Boneyard by Michelle Gagnon Read Free Book Online Page A

these bones back from the State Medical Examiner up in Burlington. They gave me a hell of a time over it, but I told them the FBI was bringing in some hotshot. You’re not going to make me a liar, are you, Professor?”
    The doctor appeared miffed. “I’m not technically a professor….”
    Kelly sighed. “I think what Lieutenant Lauer means to say, Doctor, is that you’ve had a day with the remains now—how long until you can tell us something?”
    The doctor sniffed to illustrate his pique. “Well, I was just beginning my debriefing. I also have an approximate age, based on the stage of epiphyseal union in the vertebral centra—”
    “The what?” Monica interrupted.
    Dr. Stuart gestured toward the table. “The backbone. It takes much longer for a skeleton to reach maturity than some people realize. Until the epiphysis, or shaft of the bone, has completely united with the main body of it, a skeleton is not considered mature. And vertebrae fuse later in life than other bones, not until the late twenties in some cases. I’d estimate this young man’s age at twenty-three or twenty-four. He was also approximately five foot eight inches tall. Most likely an ectomorphic body type.”
    “Ectomorph?” Monica asked, puzzled.
    “Slight, thin, not a large person,” Dr. Stuart clarified. “And at some point he broke his right femur.”
    “During the attack?” Kelly asked.
    Stuart shook his head. “It’s an old break, at least five years. It doesn’t appear to have healed properly. So whatever medical attention he received was somewhat inadequate. There’s also something odd about his teeth.”
    “Odd in what way?” Kelly asked.
    “If you’ll look, here…” Using a tongue depressor, he gently tilted the skull back so they had a clear visual of the remaining upper set of teeth. “You see the amount of cavities here? Significant, particularly for a young man.”
    “Yup, lots of fillings.” Monica agreed.
    “But that’s just the thing,” Dr. Stuart said, easing the skull back down. “These are composite resin fillings, and a few porcelain inlays as well, all notably high-end work. I’d have to draw a sample from each, but by observation alone I’d say they appear to have been done at the same time, and fairly recently.”
    “So our boy here had bad teeth for years, and someone recently took him to the dentist,” Kelly said slowly.
    “Exactly.” Dr. Stuart’s cheeks glowed slightly. “It’ll take a few days to get the results, but just in case I drew a DNA sample.”
    “Didn’t think you could get DNA from bones,” Monica commented.
    “Oh yes, in fact generally they provide the best samples. I’ve been using a relatively new isolation method that combines the use of a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide buffer and isoamyl alcohol…” Catching the expressions on their faces, Dr. Stuart concluded, “Anyway, it’s very effective.”
    “Won’t do us much good unless our boy is in the system,” Monica noted.
    “True, but there you might be fortunate. Massachusetts and Vermont have two of the largest DNA databases in the country. If he’s ever been arrested for a felony, you have a good chance of a match.”
    “How long for the DNA results?” Kelly asked.
    Stuart cast a glance at Monica. “I sent a sample to the FBI lab for processing, I hope that’s all right. I was uncertain of the protocol, and they tend to be the quickest. I can’t speak for Vermont, but I know that Massachusetts has a backlog of thousands of cases.”
    “Fine by me. The sooner we find out who our boy here is, the better, far as I’m concerned.” Monica waved a hand dismissively while smiling broadly at Dr. Stuart. He shifted self-consciously under her gaze.
    Kelly directed their attention back to the skull. “Lieutenant Lauer mentioned some marks on the body.”
    “Right, those.” He pointed toward the gaping eye sockets with the tongue depressor. “Difficult to determine if these were administered ante-or