Death by Dinosaur: A Sam Stellar Mystery

by Jacqueline Guest

  “Dr. Beech seems friendly,” Sam commented as she followed Jackson down the hall.

  “He’s very easy to work for,” Jackson said. “He lets everyone run their own projects without interfering or constantly monitoring them. It’s a nice change from other places I’ve worked.”

  When they arrived at the Human Resources Office, the supervisor led them down a hallway to a room filled with filing cabinets and several desktop computers. “Paige, you’ll be assigned to archive data. Your application said you were good with computers and had great keyboarding skills.”

  “Absolutely,” Paige bubbled. “I haven’t met a game console I couldn’t conquer.”

  Sam had to agree. Paige’s skills were legendary. She owed her talent to the million hours she’d spent playing video games on the free computers at the public library when she was supposed to be doing homework.

  The woman was obviously pleased. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy our new system. It’s the latest and greatest. The program is set up; you simply fill in the blanks. You’ll be transferring the information from those old card catalogues to the computer archives.” She motioned to a row of file cabinets.

  Paige took in the dozen battered steel cabinets. “All of those? There must be a zillion hours of data entry here!”

  The woman was unfazed. “Don’t worry. It’s very user-friendly. You’ll have no trouble.”

  Accepting her fate, Paige did what she always did – she made lemonade from lemons. “By the time I’m through here, my fingers will be moving at warp speed and I can really ramp up my score on Neverwinter. I couldn’t have picked a better summer job.” She gave Sam a crisp salute. “See you at lunch, Samantha.”

  Leaving Paige surrounded by the banks of cards and cheerily glowing computer screens, Jackson, the HR supervisor and Sam continued to the receiving area where Professor Caine, her new boss, waited.

  “There’s been a mistake,” Professor Caine said gruffly as he pulled off his work gloves. He was tall, with a weathered face and grey beard. “I’m expecting a young man to help on this project. His name is, let me think. Oh, yes, Sam…Sam Stellar.”

  “That’s me, sir. Samantha Stellar.” She could tell he was less than thrilled with her explanation.

  The professor curtly dismissed her. “You won’t do at all. We’ve received a very important shipment from Colombia this morning and I need someone who can help with the uncrating and move the heavy pieces. This is hard physical work. I can’t chance injuring a summer student who weighs only forty-five kilos.”

  Sam zeroed in on the part about her weight. She was no stick chick. Couldn’t he see she was in fighting form? Then her brain registered the word Colombia and her heart skipped a beat.

  This was the project she’d read about; the project she’d hoped for! She couldn’t bail now. A super sleuth had to persevere. “Professor, if you’ll give me a chance, you won’t be disappointed. I’m quite capable of doing the work.”

  Obviously agitated, Professor Caine impatiently checked his watch. “All right, all right. I don’t want any delays on this project. You can work with Jackson today. Keep in mind, if I hear any complaints, you’ll be dismissed.”

  “Awesome!” Sam exclaimed enthusiastically. She was in! Then dialling it down to a more adult level, she added politely, “I mean, thank you for this opportunity, sir.”

  Professor Caine turned to Jackson. “Why don’t you take Miss Stellar and get started. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He and the woman from Human Resources left, and, as Sam watched, she could see Professor Caine speaking animatedly.

  Probably setting up my replacement, Sam thought glumly as she followed Jackson to an adjoining work area filled with dozens of wooden crates. Her attention immediately focused as she saw Spanish writing on the boxes. If the crook wanted something South American from the museum, this shipment surely offered a nice selection.

  “Don’t let the professor get to you.” Jackson interrupted Sam’s mental case review. “He’s the same with everyone, so don’t feel he’s picking on the new gopher.”

  Sam waited expectantly.

  “You know,” he explained, “go-for-this and go-for-that.”

  “Great,” Sam groaned. “A job that’s really going places, if I get the chance and don’t get canned on my first day.”

  “Professor Caine isn’t the easiest person to work for. Still, I’ve always gotten along surprisingly well with him.” Jackson offered her a pair of work gloves. “Like me, he hasn’t been here long. In the past, he was tops in his field. In fact, he’s still the go-to guy when it comes to these exotic fossils. And when the professor sent me to Colombia to work on this project in his place, everyone thought he was terrific. It was a real opportunity to study and will do wonders for my resumé. Between you and me, I think I was picked because I speak Spanish and could explain the shipping instructions, which were extremely complicated and involved huge amounts of paperwork.”

  “Your Spanish must be off the charts to have dealt with all those details.”

  “Mi español es muy bueno. I’ve worked on a few projects from that region and it really helps if you speak the language.”

  “I guess the museum is fortunate that Professor Caine accepted a position here,” Sam said as she inspected a stack of smaller crates piled neatly by the door, noting the long number sequence on each box.

  “You bet. Apparently, he and Dr. Beech are buddies from way back. The professor wasn’t even on the radar, then out of the blue, Dr. Beech introduced him as the newest staff member. Quite a coup, actually, and he’s probably the reason the Tyrrell got this fabulous dino.” Jackson hefted a box and moved it to the work bench.

  Sam paused a moment. “He must have professional credentials out the door.”

  “You bet. Professor Caine’s past papers are university course standards. I haven’t seen any recent publications, but he’s legendary in the industry. Lately, he seems to have spent his time tracking down exotic finds such as our Colombian friend here.” He patted the box.

  Sam was shocked at this statement. “You mean there’s an actual dinosaur inside all these crates?”

  “I sure hope so,” Jackson laughed, “or everyone’s wasted a lot of time and effort.”

  Sam took in the room. “So this is how you ship dinosaurs from one place to another. It’s a giant jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces individually wrapped.”

  “Right. And our job will be to put the puzzle together again.”

  “Why is the Colombian fossil so special?” Sam carefully ran her fingertips over a rough wooden crate.

  “For two reasons,” Jackson explained. “First, because the specimen is the only one of its kind found in South America and it’s thought to be related to a species we have here called Albertosaurus. If it is in that family, it would be a major link between North and South America.”

  “And the second reason is…” Sam added helpfully.

  “The second reason is the condition of the fossil,” Jackson went on. “It’s virtually a perfect skeleton. Every bone is accounted for. Extra care was necessary so none of the hundreds of bones went missing or were damaged in shipping. That is where my trip to Colombia came in.”

  Sam noted the rows of neatly stacked boxes. “How many people are going to be working on this project, Jackson?” She walked around one box that was nearly as big as she was.

  “Eventually about a dozen scientists and technicians will be involved. For right now, Professor Caine says it’s just you and me for the uncrating.”

  This surprised Sam. “You’re kidding! Two people for all these crates?”

  “One people and one gopher,” Jackson corrected. “And Professor Caine, of course.”

  Sam puffed out her breath. “Then we’d better get started before the big guy gets back and fires the new gopher.”

  Chapter 5

  X Marks the Bone

  The small team spent the morning breaking open and discarding the crates as Professor Caine compared th
e contents against a complicated shipping manifest.

  The dinosaur skeleton had come in burlap and plaster of Paris protective jackets with the bones encased inside. Some bones were still embedded in their original rock; others, mostly the larger ones, were already broken out.

  Jackson and Sam had spent two hours loading a trolley with a crateful of smaller pieces when Professor Caine walked over to them.

  “We’re doing better than I expected,” he said as he inspected one of the plaster-covered bones on the cart. “In fact, I’ll get started on these and cross-check the bone count against the original data you brought back from Colombia, Jackson. You two continue with the uncrating.” He pushed the trolley into an adjoining work area and started unloading the pieces onto a table.

  Sam watched as Professor Caine carefully and almost lovingly laid out the small plastered items.

  He was concentrating so hard, he never reacted when a page for him came over the public address system. Sam waited. After the third call, she had to do something and walked into to the work area. “Excuse me, Professor,” she interrupted. “You’re being paged to Doctor Beech’s office.”

  “Not now!” he snapped, obviously annoyed at having his work interrupted. “What? Oh, the page. Was it for me?”

  “Yes, sir,” Sam added politely. “Dr. Beech wants you.”

  Muttering under his breath, the professor left to answer the summons.

  Sam noticed Jackson was still hard at work on a large crate. Curious to see what all the small plaster jackets contained, Sam decided to be extra helpful and continue with the pieces Professor Caine had been working on. She hoped he would cut open the jackets after the sorting was finished, and, who knows, she might get a gold star for going above and beyond the call of duty.

  The packing list was on the table with the fossils. Sam scanned the sheet, which told her these bones were vertebrae – part of the dinosaur’s spine.

  Sam read each fossil’s long reference code. All the pieces had a complicated numbering system written on them. “I’m amazed at how carefully every piece is marked,” she called to Jackson as she set a specimen in its correct numerical position.

  “They have to be, Gopher.” Jackson leaned on a crowbar trying to pop a board off his crate. “Or the bones could get mixed and the palaeontologists might reconstruct a dinosaur that belonged in a galaxy far, far away.”

  Sam scanned the room filled with crates and bones. “Wow, you could build an entire cast for a new sci-fi movie out of a dino this size.”

  “Right, which is why everything is so well documented from the initial find in the field right down to its positioning in a display.” Jackson wrenched on the board and it groaned, then shrieked, as it splintered apart.

  The noise was unnerving and Sam flinched. Taking extra, extra care, she went through the group of specimens she was working on.

  The manifest listed one through twenty-three for the head to pelvis section; then the group of five pelvis bones and finally, the thirty-two vertebrae that made up the tail section of the spine.

  The last and smallest pieces of the tail were the ones Professor Caine had been working on, and these Sam placed in their correct alignment on the wide table, then stepped back to survey the work. The spine would be perfect once the vertebrae were broken out of their protective plaster jackets.

  Then she spotted it. There was another piece on the table.

  Sam went over her sheets. All sixty vertebrae were accounted for. She recounted the column of bones. Nope, she hadn’t made any mistakes.

  Picking up the extra piece, she immediately saw there was something strange about it. Not only didn’t it have the usual long reference number, the placement code was missing too. Instead, all it had was a black letter X written clearly on one side. She noticed another odd thing about the piece. Whoever put on the plaster jacket had done a really sloppy job.

  Scanning the rest of the sheets, Sam tried to find a notation for the strange specimen. Everything had strings of numbers attached; none with the single letter X.

  “Jackson, can you come here for a minute?” He walked over and she gave him the odd sample.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Jackson inspected the piece.

  “Don’t you see? It doesn’t fit, unless this dinosaur has a spare vertebra.” She waited for him to continue his inspection. “Plus, no numbers. Only that X.”

  Jackson shook his head. “It doesn’t appear to be a real fossil, Sam. Probably nothing more than an extra chunk of plaster.” He gave it back. “Perhaps this is some Colombian palaeonto-logist’s idea of a joke on us Canadienses. I’ll take care of it later.”

  Sam watched him walk back to the crate he was working on. He was pretty certain about it not being a real fossil. Fine for him, except she was sure it really was something. Something important. She knew it. Her weirdometer was buzzing so hard it made her ears itch. She placed the extra piece next to the tidy line of vertebrae arranged on the table and went to join Jackson.

  “I don’t think the South American scientists would pull any crazy tricks with a shipment this important. And if it’s only a chunk of plaster, why did someone take the time to mark it? I think it’s an actual bone.”

  Jackson put his hammer down. “Okay, Gopher. You have one piece which doesn’t fit or it could be a fragment broken off a larger piece. Don’t worry about it. I said I’d deal with it.” He went back to work.

  Sam couldn’t understand his casual attitude. For a scientist, he wasn’t very curious. “I think it’s important and I’m going to tell Professor Caine.” She turned to leave, then Jackson’s voice stopped her.

  “All right, Sam, relax. Take it easy,” he said. “I’ll tell you what, it’s lunchtime. Why don’t you go, and I’ll let Professor Caine know about this piece of plaster, which may or may not be an extra fossil.”

  “Promise?” She held up three fingers in a Scout salute.

  “Don’t worry. The professor will probably solve the mystery by breaking it open to see if it’s real.”

  Sam decided there was nothing more she could do, and she was supposed to meet Paige for lunch. She went back to the work table and picked up the misshapen piece. As she turned it over, the plaster jacket moved. She shook the piece and it rattled faintly. There was something inside! A mystery fossil! When Professor Caine opened it up, she’d be proven right. Carefully, she replaced the plaster on the table. “See you after lunch, Jackson,” she called as she left the room.

  “Yeah, sure…lunch,” he muttered, still concentrating on his task.

  Sam was excited about her puzzling find. Wait till Paige heard about this! As she hurried out of the uncrating room, she ran smack into Doctor Beech.

  “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry, sir,” she apologized. Had Professor Caine talked Doctor Beech into canning her? Was he here to tell her she was going to be replaced on the project?

  “No harm done,” he said, straightening his suit coat. “Is Professor Caine back yet?”

  Sam relaxed. He wasn’t here to deliver bad news. “Not yet. Would you like me to find him for you?”

  “No, no. Nothing that can’t wait till after lunch,” he said without urgency.

  “That’s where I’m headed now,” Sam said.

  “Then don’t let me keep you, young lady. You’ll need to keep up your strength if you want to be a good gopher.”

  Sam noted the use of her newly bestowed title. “I couldn’t agree more, Doctor Beech.” Her new employee jitters calmed, she felt like an accepted member of the team as she went to find Paige.

  •••

  The girls sat together at Paige’s hastily cleared desk to eat their lunch. Paige listened attentively and was very interested as Sam explained all about the extra piece of bone, or maybe plaster, she had found.

  “How do you know…” Paige took a large bite of the tuna and dill pickle sandwich Mrs. O’Reilly had made that morning, “…there’s a bone inside?”

  A sliver of pickle stuck to one of
Paige’s front teeth and Sam tried to avoid staring at the green glob. “I don’t. What I do know is that it’s shaped similar to all the other spinal pieces and it was included with them in the crate.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I think it’s a mystery vertebra.”

  Paige continued chewing slowly and thoughtfully. Sam was reminded of a contented cow working on her cud. She loved her cousin. Who wouldn’t?

  Crunching noisily into a crisp, red apple, Sam wiped at the juice dribbling down her chin with her sleeve. If their mothers could see them now, they’d be drilled in table manners for the next year. “I’m hoping Professor Caine will open the piece up and solve the mystery after lunch.”

  “That is, if there is a mystery, Sam.” Paige gave her a look that spoke megabytes. “You said yourself; it could be a simple piece of junk plaster.”

  Sam waved her apple dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, no 007 stuff. But there’s something inside. It rattled.”

  Her hand stopped waving and came to rest on the phone sitting beside their brown bag lunches. “Do you mind if I make a call?” she asked.

  “Knock yourself out,” Paige said casually as she checked her bag for more goodies.

  Sam pulled the mystery phone number out of her jeans and dialed, then waited. This was her chance to crack the case wide open. (She was sure it was a case.) With a click, a canned voice came on the line announcing she had reached the office of Doctor Charles Feldman and to leave a message.

  “Gottcha!” Sam crowed as she punched her fist into the air.

  “What?” Paige asked. “Got who?”

  Sam held up the slip of paper with the number. “The phone number I so cleverly procured belongs to one Doctor C. Feldman – the probable bone thief I’m tracking!”

  Paige shook her head. “Sorry to break it to you, Girl Wonder, but I happen to know Doc Feldman can’t be your dude.”

  Sam frowned. “Why not? This is the number Agent D wrote in the phone booth and it goes straight to Feldman’s phone?”

  “Because I had a question about an entry the doc made on one of my data cards and when I called him, I got no answer. I asked my supervisor if Doctor Feldman was on holidays and she told me he’s been on a dig in Outer, or was it Inner, Mongolia for the past year and the switchboard must not have cleared his messages.”