The toilet had been shattered. From the wood splinters on the floor, I suspected the instrument of destruction was a baseball bat. The cabinets above the toilet had been tossed, too. A bottle of bowl cleaner lay on its side, leaking blue liquid onto a stack of paper towels.
“Let’s check out the bedroom.”
“Let’s leave instead,” Cedar said.
She didn’t wait for my answer. I heard the door slam, followed by the sounds of Chigger’s bark.
Space in the bedroom was tight. The double bed took up most of the room, leaving space for only a narrow bedside table, which had also been dumped. The mattress was askew on the frame. From the marks on the ceiling, it had been lifted then dropped. A single, yellowed sheet lay rumpled on the floor in front of the closet. Inside the closet, there were no coats, no shirts, not even a coat hanger.
Empty.
This was no robbery.
I had decided to take a closer look for clues in the kitchen area when Chigger yapped a warning bark. Peeking through the blinds, I looked out a grimy window and saw Cedar a few yards away holding onto Chigger’s lease. It was stretched taut, and the dog was growling.
When I stepped outside onto the porch, I saw why.
A two-ton diesel truck drove across the overgrown yard toward the big barn. It was hauling a trench digger behind it, equipped with a scoop shovel. That answered his questions about what had made the holes.
When two men got out of the front of the truck, it also answered the question of who.
Early and Stuart, my favorite independent contractors specializing in fire site clean up and debris removal. What kind of debris where they removing this time?
“What business have you got being here, anyhow?” Stuart shouted as he approached, carrying a digging spade. “Hey, you're that boy who was with the bone doctor, ain’t you?”
"That's me," I said.
“You two are trespassing on private property,” Early stabbed the air with a meaty finger. “We ought to call the law. Have y’all arrested.”
“Call the sheriff if you want,” Cedar said. “There aren’t any No Trespassing signs posted, and we have a legitimate reason to be here.”
Stuart spat tobacco on the ground. “What would that be?”
“We’re visiting a friend.”
“Stumpy Meeks,” I said. “Have you gentlemen seen him recently?”
“What do we look like, the missing person department?” Stuart said. “You’re wasting our time, so beat it.”
“Who would that be?” I asked.
“Who would what be?” Stuart said.
“The company paying you to clean up their mess. Who’s that?”
Stuart shook his head in wonder. “The man who owns it, dumb ass.”
“Does this man have a name?” I fought the temptation to add, dumb ass.
“Not one you’re getting from us.” Stuart said. “Beat it, before things get ugly.”
“Don’t threaten me,” I said. “It’s not a good idea.”
Stuart and Early chuckled. The thought of my taking them both out seemed absurd to them, but I was already figuring out how to separate the spade from Stuart’s hands.
“Let’s go, Boone.” Cedar looped an arm through mine. “We’ve got that thing in a half hour, and we don’t want to keep these guys from their work.”
“Better do like your lady says,” Stuart said.
For a few seconds, I stared hard at him. My meaning was clear. Next time we crossed paths, I was going to hurt him.
When we got in the car, I rolled down the window so that Chigger could stick his head out. Across the way, Stuart and Early were unloading the bobcat from its trailer. The bobcat was designed for moving a small amount of dirt very quickly. Not massive like a bulldozer or dresser, its lightweight and small relatively light bucket made it perfect for maneuvering through tight spaces.
Like the spaces that separated one grave from another.
“What a couple of assholes.” Cedar turned in a wide arc and slowly drove toward the highway. “You think they know something about Stumpy?”
“Yeah, and I know what they’re digging for, too.”
The flatbed truck held a pile of empty garment bags. One of the bags, however, was full. I suspected that it contained the object that had hit the side of Stumpy’s trailer.
An object that was missing a finger.
I smacked my forehead. “How dense could I be?”
“Pretty dense. What did you figure out?”
“From the size, shape, and pattern of the larger holes,” I said, “they’re looking for the same thing we are.”
“And that would be?”
“Body parts.”
5
“They are moving graves!” Cedar took a deep breath. “Illegally!”
She sat at the round oak table in our kitchen, next to me and across from Mom. Lamar leaned against the counters as Chigger lapped up a bowl of milk.
I had decided to let Cedar tell Mom the news. It would be more believable from her, since Mom considered Cedar far more levelheaded and trustworthy.
“Say that again,” Mom said, almost rising out of her chair.
Cedar repeated the whole story about Early and Stuart, though she left out the information about the finger in the fish sticks.
While she talked, I watched for Lamar’s reaction. He was listening, too, because he laughed when Cedar mentioned the part about me falling in the hole. But he kept a poker face the whole time and only moved when Chigger finished the milk. He picked up the bowl and rinsed it in the sink.
“The whole field is full of graves,” I said. “It’s not only a family plot, it’s an organized cemetery. From the pattern of the holes, the guys knew exactly where to dig.”
“The owners knew about the graves beforehand?” Mom asked.
“Wouldn’t testify to that in court,” I said, “but that’s what it looked like.”
“You’re sure?”
“The field looked like dominos.”
“What about—” Mom wiped a tear from her eye. “What about the headstones?”
“None,” I said. “We didn’t see a single one.”
“That’s outrageous!” Mom stood and threw her arms wide. “They have absolutely violated state law! They can’t do this!”
“Sounds like they already did,” Lamar said.
“Call the sheriff!” she told him. When Lamar didn’t move fast enough, she grabbed the handset from the wall. “Never mind, I’ll do it myself. Some help you are.”
The call connected, and Mom stepped out on the porch.
Lamar picked Chigger up and handed him to Cedar. “Did either one of these men threaten you?”
“They ordered us off the property,” Cedar said. “And we left.”
“Your mama’s wound up, that’s for sure,” Lamar said. “But if the rightful owner asked them to do the work, nothing can be done. It’s not illegal to move bodies in this state, just to do it without permission. Since those old boys let y’all walk around without a fuss, they’re not too worried about getting caught.”
“But there are people in the graves,” Cedar said. “They can’t just, just move them.”
Lamar scrubbed his head. “Human remains are property like a house or land. They belong to the heirs of the deceased. That’s the law.”
Cedar looked at me, asking if Lamar was right. I could only shrug that, yes, he probably was.
“It’s time for me to head home,” Cedar said. “Can I use the little girl’s room first?”
I gave her directions.
“Those men did threaten you, Boone.” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
“Mild threats," I admitted. "Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“If you were alone, maybe.” Lamar glanced down the hallway. “Follow Cedar back home, just to be sure. Folks around here are acting funny. It’s smart to be careful.”
“Funny how?”
“Some migrant workers ended up in the emergency room last weekend, all beat up. They wouldn’t say what happened.”