Part 20 (1/2)
Garnett walked over to the three of them. ”You didn't know about this?” he asked.
”No,” said Diane.
”Is he allowed to do this... call this kind of meeting on his own?” Garnett asked.
She had never told Jin he couldn't. It never occurred to her to say, Jin, don't call meetings of U.S. marshals and the chief of detectives without my approval. Jin, don't call meetings of U.S. marshals and the chief of detectives without my approval.
Diane pinched the bridge of her nose. The thing about her crew was you had to be specific with instructions.
”I see he didn't ask Riddmann to attend,” said Diane, looking around her. ”That's a plus.”
”I have some news for you about Riddmann,” said Garnett in a low voice.
Diane raised her eyebrows. ”He's moving to Alaska, I hope?”
Garnett ignored her. ”You know how guilty he looked when you accused him of leaking to the press about the museum issue?” he said.
”I remember very well. Don't tell me he's behind it,” said Diane.
”No, I don't think he is. At least my sources tell me he isn't. But he did do something to twist the knife a little. He had one of his staff call in to the radio talk show and ask questions designed to embarra.s.s the museum. It was aimed at Mrs. Van Ross.”
”Well, he hit his mark. It upset her, which is not a good thing,” said Diane. ”He has to know that sometimes payback's a b.i.t.c.h.”
”That's why he did it anonymously. And it would have stayed that way, but I have an ear in his department. Just thought you'd like to know.”
”You never know who's listening in Rosewood, do you? I'm glad you found out,” said Diane. ”And I'm glad you told me. That little p.i.s.sant.”
”Any idea what this is about?” Garnett gestured to the Christmas trees and the lined-up chairs.
”Not a clue,” said Diane. ”Neither does David. When he called I thought you were here to tell me you had found Clymene's body.”
”We've come up empty so far on that,” he said.
”How about my attacker?” said Diane.
”Nothing yet. I'm still waiting for DNA results from Jin on the hair snagged on Andie's purse.”
”It takes time. We just got the lab calibrated and certified and we already have people sending us samples. The backlog of DNA a.n.a.lysis in this country is . . .”
Jin appeared through the elevator doors. He was carrying what looked like handouts. What on earth? What on earth? thought Diane. thought Diane.
”Jin,” she said. ”What's this about?”
”All in good time,” he said, grinning.
He was so hyperactive the marshals might have thought he'd been drinking too much caffeine, but Jin was always like this. Whatever he was up to, he had told neither Neva nor David. This would be interesting.
”Everyone sit down, please. I believe I have chairs for everyone,” said Jin as if he were the host at a professional conference.
Diane watched his head bob gently as he silently counted the people and the chairs. Eight people, eight chairs. The marshals were already sitting. Kingsley and Jacobs sat beside them, then Garnett, Diane, Neva, and David.
Kingsley leaned over and spoke to Diane. ”You were right.” He pulled up his sleeve and pointed to a bruise on his forearm. ”Barbiturates.” He looked up at Jin, then back at Diane and grinned. ”I'll talk with you after the show.”
”I'm sure you all are wondering why I called this meeting,” said Jin. ”We're going to have a short workshop on genetics.”
”What?” said Deputy Marshal Dylan Drew. ”You called us here for a workshop?”
”Now, please bear with me, because the payoff is great,” said Jin. ”There's been some interesting progress made in the world of genetics lately. What I want to talk to you about is epigenetics. Epigenetics studies the changes in gene expression that don't require changes in the base sequence of the DNA itself.”
”Okay, son,” said Deputy Marshal Chad Merrick, ”you've lost me already. What the h.e.l.l are you talking about and how does it affect me and my partner here? And can you please stop pacing and moving around?”
”He can't,” said David.
Neva shook her head. ”Nope, he really can't.”
Jin ignored his coworkers. ”I'm talking about making changes in the way genes”-he seemed to be searching his brain for a word-”the things that make genes function differently-when the basic DNA is still the same.”
”Not helping,” said Merrick.
”That's why I got the Christmas trees,” said Jin.
”I've been sitting here worrying about that,” said Drew.
”Say you have a gene for lung cancer but it is turned off-not doing anything. But because of your environment, say one full of secondhand smoke, a certain chemical group hooks onto your chromosome-like the decorations hooked onto a Christmas tree-and turns the gene on and you get cancer.
”Let's say these two identical Christmas trees were bought at the same place but taken to two different homes where they were decorated differently. The trees look different to us because of what's hanging on them, but underneath they are just alike. That's like two people with the same DNA who have lived in different environments.”
Jin held a red tree ornament in one hand and a blue ornament in the other. ”For two DNA sample profiles that look just alike on the base indicators, you can do an epigenetic profile, which means taking a little wider focus on the DNA structure, and see these differences,” he said, indicating the different colored ornaments.
The hairs on the back of Diane's neck stood up. She glanced over at Kingsley, who looked wide-eyed.
Chad Merrick straightened up in his chair. ”This has to do with Clymene or we wouldn't be here. Are you saying that Clymene is a twin?”
”No, not a twin,” said Jin, grinning.
Now Diane was confused. That is exactly what she thought he was saying. So did Kingsley and the others.
David looked at her as if to say, I can't do anything with him. I can't do anything with him.
The marshals frowned at Jin.
”Let me tell you what got me to thinking about this,” he said.
”If it clears things up, go to it, son,” said Merrick.
”Too many things didn't add up. For one thing, why didn't anybody in Dr. Fallon's apartment building hear anything? Were they all drugged? Let me tell you, if the odd couple across the hall heard a life-and-death struggle going on, they would have been over there, and so would the people from downstairs. And why was Dr. Fallon drugged to make her sleep through the whole thing? You have to ask yourself that.”