Monday Mourning

If I found evidence that the burials were old, I could relax and notify the archaeologists. On the other hand, if I found evidence that the deaths were recent, as I suspected, the coroner would insist on an investigation, and Claudel would have no choice. He and Charbonneau could start the legwork while I analyzed the third set of remains.

As I poured coffee, Birdie launched a third sortie. I relocated him again, somewhat less gently.

OK. I had no artifacts or bugs. What options did that leave?

I knew that the elemental composition of bone changes over time. The amount of nitrogen decreases, the amount of fluoride increases. But these shifts are too slow to be of use in evaluating the age of modern remains.

I’d read studies that focused on radiography, histology, chemical reaction, and isotope content. I was aware of research that pointed to amino acids as useful in distinguishing recent from ancient bone.

But a myriad of factors influence biochemical and physical processes. Temperature. Ground moisture. Oxygen tension. Microbial activity. Soil pH. No technique is reliably accurate. Once the flesh and bugs move on, PMI becomes the Bermuda Triangle of forensic anthropology.

I could think of only one test that might yield definitive results. But it would take time and cost money, and only a handful of labs performed it. Given the current financial climate, I knew it would be a hard sell to LaManche.

But it was worth a shot.

Placing my bowl on the floor, I gathered my purse and laptop and set off.

In my office, the message light remained obstinately dark.

The morning meeting was routine. A man dead of fumes from a malfunctioning space heater. An alcohol-related traffic death. An autoerotic with a faulty escape knot in his noose. A charred body in a burned-out motor home.

Pelletier caught the fire victim. Though the remains were thought to be those of the trailer’s owner, he asked that I be available in case things got dicey.

As the others filed out, I turned to LaManche.

“May I speak with you a moment?”

“Mais, oui.” LaManche folded back into his seat.

“I’ve examined two of the skeletons from the pizza parlor basement.”

When LaManche raised his brows, the lines in his flesh elongated and deepened. He seemed suddenly older, more worn than I remembered. Was it the cold morning light from the windows behind me? Was LaManche unwell? Had I simply not noticed until this moment?

“The two victims I’ve examined are young and female,” I said. “I’m certain the third is a young woman as well.”

“You use the word ‘victim.’”

“They’re kids and they’re dead.”

LaManche’s melancholy eyes did not flinch at my sharpness.

“But I’ve found no signs of violence,” I admitted.

“Monsieur Claudel feels these remains are probably not recent.”

“The restaurant owner found buttons that could be nineteenth century.”

“Could be?” The brows rose again.

“Claudel took them to the McCord.”

“You are unconvinced?”

“Even if the buttons are genuine, it’s unclear whether they were associated with any of the skeletons. Their presence in the basement could have any number of explanations.”

LaManche sighed and pulled his ear. “Monsieur Claudel also told me that the building is more than a hundred years old.”

“Claudel has researched the property?” I felt heat flush my face. “He has not shared that information with me.”

“Construction took place over a century ago.”

I have a flash point temper. My father’s temper. Along with drink, Daddy’s fury sometimes ruled him. I grew up with the impact of those outbursts.

Like Daddy, I succumbed to the lure of the bottle. Unlike him, I walked away from booze. Also unlike him, I learned to control my temper. When fire simmers inside, outside I grow deadly calm.

“Did Monsieur Claudel not realize that such information is relevant to my task?” I asked, my voice glacial.

“I am certain he will inform you in detail.”

“During my lifetime?”

“Do not grow defensive. I am not fighting you.”

I drew a deep breath.

“There is one test which might resolve the question.”

“Tell me.”

“You’ve heard of Carbon 14 dating?”

“I know it is used to assign age to organic materials, including human bone. I do not know how it works.”

“Radiocarbon, or Carbon 14, is an unstable isotope. Like all radioactive substances, it decays by releasing subatomic particles at a uniform rate.”

LaManche’s eyes stayed heavy on mine.

“In about 5,730 years half of a population of radiocarbon atoms will have reverted to nitrogen.”

“That is the half-life.”

I nodded. “After 11,460 years, a fourth of the original amount of radiocarbon remains. After another 5,730 years, only an eighth remains, and so on.”

LaManche did not interrupt.