CHAPTER 19

I spent much of the first hour at work preoccupied with the fact that Jay was talking to Lindsey Davis, trying to persuade her not to make a deal with Tackett. I’d wanted to tell Holman that Jay was here just in case he decided to go over to talk to Lindsey this morning. He was probably the number-one member of the Jaidev “Jay” Burman fan club, and I wanted him to know that in this instance, Jay was working in direct opposition to us, so he could turn down the whole hero-worship thing. I called and texted but so far hadn’t gotten a response. I was updating the “Inspecting the Eateries” page when I got an email from someone at the Virginia vital records department saying my request for the death certificates had been denied because I was not authorized to view those records. Damn. I’d expected as much, but I really needed those to find out who was listed as the Millers’ next of kin—that information would go a long way in figuring out if they were subjects in The Lonely Dead.

I was just starting a search of how to get a copy of a death certificate of a nonfamily member when Ash texted.

lunch today?

sure

Mysa or Landrys?

mmmm meatballs.

Mysa it is. what u doin?

trying to get a death certificate of someone who died 60 years ago

journalism is fun

haha. not having any luck

just call the funeral home. we keep records forever.

OMG ASH UR A GENIUS!!!

wow if id known u were so easily impressed i would have talked funeral home director to u sooner

haha lol

glad i could help. i like to see u happy

c u at noon?

I knew that the Millers hadn’t been buried or cremated in Hudson Falls, because if they’d been laid to rest in Texas, there would have been a file on record, and my old friend Elaine had already established that there wasn’t. I assumed that they were buried on Chincoteague, where they died. There were three funeral homes on Chincoteague Island, but only one that had been in business in 1959. I felt like an in-person visit would increase my odds of getting them to give me a copy of the death certificates, but Chincoteague was a four-hour drive and I didn’t own a car at the moment. Plus, I had missed enough work as it was and wasn’t sure I could take another whole day out of the office, even if it was for the sake of a big story.

A spark of inspiration struck, and I texted Ash back and asked if I could stop by Campbell & Sons on the way to lunch. All of a sudden it seemed very advantageous to have a funeral home director interested in making me happy.

“Tell me again what you want me to say?” Ash asked.

“Just say someone has come in asking if you have the records for a family of five, the Miller family, who died in Virginia in 1959. Say something like there’s been some confusion as to where the family was buried and they thought maybe it was in Tuttle County but that you think it was in Accomack County, given that’s where their plane crashed…”

He looked slightly uncomfortable, so I added, “You’re not lying—that’s all true. Mostly.”

“And you think they’ll just give me that information? Without any paperwork or proof of anything?”

“Would you?”

“Probably,” he said. “But only because I’m still learning the rules. In fact, until you told me five minutes ago, I didn’t even know that death certificates could only be accessed by the family or legal guardian in the state of Virginia.”

I sat on the edge of his desk. “I’m hoping there’s a professional courtesy between you guys, one funeral home director to another? If they don’t want to give you a copy of the certificate, that’s fine. Just try to find out who the next of kin is. That’s what I really need.”

“Next of kin,” Ash repeated. “Okay…I’ll give it a try.”

“Thank you!” I was nearly giddy with excitement.

“What’ll you give me if I do this for you?” Ash said, a playful edge to his voice.

“I’ll buy you lunch.”

“You already owe me lunch.”

“I’ll buy you a drink then.”

“When?”

“Whenever you want. Will you make the call already?”

“How about tonight after work? We can talk about our costumes for Toad’s party over a bottle of wine?”

Ash was standing close enough to me that I could smell his cologne. Funny, I never noticed that he wore cologne before. It was a nice, clean musky scent that was light enough to be noticed only by those in close orbit. Which I guess I was.

“A bottle is more than one drink,” I said, looking down.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

“Just make the call.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, fine. We have a deal.”

“Seal it with a kiss?”

I spit on my hand and stuck it out to him instead.

Ash laughed again, then made the call.

Just as he did, my phone rang. Holman. I needed to talk to him, so I stepped out into the hallway to answer. “Hey. Where have you been?”

“You will never guess who I saw on the way into Lindsey’s office today.”

“Jay.”

“Oh.” Holman sounded disappointed. “I guess you did guess.”

“What happened with Lindsey?” I didn’t have time to explain everything to him. I wanted to get back in the office to hear Ash’s conversation.

“We didn’t have a chance to talk because she was meeting with Jay. Riley, I think Jay is the federal agent who’s trying to block her from making a deal with Tackett.”

“He is.”

“How do you know this already?”

I cracked the door and could see that Ash was still on the phone and writing something down. I lowered my voice. “I’ll explain later, but he’s under orders to shut it down.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“Later.”

“Fine. Lindsey wants to meet with both of us at one-thirty.”

I could hear Ash laughing. It sounded like he was talking with an old friend. I hoped that was a good sign. “See you then.”

“Technically, you will see me before then because we work in the same—”

I clicked end and walked back into Ash’s office.

“Yeah, okay, okay. Thanks, Gary.” He held up one finger at me. “Perfect. I’ll look forward to it. And thanks again.”

If he was thanking Gary, surely that meant he got it! I waited for him to end his call, and after another chorus of “You too, man” and “It’s a deal,” Ash finally hung up.

“So…did you get it?”

“Pffff, did I get it?” He smirked. “Not only did I get it, but I have an invitation to play golf at the Chincoteague Country Club with Gary any time I want.”

“Congratulations,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Where is it? Did he email you a copy or just give you the name?”

He held up a piece of paper and I snatched it out of his hand like a greedy child. I scanned the page. “Oh my God.”

“Does that name mean something to you?”

“You could say that. I just met him yesterday.”