Page 6 of The Bone Code
“Celsius.”
“Ç’est frette en esti.” Translation: bloody cold. “I’m hearing reports of a wee squall down your way.”
“The models are all over the map. As usual. Some suggest Inara could hit the Carolinas. Others have her heading west to Keokuk.”
“Where’s that?”
“Iowa.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. It’s the southeasternmost city in the state.”
Ryan ignored that. “Any chance Charlotte could be in the crosshairs?”
“Highly unlikely.”
“It has happened.”
“It has.”
“How’s the Birdcat coping?”
“Poorly. Listen, Ryan, I appreciate you checking in, but I have to finish up an analysis involving a potential child endangerment. Maybe homicide.”
“Potential?”
“It’s complicated.”
“For years, I was a cop.”
“It said so right on your badge.” Referencing one of Ryan’s favorite new lines.
“It did.”
“OK.” I organized the basics in my head. “The victim lived here in North Carolina. Last week, she was found dead in her home. An autopsy showed no evidence of trauma, but toxicology testing revealed lethal blood alcohol levels.”
“Where were the parents?”
“Off sailing the Caribbean.”
“How old was the vic?”
“The detective zings straight to the core.”
“Former detective.”
“Right. The victim—her name is Tereza—came to the U.S. via a Bulgarian adoption agency in 2012. At the time, the parents were told she was seven years old. But they claim to have subsequently uncovered records listing Tereza’s date of birth as 2000, not 2005. That would make her twenty when she died, not fifteen.”
“An adult, not a minor.”
“Bingo.”
“So perfectly legal to be home alone. What’s the problem?”
“Tereza told everyone she was born in 2005. The agency insists that’s the case.”
“The kid had no friends?”
