He nodded. “So the medical examiner says. He says that she was killed in these woods and buried. She wasn’t transported from any other place.”
“Jenny?” Margaret repeated. “Jane told me that you named all the skulls you work on, Eve. You call her Jenny?”
Eve nodded.
“It’s a pretty name.” She tilted her head. “It has a sort of … cadence. Musical.”
Eve stiffened. “What? It’s a nice name, but I never thought it was particularly musical.”
Margaret shrugged. “Everything strikes people differently.”
Eve was silent. “Yes, it does. So what did you mean about the opposite of demons?”
“I believe the grave might have been protected.”
“What?” Nalchek said roughly. “Why would you think that? She was in that grave for eight years until we took her out of it. It was left to the elements and buried so deep, we might never have found it if there hadn’t been flash floods in the area that eroded the dirt so that some Boy Scouts eventually found her.”
“That doesn’t mean that the grave wasn’t protected.” Margaret made a face. “I guess I have to explain. You’re not ready, but then, no one is really ready for me.” She shot a wary look at Eve. “I could have avoided this if I hadn’t come here tonight. Mistake?”
“No, if anyone made a mistake, it was me,” Eve said quietly. “I asked you to come. But it wasn’t a mistake. By all means, explain to the sheriff that you may be weird, but not anything like what he faced with that crazy woman in Afghanistan.”
“I can hardly wait,” Nalchek said sarcastically.
Margaret nodded. “Okay, here goes. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been able to communicate with animals. I can kind of merge and read them.”
Silence. “Read them?” Nalchek repeated. “Read their minds?”
“No, not usually. Oh, sometimes. It depends on the species. I have real trouble with serpents. Of course, that might be my fault because I have problems with their lack of—”
“Wait.” He held up his hand. “This is bullshit.”
“No, it’s true. I found out that I had the knack when I was just a little kid. My father didn’t believe me, and I was beaten whenever I tried to tell anyone I was communicating with their dog or cat or whatever. Later, it got pretty bad, and I ran away from home and lived in the woods for a couple years.” She met his eyes. “I learned a lot while I was there.”
“A real nature girl.”
She ignored the sarcasm. “Something like that. But it was mainly survival, just like it was at home. Survival and learning to adapt and come out on top.” She stared him in the eye. “You know about survival, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I never claimed to learn it from a wolf or not-wolf, or whatever.”
“There are all kinds of wolves in the world. All kinds of animals. And the worst is the one who put that little girl in that grave. I think maybe you believe that, too.”
“And what about your precious balance of nature?”
“Sometimes it becomes unbalanced when a rogue comes along.”
“He’s not believing you, Margaret,” Eve said impatiently. “Drop it. I need to know your impressions.”
“I’ll give it to you. It was just easier to face the obstacle than avoid it.”
“And I’m the obstacle,” Nalchek said mockingly. “Of course I am. But by all means proceed.”
“Because you’re curious,” Eve said. “And you want all the help you can get, or you would never have sent me Jenny’s skull.” She asked Margaret, “Who was protecting the grave and how do you know?”
“I’m not sure.” She frowned. “I keep getting flashes of a dog or wolf or … something. But I don’t think that it was either one. But he’s near, he’s close, he thinks he has to stay close.”
“Why?”
“He needs to protect the grave. Even though the bones are gone. He still has to do it. Though I don’t believe he knows why.”