Page 21 of Cold, Cold Bones

Leshner’s nose swoops downward then curves up again, and white curls frame his broad forehead and cheeks, giving him the air of a mischievous gnome. He nurtures the look and often acts the part.

Face solemn, Leshner turned to Henry. “You know the proper term for these?”

Henry shook her head.

“Dental pics.” Then the chuckle.

Unsure of the proper response, Henry produced a tiny brown envelope from the first of three files she carried. “Eve Lott,” she said.

Leshner arranged Lott’s periapicals below those Hawkins had taken of the privy skull dentition. Compared the two sets, square by square.

“Nope,” he said, returning Lott’s X-rays. “Next?”

Henry dug out another batch. “Ariadne Bruce.”

Leshner repeated his actions. A beat, then, “Nope. Next?”

Henry handed him the third set of radiographs. “Lucille McFarland.”

Leshner leaned forward a full minute, finally sat back. “Sorry. Strike three.”

“Thanks for looking,” I said. “While you’re at it, care to comment on age for the unknown?”

Leshner was quiet longer this time.

“I’d say forty, with a plus minus range of five years.”

“Anything else jump out at you?” I asked.

“She had a lot of work done.”

“Distinguishing features?”

“Looks high quality. American. Standard materials. Otherwise, not really.”

Leshner pushed from his elevated seat and landed with both knees bent. Straightened, bringing his face to boob-level on me. “Need a full workup?”

“Yes, please.”

Thirty minutes later I had detailed charting and a technical description of the privy skull dentition. A missing upper-right first premolar. A rotated canine. Three restorations. One root canal.

As we headed for the door, Leshner asked, “You know why they call me the king of dentists?”

I bit. “Why?”

“I specialize in crowns.”

Outside in the parking lot, Henry and I discussed our next move.

Using the newly acquired dental data, the descriptors white and female, and an age range of thirty-five to forty-five years, she would search local, state, and national databases listing missing persons.

I suggested she start with NamUs. Funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System serves as a clearinghouse for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases throughout the United States.

I also suggested she give the key worddecapitationa whirl.

While she did that, I’d go to the MCME and proceed with my slicing and sampling. Assuming Hawkins had completed the maceration, I’d take a close look at the defleshed skull.

Traffic was clogged in uptown. Big surprise. While alternating between stopped and lurching forward a yard at a time, I mentally rehashed the previous night’s slide show and the morning’s conversations.