Page 92 of The Bone Code
My romp through the medical literature triggered flashbacks of the corpse Klopp had autopsied the day of our skeletal analyses at the hospital in Charleston. And sparked questions about the situation there. Primary among them, why the sudden spike in capno cases?
I glanced up from my laptop to find Birdie stretched full length on the table beside me. When I shifted in my chair, he raised his head and fixed me with a look I couldn’t interpret. Apprehension? Annoyance? Or maybe the cat was still half asleep.
“It’s mostly from dog bites,” I said, a bit defensively.
Birdie said nothing.
“And capno is very uncommon.”
Still no response.
“Fine. There’s some sort of outbreak in Charleston. But I’m not worried.”
Birdie repositioned his chin on his paws. Satisfied with my explanation, I assumed.
Ryan returned with poke bowls, one tuna and one salmon, each with enough toppings to sink a passenger ferry. I could identify beets, carrots, mangoes, and avocados. The rest, not so much.
As we ate, I told Ryan what Claudel had said. I saw his jaw muscles bulge and his eyes light up in anger. An instant later, he seemed to be grimly calm.
“What’s their thinking?” he asked, voice flat.
“You know what I know.”
“What’syourthinking?”
“I undertipped an Uber driver?”
“Hilarious.” Ryan speared and ate what might have been an edamame bean. “What have you been working lately?”
“Seriously?”
Ryan nodded.
I listed all my recent LSJML files. The farmer in Saint-Felicien. The pharmacist in Trois-Rivières. The tweaker in the culvert in Val d’Or. The legs from Lac Saint-Jean. “But my involvement in those cases isn’t public knowledge.”
“What else?”
“Before leaving Charlotte, I did a couple of private client consults.”
“The Silver-Russell syndrome adoptee.”
“You have an excellent memory, detective. Yes. Tereza Deacon.I also agreed to look into Polly Beecroft’s missing ancestor, but I haven’t really followed through on that.”
“Unlikely someone would try to off you because of an old death mask.”
“Very. Besides, those are North Carolina issues.”
Ryan and I had the same thought at the same moment. He voiced it.
“The container cases. The older Charleston girl is related to the Montreal vics.”
“Vislosky has been pushing hard on the South Carolina end. But that’s a thousand miles from here. And the Quebec murders took place at least fifteen years ago.”
We finished our meal in silence. Ryan got up and began to clear the table, his face a stone mask that frightened me.
“Claudel and Charbonneau are on it, Ryan. They’ll find the guy. If thereisa guy.”
Ryan set down the empty bowls and took my hands, his smile of reassurance forced and unconvincing. “I have no doubt about that. But until they do, you need to be cautious.”
