Chapter 1
Sam Mason’s phone pinged for the third time as he pulled the White Rock Police Department Tahoe into the dirt driveway that led to the ramshackle farmhouse where Frank Buckner had lived for most of his eighty-five years.
He glanced down at the phone display as he slowed at the beginning of the long driveway, a knot forming between his shoulder blades as he read the texts. Two were from Harry Woolston, who wanted to stop by the station. The third was from his dispatcher, Reese Hordon, informing him that the brother of one of his officers was coming to drop off some things he’d found that might belong to the police.
At least Reese had used the phone instead of that dispatch system she’d talked him into installing in the car. Sam glanced down at the mic hanging under the dash. Most police departments had used these for years, but in a town as small as White Rock a computerized dispatch system was hardly necessary. Still, Reese had somehow gotten funding for one, and she claimed it would be easier and more efficient because he could answer while driving instead of having to pull his phone out. Sam hated the thing. All it did was squawk static. Plus, it was a change from their normal routine, and Sam was finding that the older he got, the less he liked change.
Sam coasted to a stop and picked up the phone to reply to both. Harry Woolston had once been chief of police of their small northern New Hampshire town, the same position Sam now held. Though Harry’s tenure had ended decades ago, that didn’t stop him from popping into the station and trying to insinuate himself into Sam’s cases.
Sam understood that Harry was bored with retirement and wanted to reminisce about his glory days. That part Sam didn’t mind, but Harry’s insistence at getting involved was getting out of hand. In fact, one could argue that Harry’s involvement and not listening to Sam’s orders was what had caused officer Kevin Deckard’s near-fatal shooting.
Harry was in a bad place right now. He blamed himself for the shooting that had resulted in Kevin’s coma. Unfortunately, that meant Harry felt compelled to come to the station even more often in an attempt to assuage his guilt. Sam knew he should tell Harry to stay away, but he didn’t have the heart.
It had been two weeks since the incident, and Kevin’s prognosis was uncertain. The doctors said time would tell. Kevin’s brother had flown in from California, and Sam wanted to make sure they gave that the importance it was due. Kevin was a good cop, and he wanted his family to have some peace while they were hoping for him to recover.
So many things to do already and it was only ten past eight in the morning. Sam should have passed this quirky call off to a junior officer, but Frank Buckner had been a friend of his grandfather’s and he felt duty-bound to take care of this personally—even if Frank’s claim of his dog finding a dinosaur bone was a bit preposterous.
A whine from the back seat caught his attention, and Sam turned to see his German shepherd mix police K9, Lucy, lying down, her chin on her paws as if she felt the same way Sam did.
“I know, girl, it’s crazy right?”
Lucy’s brows lifted over golden-brown eyes as if in agreement.
“We’ll just go see what Frank has. Let him down easy.” Sam took his foot off the brake and drove the rest of the way down the driveway.
The late summer nights were starting to get cooler, but the mornings were still glorious, with sunshine warming the air and sparkling off the dew on the grass. Birds flew between tree branches, and squirrels were busy gathering acorns to store for winter.
Frank sat in a wooden rocking chair on his porch, wearing a blue flannel shirt. Steam rose from a mug cupped in his weathered hands. Sam’s heart squeezed with a pang of loneliness for his grandfather. They’d been close, and Gramps had been gone only a few years. He missed him still. All the more reason to treat Frank with personal attention and respect.
Frank’s face cracked into a welcome smile as he recognized the Tahoe. He put the mug down and slowly rose from the chair. Sam could practically hear his bones creaking.
They met halfway between the car and the porch and shook hands. Frank’s grip was as strong as a 25-year-old’s. His blue eyes danced with excitement.
“It’s the darnedest thing, Sam. I never seen nothing like it.” Frank ran a hand through his thick white hair. “I think it might be from some kind of dinosaur. Maybe it will even get in the museum.”
“Maybe.” Sam hated to dash the old guy’s hopes, but he didn’t want to encourage him either. As far as he knew, no dinosaur bones had been found this far north. Most likely it was a bone from a moose.
Frank’s knees popped as he crouched down to pet Lucy. “Nothing like that’s been found up here before, right?”
“I don’t recall any dinosaur bones being found here, but let’s not get too excited until we figure out what it really is.” Sam looked over Frank’s shoulder toward the porch. “So where is it?”
Frank stood, some of his excitement fading. “Well now, that’s the thing. I haven’t been able to get it away from Ranger. He must realize it’s a rare find and doesn’t want to part with it.” Frank jerked his head toward the side of the house. “He’s out back guarding it like it’s a brick of gold.”
Lucy glanced toward the side of the house and whined, then looked up at Sam.
“So, you haven’t really seen all of this bone yet?” Sam asked.
“Well, not the whole thing, but it’s got a big knobby end.” Frank held his hands about a foot apart, then moved them a little closer, his expression now uncertain. “At least it seems big. I mean, it’s bigger than the bones Ranger usually finds. Looks long, too. Much bigger than the meat bones I get from the butcher.”
Sam nodded. “Okay, let’s go take a look.”
Frank led the way to the backyard, Lucy trotting at his heels and glancing up at Sam to make sure he followed. As they rounded the corner of the house, Sam scanned the yard. He spotted Ranger, Frank’s oversized Rottweiler, lying next to the back steps, the unmistakable ivory color of a bone cradled in his paws. Most of the bone was hidden because his chin rested on it. The hairs on the back of Sam’s neck tingled. It didn’t look like a dinosaur bone, but it didn’t look like a moose bone, either.
Lucy stopped a few feet from Ranger, her ears straight up, her gaze riveted on the other dog. Ranger looked at Lucy warily. His lip curled, and he let out a low growl. Lucy looked at Sam, and Sam shook his head. No sense in getting into a dogfight over a bone.
Frank sidled over to Ranger, who glanced up at him with an apologetic look, as if he knew he was doing something wrong but wasn’t about to give up the bone. “You’re a good boy, Ranger. Now show your treasure to the nice policeman here.”
Ranger’s eyes flicked to Sam, and he nuzzled the bone deeper under his chest.
Lucy moved closer, getting between Sam and the dog and earning another growl from Ranger.
Frank cast Sam a sheepish look. “I’m sorry, Sam. He’s usually very obedient.” More knee popping as Frank squatted next to his dog. “Come on, buddy, we want to get a look at this bone. Could make us famous, you know.”
Ranger looked as if he was considering his options. Frank extended his hand, and the Rottweiler eyed it dubiously.
Frank pushed further. “Come on, boy, you know you can trust me.”
Ranger sighed, cast Lucy a suspicious look, and then turned loving, trustful eyes on Frank as he lifted his head off the bone.
“Good boy.” Frank scratched Ranger’s chest, then reached in and pulled the bone from between his paws.
He stood holding the bone out to Sam. “See, what did I tell you? That ain’t no deer bone. Too big and not shaped right.” His gaze narrowed with uncertainty. “It’s a lot smaller than I thought it was. Maybe a small dinosaur? What do you think, Sam? Maybe there’re some tar pits up there or something. We should look for the rest of the bones.”
Sam stared at the bone. Frank was right about one thing; it wasn’t an animal bone. Frank was probably too invested in his earlier hopes that he’d made a rare discovery to realize the bone was a femur. From a human. And Frank was right about another thing, too. The rest of the bones were out there somewhere, and now Sam had the unenviable task of not only finding them but also figuring out who they’d belonged to and how they’d ended up here.
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