It was lunchtime before Dean was able to question Martha in detail about her original discovery, but the results were disappointing. She described the skeleton as gross, with dead stuff clinging to some of the bones. He had white hair. Not much beyond that, because, as she put it, she and Caleb didn't stick around 'cause the light went out almost at once. She repeated that the skull was crushed.
"Tell me about the cigarettes you mentioned," Dean asked. He explained no cigarettes were found with the remains Fitzgerald brought to Bird Song nor was there any such evidence when the Deans visited the site.
She scrunched her eyes, trying to remember. "They weren't like what you buy today," Martha answered. "It was a green tin, with a red spot on it."
"Tin?" Cynthia asked. "Like a cigarette case in the movies?"
"No. It was like they came in it from the store but a different kind of package."
Fred came into the room, fresh from his uptown trip. In spite of the happy group that greeted him, Fred's somber mood didn't mirror theirs. He was, however, quick to pick up on Martha's description of the cigarette package. "Lucky Strike Greens," he said. "Flat Fifties by the sound of it. First cigarettes I ever smoked. They came in a flat green tin-fifty of 'em. That's how they got the name."
"How long were they around?" Dean asked.
"Before the war. After that, metal was too important to waste."
"That's too long ago for the skeleton to be Josh Mulligan," Cynthia said. "Jennifer didn't lie about her father."
"That dates our skeleton twenty or more years older than the1960's," Dean said. He turned to Fred, patting him on the back. "Good memory, good job!" Then he added, "You should be pleased, not looking like your dog just died. What's the matter?"
"You ain't going to like this." As usual, Fred paused for emphasis.
"How will I know if you don't tell me?"
"You ain't running unopposed no more."
"Fitzgerald isn't going to withdraw as a candidate?" Cynthia asked.
"Nope," Fred answered. "The redhead tossed her hat in the ring. Lydia Larkin is running for sheriff."