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."Cut down on the BS.What's the story?"Sherman said nothing.Chandler glanced at him, noticed his expression.Said, "Sorry.I didn't meanto sound so impatient.""The story is that a little trading post at Short Mountain, way up in thenorthwest corner of the Navajo Reservation, got burglarized some years back.Owner gave the cops a list of missing stuff, including a very expensivediamond.When this robbery-homicide Tuve pulled off came up, with Tuve tryingto pawn a big diamond, the old Navajo cop who had worked the Short Mountaincase checked on it.The trader claimed a cowboy had come in out of a snowstormand traded it to him for some groceries and a ride into Page.This cowboy saidhe was down at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and an old man came along andswapped him the diamond for a fancy jackknife he had."Chandler considered this without comment."End of story," Sherman said."You ready to have me hurry through the otherone?""You have the name of the Navajo cop who checked into this? Or the tradingpost owner? Or whether this diamond swap was in the same part of the canyon?That damned Grand Canyon is two hundred and seventy-seven miles long and morethan ten miles wide."Page 54 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"It couldn't be as long as that," Sherman said."And I don't know where he gotthe diamond.Don't know the names, either.But I guess I can get them.""I'll want them," Chandler said."Now, what's the other story?""Exactly what you'd expect.The widow of the guy killed in that curio storerobbery claims Tuve lied in his story about where he got that stone.She saidher husband had that big diamond for years and she wanted to make damn surethe law took good care of it and gave it back to her when the trial was over."Chandler laughed.Sherman grinned at him."I didn't really think that would surprise you.""It doesn't," Chandler said."I think I may have gotten myself involved in asituation in which diamonds have punched the avarice button on two greedywomen.""Two? Who's the other one? You mean that Craig woman? How does she fit in?"Sherman was leaning back against the passenger-side door, studying Chandler,watching a driver who had hoped to use the turnout lane creeping cautiouslypast.Chandler ignored the question."I think you need to tell me what this is all about," Sherman said."OtherwiseI might run across something useful and not even know it.""Like what?""Well, hell.Like who we're trying to find.He might walk right past me."Chandler laughed."I don't think that's likely.This guy who is being lookedfor is dead.""Dead?""And we're not trying to find him.Or if we do, we'll never admit it.We'lljust hide him again."Sherman, not enjoying this, said, "I don't like playing children's guessinggames.What are you paying me to do?"Chandler took a folded envelope out of his shirt pocket."There's a list of stuff in here.Where you can find me, phone number, allthat.And a list of instructions.Information I need.Names.All that.Then Iwant you to locate Tuve, find that woman who posted bond for him.If she wentback to where she came from, find her address and what she does there.If shestayed out here, find out where and what she's doing.Who she's talking to,all that."Sherman took the envelope, extracted the note inside, read it, stared atChandler."I'll still say I could be a lot more useful, and quicker, if I know what ourgoal is in all this."Chandler nodded.He gave Sherman a quick summary starting with the airlinesPage 55 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcolliding, then moving on to the diamond case padlocked to the arm.But howmuch of this did he want Sherman to know?"It was a man named Clarke," he continued."Like most of the victims, his bodywas never recovered."Sherman was frowning."You going to tell me we're looking for this Clarkebird? Dead for how many years?""No.I was going to tell you that a daughter of his old girlfriend got apsychic message through some spiritualist that Clarke had his arm torn off inthe crash, and he sent her psychic orders to find it and bury it properly withthe rest of his corpse so it would quit hurting him in the spirit world.""Come on," Sherman said."Get serious." He laughed."The one she wants is the arm that had the case of diamonds handcuffed to it."Sherman considered that for a moment, said, "Oh, I guess I get the picture.""I'm not quite certain I get it myself.But it seems like the interests youand me are representing here are the foundation which inherited all thatClarke fortune.And probably the insurance, which paid out its hundredthousand dollars maximum airline flight fee for the jewels, and somebodyinterested in patching Clarke's body back together.""And you figure that burial sentiment is actually based on trying to get thosediamonds, right?""Well, a civil suit is now hung up in court.A woman is claiming to be anout-of-wedlock granddaughter of Old Man Clarke and therefore the valid heiressto the Clarke billions.And that lawsuit was months after the news that evenold bones can yield DNA evidence to prove family lineage.""I've heard about that crash, I think," Sherman said."Long, long time ago,wasn't it? And we're trying to find the bones of that guy carrying thediamonds." He shook his head, laughed."You serious?""Well, actually it's not that simple.Here we have one side of a two-sidedgame.People on the other side are trying to find those bones and use them tocapture the Clarke fortune," Chandler said."Our job is to make sure that poorfellow's bones stay lost and never get dragged into a courtroom."Sherman considered that, face solemn.Then he smiled."Yeah," he said."Thatsounds like a worthy cause with righteous purposes.And I can see how thatwould be a lot easier."Chandler nodded."Finding old bones down in that canyon is worse than hunting the needle in thehaystack.It's like hunting the needle in a whole farm full of haystacks.Andnot even knowing which farm it's on
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