire tracks on the gravel driveway had been driven over a few times, and the lab couldn’t get a good set to cast. Plus, most farms have gravel yards, which might leave shoe prints, but Jim Summers had paved the yard close to the house to keep the dust down. Anyway, Dr. Kennedy asked for the Dawson girl’s medical and dental records. I secured a warrant for those, as well as one for the Dawson residence, for any of her remaining personal property. I made arrangements to pick up the records today, and I’ll hand-deliver them to Bemidji.”
    By Bemidji, she was referring to the Bemidji Regional Office of the BCA, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
    â€œYou spoke of strong evidence earlier. Do you mean the jewelry and clothing fragments?” I