Viv drove off without a backwards glance as Carla sat at the wheel, her stomach turned to ash. There was no way she was going to be able to force down a sandwich. Her diet started with a tongue-lashing from Jericho’s senior law enforcer. Nice work. Returning to the building, she passed Max’s office and saw him through the open door, crouching on the floor, looking for a book at the bottom of a large oak bookshelf.
‘Got time for a chat?’
He swivelled around, pleased to see her. ‘Sure. Come on in, Carla.’
His office was a mirror image to hers, but he was a man who liked things just so. The books were arranged alphabetically and his desk was clear except for his computer and an empty mug.
‘Is everything OK?’ he asked her, getting to his feet. He rubbed his knees, wincing. ‘I think this year’s dig has taken a toll on my joints.’
Carla watched him walk stiffly to his chair. ‘I’ve just been warned off by Viv. It was horrible given I’ve only been trying to help with an investigation where I was asked for my opinion.’ To her dismay, Carla felt her eyes fill with tears. Max stared at her for a moment and pulled open a drawer of his desk. He brandished a small bottle of bourbon and two tumblers.
‘Emergency rations.’ He poured a glug in each of the glasses and handed one to Carla. ‘Congratulations, you’ve seen the tough side of Viv Kantz. Don’t feel bad. We’ve all had a dressing down from her at one time or another.’
‘I think this was a little more than that. I felt threatened.’ Carla sipped her drink, feeling the alcohol hit her empty stomach.
Max frowned. ‘Do you think it’s possible you’ve become obsessed by the death of the woman whose crime scene you visited? I’m not surprised, you know. I don’t think we’ve really come to terms with what happened to Lauren here. Death casts a long shadow.’
Carla groaned. ‘It’s much more complicated than that, Max. I have a hunch that might link the deaths of Tiffany Stoker and Lauren to other women who have died.’
He paled and tipped another slug of whiskey in his glass. ‘The deaths are connected? How?’
‘It’s a long story, Max. I don’t even know where to start.’
‘You don’t need to tell me details that you want to keep to yourself but, if you’ll excuse me saying, it sounds like you need some support.’
Carla looked across at him. Beneath his dour exterior, he was an essentially kind man. ‘All I can say is that I think I’ve found a connection with daisy wheels. You know, the marks you find in old buildings. You must have heard of them.’
‘Apotropaic marks? I know of them, of course, but it’s not my specialism. Doctor Caron is the person you want to speak to.’
‘I have asked him, but I get the impression he’s an outsider looking in when it comes to Jericho. Does that make sense to you?’
If Carla had expected him to be pleased that she was questioning Jack’s competence, she was to be disappointed. Max frowned, considering her question. ‘You know, I don’t ascribe to the theory that people need to be born in a place to study its archaeology. I’m not just talking about the colonial attitude where the white western academics travel to developing countries to tell them about their past.’
‘Sure.’ Carla had met some wonderful colleagues in Egypt, sick of their treasures being plundered by European treasure hunters.
‘But I do think that you can develop an area of study when you’ve no experience of that culture. Take my specialism of Roman archaeology. I wasn’t born in Europe, but I spent my twenties in England unearthing first-century settlements there. I’ve never felt at a disadvantage.’
‘I don’t know why I mention it. I was asking Jack about ritual house protection and his answers seemed a little superficial. I wondered why.’
Max lifted his glass and regarded the contents, probably wondering whether to have a third shot. ‘House protection?’
‘That’s right. My interest began with witch bottles, but now I’m trying to dig further into the use of the hexafoil pattern as a means of counter magic. I’m wondering if the pattern has any resonance that you know of that I’m missing.’
Max considered the question. ‘In Roman houses there was a shrine, a lararium that honours the Lares spirits who may protect your home.’
‘And these house protections are used down through history. But what would it say to you if they were used outside the home?’
‘You mean barns and so on.’
‘More like shopping malls and woodland.’
Max frowned. ‘The thinking is a little skewed. I mean, evil is considered to enter a house where there are draughts. Doorways, chimneys, windows. How’s that going to work in a wood?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Carla, remembering the scored marks on the ash tree in Shining Cliff Wood. ‘It sounds like the work of someone who knows the basic theory but not the thinking behind it. The first day we met, you said you’d been called to help in some of Viv Kantz’s investigations. Were any of them murders?’
‘There was a former student of Jericho, Iris Chan. I’m not sure if you know about her.’
‘She was found in Shining Cliff Wood.’
‘Yes, exactly. I wasn’t exactly called in for my expertise. I’m no expert in woodland or hangings come to that. There was a reputational issue for the college and I was asked to go down, the same day the body was found, to see if there was anything that might relate back to us here.’
‘Asked by whom?’
‘Albert. To be honest, Viv thought I was being called in to give some answers in relation to the landscape, but that wasn’t my understanding with Albert. It was a case of the department keeping its reputation.’
‘And was there anything that might impact the college?’
‘I couldn’t see anything. Miss Chan had left the previous year and, for whatever reason, had decided to stay here. You know, her former boyfriend was convicted of her killing.’
‘So I believe.’
‘That’s the only murder case I’ve been involved in. I’ve been called in to help with suspected cases of trading in illegal antiquities but nothing involving homicide.’
‘You think Iris Chan’s murderer definitely did it?’
‘I’ve no idea. He was given a fair trial, I assume. Why do you ask?’
‘I think Iris’s death might be connected to Tiffany Stoker’s and those of other women.’
‘Really? You know, if you’ve any concerns, you can always come to me. What’s the connection to daisy wheels?’
Carla thought of Viv’s response. ‘I’m not sure I’m ready to share my theory yet. Can I ask you something else? It’s about Doctor Powers.’
‘Go on.’
‘I’ve heard that before she died there was a love affair that went wrong. Do you know anything about that?’
Max shrugged. ‘Lauren was a private person. She kept herself to herself. Sometimes she was happy, other times less so.’
‘You were friendly?’
Max paused and she saw he was struggling to contain his emotions. ‘Lauren and I dated briefly, but that was a while ago. It was a few years after my wife died and I wasn’t really ready to start seeing anybody. I still cared about Lauren though and we remained friends.’
‘You don’t know who her current lover was.’
Max raised his eyes to her, his face pale. ‘She dated James Franklin. Do you know him?’
Shocked, Carla swallowed. ‘I wasn’t aware of that.’ She remembered Franklin’s name in Lauren’s notebook. ‘Of course I’ve heard of Franklin. It would be hard to avoid him in this town. I met him at the fundraiser we attended the other evening.’ She didn’t mention that she’d be having dinner with him on Friday.
‘Of course. He’s easily the richest man in Jericho, possibly in the county. I know he and Lauren were dating.’
‘And you think he’s the lover who supposedly drove her to suicide?’
‘I don’t know about anyone driving Lauren to the act. It’s a choice, isn’t it?’
Carla nodded. ‘Yes, it’s a choice. If you have one.’