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“Thanks for going with me to see Lindy,” said Holly when we were back in her car. “I think I needed the moral support for some reason. I just didn’t want to head over there by myself.”
“Of course you didn’t,” I said. “I’m happy to do anything I can to help you out.” I hesitated. “Are your parents going to help you tackle Frank’s things?”
Holly shook her head. “No, they already mentioned that they thought it would be too hard on them. I think they’re barely holding on as it is.”
I said tentatively, “If you’re wanting to start the process, I’d be glad to help. I didn’t know if it’s something you’d rather put off or not. I know having some time pass might make it easier.”
“Actually, I was thinking about going ahead and getting started. It’s sort of like ripping off a bandage,” Holly said wryly. “Sometimes it’s better to just get it over with. And I’d love the help.”
We went back to the house to find Grayson at the kitchen table on his laptop. He gave us a rueful smile. “Couldn’t stop myself from doing a little work.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “And you thought that I’d be the one who’d get pulled back into work?”
Grayson blushed, which made me smile. He said, “Yeah, I know. I guess the problem with taking a break is that you and I both love our jobs.” He glanced over at Holly. “How did the visit with Lindy go?”
“It was good, thanks,” she said. “It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it might be.” Holly glanced over at me. “I’m going to go change real quick. I have the feeling we might encounter some dust.”
As Holly went upstairs, I slid into the chair next to Grayson. “You’re okay to work for a while?”
“Sure thing. If I get tired of it, I can always play games online with Jeremy. He’s playing online now, even though it’s a workday.” Grayson grinned. “I have the feeling this job of his isn’t long for this world.” His smile faded when he saw how distracted I was looking. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s good. I’m going to help Holly clear out Frank’s house. Just help get her started, you know. I need to change, too.”
Fitz padded down the stairs and gave me a serious look. I wondered if he could feel some of the tension in the house following Frank’s death. Animals were always so good at picking up on nuances. I reached down and scratched him under his chin until I could hear him purring, his eyes nearly shut.
“Sounds good. Then, do you want to go out and grab something to eat? We can invite Holly or bring food back for her.”
I said, “Perfect.” Then I hurried upstairs to put some of my grungier workout clothes on.
Fifteen minutes later, we were at Frank’s house. Holly pulled into the long driveway. I could see where Frank would have fit in well in the house. It was a two-story design with a graceful porch and large windows to soak in the natural light. The yard was neatly manicured and sported flowerbeds bursting with color. I wondered if June had been the gardener. Part of me thought she might be, but the meticulous upkeep of the yard seemed to point to Frank, despite his lack of time. When Holly used her key to let us inside, I saw a tastefully decorated interior with a plush sofa and soft throw pillows.
The house was cheerful but already felt a little abandoned. I thought I was just being fanciful, but then I saw Holly shiver and knew she felt the same way. Plus, there were signs the police had been through the house. I was sure they’d probably taken Frank’s computers to look for clues to his death.
“Where do you want to start?” I asked her.
Holly was looking around, her hands on her hips. She sighed. “I guess clothing would be an easy way to hop into it. It’s just going to be a matter of pulling it out and giving it away.”
We hopped into it. When we went upstairs, and Holly opened Frank’s closet doors, I saw rows of clothing sorted by color.
“Wow,” I said, impressed. I gave Holly an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’m just not used to seeing men be this neat. I mean, Grayson is pretty organized at his house, but it’s nothing compared to this. And Grayson’s office is totally chaotic.”
Holly chuckled. “Yeah. June never had to worry about picking up discarded socks off the floor. Frank was always a neat freak. I remember wondering how he survived being in a college dorm. Whoever his roommate was probably drove Frank crazy with his sloppiness.”
We ended up making a couple of trips to the Goodwill store to drop off all of Frank’s clothing and shoes. His clothes all looked nice; even the clothing that I’d supposed he’d used for his relic hunting.
When we got back to the house, Holly said, “I think we should look through Frank’s desk. I know the cops went through everything, but maybe there’s something there that would mean something to me that didn’t seem significant to them.”
“Sure,” I said. “It’ll be a straightforward job, especially if Frank’s desk looks like his closet did.”
And of course, it did. Again, there was evidence the police had rifled through the desk. Even the slightest bit of disorganization, I attributed to the police having searched it. Frank was just too tidy to leave his desk anything other than pristine.
Holly pulled out a composition book from a desk drawer and opened it. She turned the pages carefully, looking down rows of Frank’s neat, careful handwriting. “This is apparently where he logged the different sites he was working at,” she said slowly. “He wrote the address and made notes as to any finds that were located.”
“Was there anything listed about the most recent site?” I asked.
Holly handed me the composition notebook. I saw an unfamiliar address and then the words human remains. We looked at each other.
“I’m sure finding human remains, even historic ones, would probably mean the police would have to be involved,” I said.
“That’s what I’m thinking. And wouldn’t it mean that any sort of development would have to be put on hold? It could be an entire cemetery, for all they know. Charleston dates back to the late 1600s.”
“I bet Warner would know,” I said. “Do you have his number?”
She smirked at me. “Frank was old-fashioned enough to have a Rolodex.” She pointed to the rotating card file on Frank’s desk. She quickly found the contact information for Warner, pulled out her phone, dialed his number, and put the phone on speaker.
Warner answered his phone, sounding a little peeved. “Hello?”
“Warner? This is Holly.”
Warner underwent a quick attitude adjustment, although I could tell there was still some irritation underneath. “Oh, hi, Holly. Uh, everything okay?”
It was a testament to Warner’s social ineptitude that he would ask a grieving sister that question.
Holly quickly said, “I’m holding up, thanks. Listen, Ann and I are over at Frank’s house, doing some clearing out. I just went through his desk and found a notebook where he logged the different sites he’d been working on.”
The mention of relic hunting seemed to spark Warner’s interest. “Did you? I had the feeling Frank would be super-organized with that stuff.” He paused. “I’d love to look at the notebook sometime.”
“Sure. Maybe after we get everything settled here. I had a quick question for you about the site Frank was working on when he died,” said Holly.
“I didn’t really know anything about that site. Frank sometimes didn’t share information.” The peeved tone had worked its way back into Warner’s voice.
“That’s fine. I’ve got Frank’s notes on it. But it sounds like he found human remains at the site.”
There was another pause on the other end. “Did he?”
“Holly and I were wondering what that would mean,” I said, “in terms of the development.”
“Well, it would bring everything to a crashing halt,” said Warner, sounding a little excited. “If it was a business, they’d have to put all their plans for the development on hold until the site was fully investigated. That could mean the building materials they’d budgeted for and the labor they’d hired would increase dramatically in cost.”
“What if it’s a private individual?” asked Holly.
“Well, it would do the same thing. If it’s supposed to be someone’s new home, that house is going to be delayed by a long while. The police would have to come in, but there would also need to be more relic hunters to determine if the remains were part of a private or public cemetery. A discovery of human remains changes everything.”
“Got it,” said Holly. “Ann and I thought that it probably would, but I wanted to bounce it off you. Thanks.”
“And the notebook?” Warner squeaked.
“I’ll call you later about it.”
Holly hung up, and we looked at each other. I said, “I wonder if the police realized the implications of this notebook.”
“I’m thinking they didn’t, because surely they’d have taken it with them. I’m going to give that lieutenant a call.” She looked through her contact list and made the call.
“Roberts,” a voice answered immediately.
“Lieutenant Roberts?” asked Holly. “Hi. It’s Holly Walsh.”
“Ms. Walsh. What can I help you with?”
Holly said, “I was just over at my brother’s house, clearing out some of his things. I was wondering if you’d taken a close look at his notebook.”
Roberts hesitated. “The composition notebook that was in his desk?”
“That’s right. According to his notes, he found human remains at the site he was working on. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that.”
Roberts said, “Thanks for checking in. We actually were aware of that and took pictures of the notebook. We’re following up on that and other leads.”
“Good.” Holly paused. “Have you found anything out yet?”
Roberts’s voice was less-brisk now and gentler. “Nothing I can divulge right now. I’m sorry. But please know that we’re giving this case all our attention.”
“Thank you,” said Holly, and hung up.
Holly and I looked at each other for a few minutes. Then Holly rubbed her temples as if her head hurt. “This is all a lot.”
“Do you want to take a break from cleaning?” I asked. “I can come back with you any time.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. The clothes were easy. The desk items and Frank’s furniture and things like that are going to be way harder.” Holly glanced down at her phone, which had just gone off. “Plus, it looks like Mom and Dad are on their way down. I guess they headed here early. They’re probably having just as hard of a time sitting still as I am. I feel like I’m more in control of the situation when I’m actually doing something, even if it’s just cleaning stuff up.”
We headed back to Holly’s house. She delved right back into the memorial service planning, and Grayson and I slipped out the door with waves when she was on the phone. She gave us an absent wave in return.
“How did that go?” asked Grayson, when we were in the car together. “I’m thinking it could be a very emotional process, going through your brother’s things.”
“She did great,” I said. “We worked through a lot of stuff and had a huge amount of nice clothes to give away. It was when we started going through Frank’s desk that things started going sideways.”
Grayson lifted his eyebrows. “Did you find something?”
“Maybe. But Frank had a log of all the sites he’d worked on and notes regarding the discoveries. We found out that he’d discovered human remains at the site he’s working on now.”
Grayson’s eyes opened wide. “No way.”
“Apparently, it’s not as rare as you’d think. Charleston is such an old city, by US standards, anyway. Whenever you discover human remains, all construction work is delayed, of course. Or, I guess, possibly even canceled for good, depending on exactly what is uncovered.”
Grayson said, “Sure. If it indicates a major historic find.” He gave a low whistle. “So maybe the reason Frank was murdered was because someone didn’t want him to disclose his discovery. So that the development could continue.”
I nodded. “Someone could have followed him, looking for a moment to catch Frank alone. The library was risky, but possibly not as risky as allowing Frank to stop the construction.”
“Did Holly tell the police what the two of you found?”
I nodded again. “Right away. It sounded like they were already aware of it. I’m sure the police can figure out who’s behind the development at the site. It wasn’t something that was listed in Frank’s notebook. It just listed the site address.”
My head was swimming with all the information we’d gathered from the last couple of days. I might have looked overwhelmed because before I knew it, Grayson had whisked me away into a restaurant. “My treat,” he said. And, over the course of the meal and some wine, I felt some of the stress melt away.