Dean's feelings were mixed about Pumpkin's visit but on the plus side, there were a few more bucks in Bird Song's bank account. He decided to be civil. "Putting the cross country hike on hold?" he asked as he poured a cup of coffee.
"Got more important responsibilities now," he said as he offered Melissa a chair and a breakfast roll. "Some kids are saying that guy Fitzgerald chased Billy down the mountain and got him killed. Melissa's thinking about maybe suing him." Before Dean could comment, Pumpkin turned to Martha. "You're the kid who found the bones, aren't you?" Martha responded affirmatively just as Cynthia called to her from the kitchen. Dean followed. While he was interested in what Pumpkin said about Fitzgerald, he wanted to get Martha away from any questions about the skeleton before he could do the asking.
"I thought about the dead guy a lot while I was gone," Martha said as soon as they reached the kitchen. "The guy in the mine- remember?"
"Of course we remember, Martha," Cynthia said. "We promised we'd look into it. We know how important it is to you."
She seemed pleased, as if their remembered vow reinforced their commitment to her.
"Did you find out who he was?"
"We did a lot of digging," Dean answered. "We were sure we had identified him but now we believe we were wrong. He doesn't seem to be the man we suspected."
"Oh." Disappointment dripped from her voice.
"We haven't given up," Cynthia added. "We've accomplished a lot and we certainly haven't forgotten our promise to you."
The Deans took turns relating the story, careful to include all the pertinent details. Martha listened, her initial disappointment melting away. She was enthralled with the lengthy explanation and they were surprised in the telling how much had happened in the short time she was away. Her only interruption was when Dean described the bones Fitzgerald had allegedly located. She was quick to deny that they were the ones she'd found, but they continued with the story without asking her the details of her initial discovery. Eyes widened when she learned someone had pilfered the small finger bone from Cynthia's bureau and she shivered when told the Deans had been followed into the mine.
"It's like a real mystery!" she exclaimed when they paused. "It's just like one of Fred's books! He must be really happy."
"It's been a busy time for Fred since you left. He even managed to spend a night in jail." Dean minimized the ordeal by saying it was one more adventure with which Fred could wow his lady friends.