Кэти Райх - A Conspiracy of Bones

Lizzie said nothing.

“Some personal items suggest he might not be local.” I finger-tapped the envelope. “It’s all here.”

Lizzie made no move toward Hawkins’s illegal plunder. “Let me guess. Heavner’s icing you out.”

“She is.”

“You do plenty of consults. Why lose sleep over this one?”

The same question I’d asked myself. “I’m not sure. I mean, the guy could have kids, a wife, a”—undirected, one hand rose into the air—“a cocker spaniel.”

“Come on, Tempe. We both know the game. Every death leaves a hole in someone’s life.”

The hand dropped back to the table. “Fine. Full disclosure. I think Heavner’s going full-on Dr. Morgue again.”

“Exploiting the situation to get her face on TV?”

“She called a presser, played up the”—I hooked air quotes—“ ‘mystery’ surrounding the case.”

Lizzie leaned back and ran a hand down one cheek. Her knuckles were knobbier, her skin more liver-spotted than I recalled.

Several moments passed. Suzy cleared our plates, brought mugs, and filled them. I added cream. Lizzie added nothing. Stirred anyway, still considering the implications of what I was asking.

I braced for the blow-off. Instead, “Where would you float it?”

“I’d have to figure out where to show it around.”

Our eyes met. I could almost hear the gears clicking in her head.

“It’s a long shot,” she said.

“To Uranus and back.”

“Won’t be worth a frog’s dick in court.”

“I know.”

“Joe Hawkins?” Gesturing again toward the envelope.

I didn’t confirm or deny.

“Who took the sample?” Meaning: it was collected covertly, so can the swab be trusted?

“I did.” Meaning: yes.

“Going off script could get you permanently canned,” Lizzie said.

“I don’t see Heavner featuring me on future rosters.”

Until then, the ugly prospect had only hovered, black and fluttery, at the periphery of my perception. Voicing the words brought the concept into stark reality. After decades, I’d be permanently out at the MCME.

“We’d be talking hypotheticals,” Lizzie said, voice low.

“I’d owe you big-time.”

Lizzie shotgunned the last of her coffee. Crossed her arms and sat still as a bonsai. Seconds passed. A full minute. Then, “You’re gonna love yacking prickly pear and aloe with Mom.”

The comment sounded just the wrong side of a promise.

I kept the papers. Lizzie took the tube.

It was past eleven when I got back to the annex. Pumped on adrenaline and coffee, which I’d been advised by my neurologist to avoid, I knew sleep wasn’t on the radar.

After changing into a clean tee and boxers, propped against bed pillows, I began going through Hawkins’s ex officio dossier.

I approached the contents chronologically, starting with the incident report from the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department. Case number : 18-36-4129. Date : June 29, 2018. Time : 1121. Location : Earl, NC. Lead Detective : Ben Spevack, Criminal Investigation Division. Incident Type : Death investigation. Decedent’s Name : Blank. Eyewitnesses : Blank.

A hand-scrawled summary stated the following.

At approximately 0645, June 29, 2018, Ardis Goncalves, age 14, and Jaden Fazio, age 13, arrived by bicycle at a point where Lick Branch cuts south off Buffalo Creek, east of NC-198, just north of the South Carolina state line. The boys had gone to the location for the purpose of fishing. Upon arrival, they spotted two feral hogs at the water’s edge, threw rocks, approached when the hogs ran off. Observing a dead body, the boys pedaled to the Fazio home. At 0736 Dodie Fazio dialed 911 to alert the authorities.

The decedent was initially observed by first responder Sheriff’s Deputy Cory Jenkins to be clothed, of medium build, with dark hair, lying supine, with feet toward, head oriented away from the creek. No appearance of projectile, sharp or blunt instrument, or vehicular trauma. No signs of defense wounding on lower arms. (Hands not observable.) Mutilation of face, midsection, and hands due to hogs. Blood staining on clothing, soil and vegetation under head, and midsection suggestive of massive bleeding. No attempt made to move body to observe lividity.

Decedent was wearing cream-colored shirt, brown pants, black shoes, no socks. No jewelry, wallet, or keys in vicinity. No drugs or weapons. No suicide note. No signs of foul play. Decedent is believed to have reached the site on foot .

I leaned back, skin twitchy. What were my instincts telling me now?

I reread the summary, more slowly. No epiphany. But I was more wide awake than ever.

Shocked that Hawkins had managed to sneak them, I shifted to the photocopy of Heavner’s preliminary autopsy notes.

DECEDENT

Case Number : MCME 304-18. Name : Unknown. N e xt of Kin : Unknown. Location Last Seen Alive : Unknown. Vehicle Involved : Unknown. Reporting Agency : Cleveland County SD. Case Type : Unidentified fresh body.

EXTERNAL EXAM

Body Condition : Intact save for significant postmortem damage to face, hands, and abdomen due to animal scavenging. Feral hogs reported at body location. Rigor : Full: Livor : Posterior, purple, fixed.

Body Length : 68.5 inches. Weight : 158 pounds. Hair : Black and abundant, cut short. Eyes : Unobservable. Nasal Cavities and Other Facial Features : Unobservable. Ears : Clotted blood on external ears, otherwise unremarkable. Teeth : Anterior damaged and incomplete (postmortem), posterior natural, in good repair. Glasses/contacts : Unknown.

Small raised brown mole below right nipple.

No evidence of disease, congenital abnormality, or medical intervention.

INTERNAL EXAM

Heavner noted that the man’s heart weighed 270 grams and was grossly unremarkable. His pericardial sac was free of fluid and adhesions. His cardiac vessels were patent and followed the usual distribution with no evidence of atherosclerosis or thrombosis. His lungs were normal, his airways free of obstruction or foreign debris.

The man’s brain weighed 1,360 grams and was grossly unremarkable. His adrenal and thyroid glands, immunological system, musculoskeletal system, and skin were grossly unremarkable. Ditto the one remaining kidney.

The liver, spleen, pancreas, gall bladder, appendix, stomach, intestines, and left kidney were not present for observation or weighing.

Radiographs were taken. Aortic and inferior vena cava blood samples were retained for toxicologic analysis. Microscopic analysis to follow.

Heavner’s notes concluded with:

The body is that of a well-developed, well-nourished adult Asian (?) male appearing compatible with an estimated age of 25 to 35 years.

CAUSE/MANNER OF DEATH: Undetermined.

Bottom line. Heavner hadn’t a clue who the guy was or what had killed him. Yet there she was, talking him up to the media. Would an interview with Nick Body be next?

Leaving Barrington’s, I’d felt psyched. Certain I could slap a name on the faceless man. Certain that if he’d been murdered, I could help nail the bastards who did it.

While I had been en route to the annex, bubble-wrapped in the dark stillness inside my car, Lizzie’s question had arrowed back, tough and unbending.

Why did I care so deeply about this case? Was I really driven by a desire to do right by the victim? To return his body to those who’d loved him? To gain justice for his death?

Or was the truth somewhat less admirable? Was I on a personal crusade to destroy Margot Heavner? To punish her for supporting Nick Body and the malice that he and his kind represented?