Chapter Five – Down in Deansville

"Detectives. What a nice surprise." Dylan shook Lilly's and Chris's hands. "Your timing is very good, I was just about to have my lunch break."

"Mind if we come with you?" Chris asked.

"No, not at all." Dylan led the way out of the bank and crossed the street. "There's a nice little restaurant just around the corner," he explained. "They make the best spare ribs in town."

"Sounds good," said Lilly, who hated spare ribs.

They entered the restaurant and found themselves a table in one corner. Dylan ordered spare ribs and a coke, while Lilly and Chris settled for mineral water and salad. While they were waiting for the food to be served, Lilly told Dylan everything she had told Sunday. Dylan's jaw dropped when Lilly mentioned Natalya Atrochenko.

"But that's impossible!" His reaction was almost the same as that of his sister. "Natalya left one night..."

"We think," Lilly cut in, "that someone made it look as if she had left on purpose. We are pretty sure that the skeleton that was found is that of Natalya Atrochenko."

Dylan shook his head, his coke all but forgotten. "Natalya," he repeated. "Jesus, I haven't thought of her in ages. But she didn't stay very long, anyway. I think it wasn't more than half a year. My oh my, that was some woman!"

"Your father said the same thing," Chris remarked wryly.

Dylan grinned. "My dad always had an eye for pretty women. But he was harmless," he added hastily. "He was a real gentleman."

"Mr. McLaren, please focus," said Lilly. "Tell us about Natalya Atrochenko."

Dylan pondered for a second. "I liked her," he said. "She was always nice and friendly. Her English wasn't very good, but it was getting better and better. Rick taught her, you know. He used to be a teacher. Natalya learned pretty fast."

"How old was she?"

"Twenty-three," said Dylan. "I know that because we celebrated her birthday in November."

Lilly and Chris exchanged a glance. November. Born in 1943. It was as good as certain that the skeleton really was Natalya Atrochenko.

"What else do you remember?" Lilly asked. "Was she shy or coy? Modest? Extravagant?"

"She was normal," said Dylan, shrugging. "She wasn't exactly shy, but she wasn't much of an extrovert, either. Somewhere in between. She always said hello when we met, and sometimes we'd talk for a little while."

"Did you find her attractive?"

Dylan laughed. "Detective, I was twenty years old," he said. "The only girls I saw regularly were Jordan and my sister. I'd probably have found any girl attractive, just because I really needed a change. But Natalya really was attractive. She had those wonderful eyes, like a doe, and her hair was soft. And the greatest thing was that she wasn't arrogant or anything. At least not more than Jordan or Sunny. Well, Sunny was still a child," he amended. "But unfortunately, Natalya never fancied me. She preferred someone else, if you take my meaning."

"Jamie Jarvis." It wasn't a question.

Dylan nodded. "Sunday still insists that this was only a rumor, and that there was nothing between Jamie and Natalya, but frankly, I don't know why she denies it so vehemently. I mean, it was pretty obvious. Jamie was twenty-four years old, very good-looking, and very mature for his age. It was only natural that she felt attracted by him. And moreover, Gabe and Graham and I, we were all younger than her."

"You think that would have been a problem?"

"Most women like older men," said Dylan with a shrug. "Don't you, Detective Rush?"

Lilly was a little taken aback, but she did not hold it against Dylan. "Depends," she said evasively.

"Your sister described Natalya as scheming and men-crazy," Chris remarked. "That doesn't seem to fit your description of her."

"Did Sunny really say that?" Dylan shook his head in surprise. "I didn't have the impression that she was always chasing after the men. She hardly ever went out, and I can't remember that she ever tried to make a pass at me or Graham."

"Your sister said she did."

"Sunny must've mixed things up," Dylan said determinedly. "Or maybe she really thought so. I mean, she was only thirteen years old. Maybe she thought a smile was an unmistakable signal."

"She didn't seem to be mixing things up. She said Natalya was trying all of you, but you never reacted."

Dylan sneered. "It was more the other way around," he said. "She turned her back on us. But in a friendly way," he added hastily. "She just made us understand that she already had her eyes set on someone else."

"What about the other thing your sister said? That Natalya was scheming?"

"Scheming... well, I thought until yesterday that she made for the hills with the car and the money, so I thought of course she was scheming - in retrospect, I mean. But apart from that, I never had the impression of her being such a bitch. And if it's really her out there, then I suppose she was a poor thing rather than a scheming monster."

"What can you tell us about Jamie? Why did he leave?"

"No one knows." Lilly had expected this answer. "He just left."

"Any guesses?"

"Chasing after his lover? Chasing butterflies?" Dylan shrugged. "I really don't know, Detective."

Lilly sighed and focused on another question. "Can you tell us anything in general about Jamie?" she asked. "What kind of guy was he?"

"He was the coolest," said Dylan with warmth. "He was the oldest of us, so we all kind of looked up to him. He was very creative, and it never got boring when he was with us. He loved Gabe, and the two of them got along very well. They were perfect brothers, if you take my meaning. They hardly ever quarreled. They were very similar in many ways. People who didn't know them sometimes mistook them for twins, because they looked so much alike. Jamie was two years Gabe's senior, but that didn't show. They had simlilar faces, the same way of talking and walking, and their whole appearance was somewhat, well, alike."

"But isn't it even stranger then that Jamie just left although he apparently had no problems at all? I mean, something must have happened that changed everything, or else he would at least have kept in touch, wouldn't he?" Lilly could not let it lie.

Dylan remained silent for a while. "There was a change," he said eventually. ""In the months after Natalya had left, Jamie seemed more... reserved, he didn't talk as much as usual, and he laughed less. He withdrew from us. I always thought it was 'cause he was disappointed in Natalya, and that he just needed some time to deliberate, you know, recover from the shock 'cause she was his lover. He no longer spent much time with the rest of us. He'd stay outdoor all day and come home late, and even Gabe could no longer get through to him. At first we tried, but he kept rejecting us. The only one he was still treating as usual was Sunny. Maybe because she was the youngest of us. He also seemed restless; he even started talking to himself when he thought no one else was around. And he was kinda nervous, especially when Gabe was around. He'd cast him those oddly furtive looks. Really, he was behaving strange."

"But none of you thought there was a connection to Natalya's disappearance?"

Dylan gaped at Lilly. "You're not trying to imply that Jamie killed her and buried her, are you?" he asked. "No, no, no! That's completely ridiculous!"

"Can you offer us a better explanation?" Lilly asked.

"I can't sneak into Jamie's mind," Dylan replied, and there was an edge in his voice that clearly signaled that the conversation was starting to annoy him. "But Jamie, for crying out loud! You're barking up..."

"... the wrong tree, I know," Lilly interrupted. "Your sister told us the same."

"You should believe her," Dylan said. "After all, we knew Jamie. And I can tell you that of all people in the world, Jamie is the last to commit a murder."

"Very well," said Chris. "So this is all you can tell us about the past events?"

"I've got nothing more to say," Dylan said frostily. "You shouldn't run around and accuse the only person that's not here to defend himself."

"So maybe you'd prefer it if we accused you?" said Chris. "Maybe Jamie is just a pawn in your game. Maybe you killed Natalya and made it look as if it was Jamie..."

Dylan flushed with anger. He out down his knife and fork and took a deep breath. "This is unbelievable!" he burst out. "I'm trying to help you, and all you do is come up with even more obscure accusations! I resent that!"

"No one's accusing you," Lilly said. "Chris just showed you that we're not focusing only on Jamie. We're trying to get a picture of what things were like in your community. I can assure you that we're very careful. And after all, a suspicion is not the same as an accusation."

Dylan calmed down. "This is all very well, Detectives," he said, "but still: maybe you should look for the criminal somewhere else. I don't believe that anyone of us had anything to do with this, and that's my last word." And with this, Dylan returned to his spare ribs.

XXX

It was about two p.m. when Lilly and Chris went back to their car. They hadn't found out anything more from Dylan, who had spent the rest of his lunch break in a huff. After he had returned to the bank, Lilly and Chris had remained in the restaurant to discuss what they had found out, but they had not come to any conclusion. So they had decided to drop by the sheriff's office, which was where they were now headed.

"Do you think he can tell us anything more than Dylan and Sunday?" Lilly asked.

"Doubtful," Chris admitted and started the engine. "But still I've got the feeling that the solution is there just before our eyes. We're only looking in the wrong direction."

"If you say so..." Lilly sighed. She had felt strange all day. Never before had she had such a feeling about a case. For the first time in her career, Lilly Rush doubted that she could solve her case.

"Hey," said Chris and looked at her. "Please don't be so gloomy. We're gonna work it out. I promise you this."

"I don't even know if I want this case to be solved," Lilly burst out. "Why couldn't those construction workers start digging somewhere else? I don't want to stir up the past. Sometimes I hate my job! It seemed to be such a nice and peaceful community, and now everything's turned upside down. Why can't we let sleeping dogs lie?"

Chris stared at her in disbelief. "Lilly, you're out of your mind," he said. "What about the things you told me yesterday? That you wanted to help people see that justice is done?"

"Justice!" Lilly sneered. "People get wary. They'll start reconsidering things, and soon no one will be trusting the others anymore. Dylan will suspect Jordan, and Gabriel will suspect Sunday, and Graham will suspect Jamie... Do you think that's fair, Chris? Their community will break apart. And if we can't solve the case, the shadow of suspicion will remain above every one of them!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Chris raised his voice. "What about justice for Natalya? For thirty years, everyone believed that she was a thief and a bitch who betrayed the trust of her host family, while she had in fact not gotten any further that half a mile. She was brutally murdered for a reason we still have to learn, and you just feel sorry for the suspects. Is that your understanding of justice, Lilly?" His eyes were blazing now.

Lilly felt a pang of guilt. Chris was right, of course he was. She did not understand herself. Normally she was the first to feel for the victim. Why not this time? She blamed it on the weather and her headache.

"Lilly, please, look at me," Chris pleaded. "You mustn't develop such feelings for our primary suspects. Think of the victim. Think of Natalya, Lilly. The reason why you're still working on the cold cases is that you want to help the victims, not the suspects. You must help me solve this case. I can't do it without you."

Lilly's heart cringed at the words of her partner. He was right. She could not let him down. She could not let Natalya down. She just had to brace herself against the feelings she had for the Outer Four. When the case was solved and the real perpetrator was caught, everything would be easier. But up until then, she simply could not allow herself to think that, under different circumstances, she would probably have made friends with Sunday, Jordan and the others.

"It's OK, Chris," she said huskily. "You're right. I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. We'll solve this case."

"That's my girl," said Chris. His tone was joking, but Lilly felt the truth behind his words. Chris was glad to have her back. For a moment, she had to restrain herself not to fall around his neck.

"I want this case to be solved, Lilly," said Chris silently. "More than anything else." There was an unusual touch of solemnity in his voice that startled Lilly.

"Together we'll manage," she said.

Chris smiled. They continued the rest of the way in silence until they had reached the sheriff's office. Chris parked the car, and they entered the building.

Lucy Johnson was sitting at a desk. She looked up when they entered and smiled.

"Been expecting you," she said. "Sunday called about an hour ago and said you were here again. I reckon you guys wanna talk to Graham."

"If he's available."

"Sure he is." Lucy grinned. "This skeleton is the only case he has. But it's taking up all of his time. I don't think he ever had to deal with such a load of reporters."

Lilly grinned quietly. This "load of reporters," as Lucy had put it, consisted of two reporters from the Deansville Telegraph and two from a Philadelphia newspaper. A local TV channel had filmed a little bit earlier this morning, but Lilly doubted that anyone outside of Philadelphia had heard the story on the news. Deansville was not important enough to make it to CNN.

"But now he has time," Lucy continued. "Wait a sec, I'll tell him you're here." She rose from her chair and went to another door in the back of the room. She knocked, opened the door, stuck her head in and said, "The detectives are here, Graham."

"Send them in, Lucy," Graham said.

Lucy turned around and waved at Lilly and Chris. "You heard him," she said. "Go in."

Lilly and Chris entered Graham's office. Graham was sitting behind a huge desk that was almost frighteningly clean. A single folder lay in the middle. The walls of Graham's office were covered with an odd mixture of pictures, books, posters and souvenirs. Lilly spotted a rusty shotgun on the wall that was covered in cobwebs, and below there hung a copy of Carl Sandburg's famous poem:

"There will be a rusty gun on the wall, sweetheart,

The rifle grooves curling with flakes of rust.

A spider will make a silver string nest in the darkest, warmest corner of it.

The trigger and the range-finder, they too will be rusty.

And no hands will polish the gun, and it will hang on the wall.

Forefingers and thumbs will point absently and casually toward it.

It will be spoken among half-forgotten, wished-to-be-forgotten things.

They will tell the spider: Go on, you're doing good work."

"I'm glad you came," said Graham as soon as they had passed the threshold. "Sunday called and said you asked her all sorts of questions about Jamie and Natalya Atrochenko. Do you really think that's her?"

"It's almost certain," said Lilly. "The age matches, and so does the time. Moreover, the pathologist founda piece of jewelry with a date around her neck. The date is November 11, 1943."

Graham bit his lower lip. "That's her birthday, right," he said. "I remember we celebrated it together."

"Sheriff, why didn't you tell us right away about Natalya?" Lilly blurted out. "You could have saved us a lot of time. But instead we only learned this morning about her, and that was only by chance."

"This may sound strange to you," said Graham, "but I think that we all just didn't believe that the skeleton could have anything to do with the old story. Look, we've known each other all our lives, and the thought that one of us was a murderer never crossed our minds. So we all tried to think of something that happened outside of our community, and of course there was nothing."

"Still it would have been your duty," said Lilly sternly. "I made it clear enough that I wanted to know everything that was out of the ordinary."

"I'm sorry," said Graham simply. "None of us meant to obstruct justice, and least of all did I. heck, I'm the police myself!" He looked so guilty that Lilly started to feel sorry for him.

"Well, we found out, after all," she said soothingly. "But so far it didn't help us. We talked to Sunday and to Dylan, and although they have completely different opinions on Natalya, it all comes down to the fact that you all thought that she made for the hills, and that Jamie behaved strangely and left a few months after the incident."

"That's true," said Graham, "and I know that Jamie is probably your prime suspect. But I can only tell you what I suppose Sunny and Dylan have already told you as well: Jamie would never kill anyone, and especially not like this. He would never plan and encompass the death of another person."

"It's not that Jamie is the only suspect," Chris remarked. "There might be more complex motive behind the crime that we still have to discover."

Graham straightened. "I understand, Detectives," he said with a dignity that struck Lilly. "I know how the police works. You have to consider all possibilities, and that means that our whole community is under suspicion. This includes me as well, I fear. I was but a child of fifteen years when Natalya disappeared, but I understand that you can't just trust my word - although I know, of course, that I never did anything to her. Therefore I think it is better if I declare myself biased and retreat from the case."

Lilly nodded slowly. "That might really be better, Sheriff," she said silently. "I'm sorry."

Graham smiled faintly. "Well, it has some advantages," he said bravely. "This way, I don't have to interrogate my best friends."

"You're doing the right thing, Graham," said Lilly. "Leave the investigation to us. I'm sorry that we have to exclude you, but you know the rules. We must treat you as a suspect, and therefore we are not allowed to keep you informed about the latest developments in the case."

"As long as you solve it, I'll be fine," said Graham. "You can still work with my deputy if you need any additional personnel."

"We appreciate your cooperation, Sheriff," said Lilly. "Again, I'm sorry."

"Again, nevermind." Graham smiled. "For the record: I hereby declare myself biased and hand the investigation over to the detectives Rush and Lassing from the Philadelphia Homicide Squad. They shall have the sole authority in all questions concerning the case."

"Nice speech," Lilly commented. "Thank you, Graham."

"Anytime, Detectives." If Graham was feeling bad about it, then he concealed it very well. "And now I suggest you go back to the community and continue interrogating your suspects."

"I'm afraid we'll have to." Lilly turned around and went to the door. Chris followed.

"Good luck, Detectives," Graham said when they had reached the door.

Lilly nodded, and they left the building. Back in the car, Lilly heaved a deep sigh. "That was nasty," she said.

"He kept his composure really well." Chris was impressed. "I think we underestimated him. He's not as naïve as he may seem."

"Let's get it over with," said Lilly. "Let's go back and see it Jordan has returned."

"I just wanted to suggest the same thing." Chris smiled and started the engine.

They reached the four houses about ten minutes later and parked the car before the Jarvis's house. Lilly got out of the car and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Apparently, Jordan was still in the gallery, and Gabriel was working on his book. So Lilly returned to the car and got in again.

"No one's home," she reported. "Or rather: I guess Gabriel and Diane are home, but they don't care for any visitors right now."

"I can't even hold it against them," said Chris.

"So what shell we do instead?" Lilly asked. "Try every door and see if anyone wants to talk to the intruders? Or just wait here in the car until Jordan returns?"

Chris pointed through the windshield at a yellow bus that came down the street. "Maybe Alex Jarvis would like to talk to us."

"But he can't tell us anything."

"He's Jamie's nephew," said Chris. "Sometimes people react very strangely when a new family member arrives, and since Jamie doesn't have any children, he might see his chance in Alex."

Lilly looked at her partner. "You did it, too."

"Did what?"

"You called him Jamie."