When Dean told Fred about Fitzgerald's death Fred immediately, in his best I-told-you-so tone, assigned the guilt to Lydia Larkin. Dean explained her reaction to the news, but that did nothing to deter Fred from his steadfast opinion. He was disheartened that Dean had no intention of running over to the crime scene, where Dean had no business whatsoever.
While Dean's mind whirled with this latest news, there was nothing he could do but let it play out. An autopsy would surely reveal Fitzgerald's knife wound, bringing Lydia Larkin's complicity into play, and probably Dean's. The big question remained: was it a suicide? And if not, a raft of who and why questions.
"Metalman29 answered his e-mail," Fred said, reminding Dean of their other less serious problem, Martha's bones. Dean leaned over his stepfather's shoulder to read the terse response. It was disappointing.
"I'll be in contact," was all the message said.
"That doesn't tell us a whole lot," Fred grumbled as he poked at the keys.
"Did you learn anything new at the library?" Dean asked.
"It was like fishing in a bath tub and hoping for a bite. I looked in the late 1930's and early '40's but nothing much caught my eye. There was a lot about some guy from here who turned up missing fishing over on the Gunnison River, but they just stopped mentioning it after a few weeks. It never did say if they found his body. My guess is our skeleton friend wasn't important enough to even make the press."
"If that were the case, why did someone try so hard to cover up his identity?" Dean asked. "Somebody switched the bones, stole the finger, and took the cigarette tin. That sounds like someone thought he was important."
Fred shrugged as he continued to pound away at the keys. "Want to see what a Lucky Strike Green Flat Fifty tin looks like?" he asked.
"Sure," said Dean as Fred typed. "I guess you can find anything on the Internet, can't you?" Dean said as he peered at the screen.
"This here's eBay. This stuff is up for auction."
"There are forty of them!"
"There's only a half dozen Lucky Strikes. The rest are different kinds. Looks like you can buy one for about ten bucks unless some late bidder jumps in and kicks up the price." A picture of the tin came up on the screen. It was as Martha described-green, with the familiar Lucky Strike label in red at the center. The description listed the measurements at 5 3/4 X 4 1/2 X 1/2 inches. The seller's e-mail was noted and his location listed as Pennsylvania.