“So was I,” Laurie said. “I tried to call Dr. Besserman, who’d done the original autopsy. I wanted to ask if the body had been recently identified as Frank Gleason, but he’s out of the office. Do you think it was surprising that Mike Passano didn’t know the body was still labeled in the computer as an unidentified corpse?”
“Not really,” Marvin said. “I’m not sure I would have, either. I mean, you enter the accession number just to find out if the body is released. You don’t really worry too much about the name.”
“That was the impression you gave me earlier,” Laurie said. “There was also something else you said that I’ve been mulling over. You said that sometimes you don’t get the body yourself but rather one of the funeral home people does.”
“Sometimes,” Marvin said. “But it only happens if two people come and if they’ve been here lots of times so they know the process. It’s just a way of speeding things up. One of them goes to the cooler to get the body while me and the other guy finish the documents.”
“How well do you know Mike Passano?” Laurie asked.
“As well as I know most of the other techs,” Marvin said.
“You and I have known each other for six years,” Laurie said. “I think of us as friends.”
“Yeah, I suppose,” Marvin said warily.
“I’d like you to do something for me as a friend,” Laurie said. “But only if it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Like what?” Marvin said.
“I’d like you to call Mike Passano and tell him that I found out that one of the bodies that he sent out the night Franconi disappeared was an unidentified corpse.”
“That’s strange, man!” Marvin said. “Why would I be calling him rather than just waiting for him to come on duty?”
“You can act like you just heard it, which is the case,” Laurie said. “And you can say that you thought he should know right away since he was on duty that night.”
“I don’t know, man,” Marvin said unconvinced.
“The key thing is that coming from you, it won’t be confrontational,” Laurie said. “If I call, he’ll think I’m accusing him, and I’m interested to hear his reaction without his feeling defensive. But more important, I’d like you to ask him if there were two people from Spoletto Funeral Home that night, and if there were two, whether he can remember who actually went to get the body.”
“That’s like setting him up, man,” Marvin complained.
“I don’t see it that way,” Laurie said. “If anything, it gives him a chance to clear himself. You see, I think the Spoletto people took Franconi.”
“I don’t feel comfortable calling him,” Marvin said. “He’s going to know something is up. Why don’t you call him yourself, you know what I’m saying?”
“I already told you, I think he’ll be too defensive,” Laurie said. “Last time he was defensive when I asked him purely vague questions. But okay, if you feel uncomfortable, I don’t want you to do it. Instead, I want you to go on a little hunt with me.”
“Now what?” Marvin asked. His patience was wearing thin.
“Can you produce a list of all the refrigerator compartments that are occupied at the moment?” Laurie asked.
“Sure, that’s easy,” Marvin said.
“Please,” Laurie said, while gesturing towards Marvin’s computer terminal. “While you’re at it, make two copies.”
Marvin shrugged and sat down. Using a relatively rapid hunt-and-peck style, he directed the computer to produce the list Laurie wanted. He handed the two sheets to her the moment they came out of the printer.
“Excellent,” Laurie said, glancing at the sheets. “Come on!” As she left the mortuary office, she waved over her shoulder. Marvin followed at her heels.
They walked down the stained cement corridor to the giant island that dominated the morgue. On opposite sides were the banks of refrigerated compartments used to store the bodies before autopsy.
Laurie handed one of the lists to Marvin.
“I want to search every compartment that is not occupied,” Laurie said. “You take this side and I’ll take the other.”
Marvin rolled his eyes but took the list. He started opening the compartments, peering inside, then slamming the doors. Laurie went around to the other side of the island and did the same.
“Uh-oh!” Marvin intoned after five minutes.
Laurie paused. “What is it?”
“You’d better come over here,” Marvin said.
Laurie walked around the island. Marvin was standing at the far end of the island, scratching his head while staring at his list. In front of him was an open refrigerated compartment.
“This one is supposed to be empty,” Marvin said.
Laurie glanced within and felt her pulse race. Inside, was a naked male corpse with no tag on its big toe. The number of the compartment was ninety-four. It wasn’t too far away from number one eleven, where Franconi was supposed to have been.
Marvin slid out the tray. It rattled on its ball bearings in the stillness of the deserted morgue. The body was a middle-aged male with signs of extensive trauma to the legs and torso.
“Well, this explains it,” Laurie said. Her voice reflected an improbable mixture of triumph, anger, and fear. “It’s the unidentified corpse. He’d been a hit-and-run accident on the FDR Drive.”
Jack stepped off the elevator and could hear a phone ringing insistently. As he proceeded down the hall he became progressively aware it had to be his phone, especially since his office was the only one with an open door.
Jack picked up speed and then almost missed his door as he slid on the vinyl flooring. He snapped the phone off the hook just in time. It was Lou.
“Where the hell have you been?” Lou complained.
“I got stuck over at the University Hospital,” Jack said. After Jack had last talked with Lou, Dr. Malovar had appeared and had him look at some forensic slides for him. So soon on the heels of his consulting Malovar, Jack didn’t feel he could refuse.
“I’ve been calling every fifteen minutes,” Lou remarked.
“Sorry,” Jack said.
“I’ve got some surprising information that I’ve been dying to give you,” Lou said. “This is one weird case.”
“That’s not telling me anything I didn’t already know,” Jack said. “What did you learn?”
Movement out of the corner of Jack’s eye attracted his attention. Turning his head, he saw Laurie standing in the doorway. She did not look normal. Her eyes were blazing, her mouth was set in an angry grimace, and her skin was the color of ivory.
“Wait a sec!” Jack said, interrupting Lou. “Laurie, what the hell is the matter?”
“I have to talk with you,” Laurie sputtered.
“Sure,” Jack said. “But could it wait for two minutes?” He pointed at the phone to indicate that he was talking with someone.
“Now!” Laurie barked.
“Okay, okay,” Jack repeated. It was clear to him she was as tense as a piano wire about to snap.
“Listen, Lou,” Jack said into the phone. “Laurie just came in, and she’s upset. Let me call you right back.”
“Hold on!” Laurie snapped. “Is that Lou Soldano you’re talking with?”
“Yeah,” Jack said hesitantly. For an irrational instant, he thought that Laurie was overwrought because he was talking with Lou.
“Where is he?” Laurie demanded.
Jack shrugged. “I guess he’s in his office.”
“Ask him,” Laurie snapped.
Jack posed the question, and Lou answered in the affirmative. Jack nodded to Laurie. “He’s there,” he said.
“Tell him we’re coming down to see him,” Laurie said.
Jack hesitated. He was confused.
“Tell him!” Laurie repeated. “Tell him we’re leaving right away.”
“Did you hear that?” Jack asked Lou. Laurie then disappeared down the corridor toward her office.
“I did,” Lou said. “What’s going on?”
“Damned if I know,” Jack said. “She just barreled in. Unless I call you right back, we’ll be there.”