Page 102 of Evil Bones
“It’s that vet, yeah?” This time Slidell did address me, oblivious to the fact I was fighting back tears.
I nodded.
“What’s his name?”
“Balodis,” I managed. “Ralph Balodis.”
“Any idea who might have offed him?”
I shook my head slowly.
“Any idea how long he’s been dead?”
I forced myself to appraise objectively.
“Not long,” I said, not up to sharing details about livor and rigor and decomp and flies.
“Can you be more specific?” Slidell’s voice was taking on that edge.
“Given this damn freaking heat, I’d say less than forty-eight hours.”
Slidell’s brows floated up at my sharpness.
“But that’s only a prelim—”
“Yeah, yeah. You seen enough so’s your boss’ll be happy?”
I nodded. Slapped a mosquito on my neck.
“I’m green-lighting a body bag to get this stiff gone.” Yanking his mobile from his belt. “If those girls are still here, how about you keep ’em distracted.”
“Has someone called their parents?”
“How the bloody hell would I know?”
Inwardly cursing Slidell’s boorishness, I turned and walked back toward the scout headquarters building.
To say the girls were eager to discuss their discovery would be the understatement of the century. Even though they’d already given two accounts—one for the MCME transport crew, one for the cops—they were on fire to retell their most excellent adventure. I had to keep reminding them to speak one at a time.
There were three in all. Elodie Timmons. Georgia French. Rivka Steiner. I guessed they were all about fourteen. Couldn’t help thinking the trio looked like a Benetton ad.
Timmons’s skin was cocoa, her cornrows parted with surgical precision. She was every bit my height.
French had short, curly carroty hair. Nervous, she kept picking at cheeks scattershot with acne.
Steiner was a study in contrasts with wintery pale skin and very dark hair. Her hazel eyes were magnified by lenses attesting to lousy eyesight.
Knowing I should wait until a parent was present, I approached them.
“Hey,” I started out.
“Hey,” they mumbled in unison.
“Rough morning?”
“Beyondo rando,” Timmons said.
“Care to talk about it?”
