Alex looked almost relaxed.
Shannon handed Quinn a half-empty packet of M&Ms. “Don’t worry, Mum. I didn’t give them too much. Only four pieces each. And I might have had a few,” she added, grinning impishly. “Could never resist chocolate, me.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Got what you came for?” Shannon asked.
“Not nearly as much as I’d hoped for, but yes. Thank you both,” Quinn said, and pushed the buggy toward the exit, the folder beneath her arm. Rhys would not be too happy with the lack of factual information, but Quinn had enough to update Katya. She took out her mobile and selected her number.
“Quinn, hi,” Katya said cheerily. “How are you?”
“I’m all right,” Quinn said. “Actually, I was just leaving the mortuary.”
Katya’s voice instantly changed. “Was Dr. Scott able to learn anything?”
“Tell you what. Why don’t you bring Vanessa by for a playdate tomorrow afternoon, and you and I can chat? How does that sound?”
“Sounds great, actually. I’m going mad with boredom. This stay-at-home mum thing is not quite what I had envisioned.”
“It does get lonely,” Quinn agreed.
“See you tomorrow,” Katya said.
“Vanessa is coming over to play tomorrow,” Quinn announced, getting happy smiles from the kids. “Now, let’s go home and get dinner started. Daddy and Emma will be home soon.”
Chapter 16
“Nothing?” Gabe asked as he stacked the dishes in the dishwasher. The children were in the lounge, watching Trolls, with Emma in charge. For the moment, all was quiet.
“He says the skeleton was too badly damaged by the roots to be able to determine the cause of death.”
“Well, we did think as much,” Gabe said, his expression thoughtful. “I suppose we can work backwards.”
“How so?” Quinn asked.
“We did not find a bullet buried with the skeleton, which means he wasn’t shot,” Gabe theorized.
“He may have been. Without soft tissue, we have no way of knowing if there was an entry or an exit wound.”
“True. Well, we know he wasn’t hanged,” Gabe suggested, smiling guiltily because he knew that was another erroneous supposition.
“We don’t. Not every hanging breaks the neck.”
“So, what do we know?” Gabe asked.
“Absolutely nothing. Impossible to make out if there are nicks from a sword or any evidence of a knife wound. If he was shot, he may have died instantly or bled to death. If he was hanged, we have no tangible proof, and if he died of any other cause, such as a fever, poisoning, or even a heart attack, we have no way to discover that either. All we know at this stage is that he was a well-fed, youngish man who was most likely not of noble birth, given the ridges on his wrists and ankles.”
“But you think the remains we’ve excavated are those of Ben Wilder?” Gabe asked. Quinn had filled him in on everything she’d seen in her visions.
“Or Derek. They wore identical rings, and even though I’m seeing Ben’s version of events, it’s entirely possible that Derek had been wearing his brother’s ring at the time of death. They could have easily mixed them up.”
“Yes, I suppose so. But what would a farmer from Long Island be doing in Hertfordshire?”
“That is the million-dollar question,” Quinn replied.
“And I might have the answer,” Gabe said, leaning against the worktop, his arms crossed as he ran with his theory. “If either brother was a royalist, he might have been forcibly sent back to England. Many royalists were victims of a mob. They were dragged from their homes and forced onto a departing ship in nothing but the clothes they stood up in. They arrived in England with not a penny to their name and a substantial debt for their passage and meals.”
“Milford was a small colonial town. It had no port, hence no departing ships,” Quinn pointed out.
“No, but there’s nothing to suggest one of the brothers might not have been taken in New York. Were they involved in anything untoward, do you think?”
“I haven’t seen enough to make that determination. All I saw was an ordinary family that happened to be living through a turbulent time in their country’s history.”
“And Alice? Any ideas about her?” Gabe asked.
“Not yet. I should ask Colin what percentage of people who develop amnesia as a result of blunt force trauma recover their memories.”
“It would have to be a significant number, or a good portion of the population would have no recollection of having lived before getting struck on the head.”
“Do you think that many people sustain head injuries?” Quinn asked.
“More than you imagine. I have,” Gabe