wait.’
‘Curiosity!’ Bingham roared. ‘That was the same lame excuse you used
last year when you disregarded my orders and went over to the MGH.’
‘At least I’m consistent,’ Jack said.
Bingham moaned. ‘And now here comes the impertinence. You really haven’t
changed much, have you?’
‘My basketball has improved,’ Jack said.
Jack heard the door open. He turned to see Calvin slip into the room.
Calvin folded his massive arms across his chest and stood to the side
like an elite harem guard.
‘I’m not getting anywhere with him,’ Bingham complained to Calvin, as if
Jack were no longer in the room. ‘I thought you said his behavior had
improved.’
‘It had, until this episode,’ Calvin said. He then glared down at Jack.
‘What irks me,’ Calvin said, finally addressing Jack, ‘is that you know
damn well that releases from the medical examiner’s office are to come
from Dr. Bingham or through public relations, period! You examiner
grunts are not to take it upon yourselves to divulge information. The
reality is that this job is highly politicized, and in the face of our
current problems we certainly don’t need more bad press.’
‘Time out,’ Jack said. ‘Something’s not right here. I’m not sure we’re
talking the same language.’
‘You can say that again,’ Bingham asserted.
‘What I mean is,’ Jack said, ‘I don’t think we are talking about the
same issue. When I came in here, I thought I was being called onto the
carpet because I bullied the janitor into giving me keys for this office
so I could find Franconi’s films.’
‘Hell, no!’ Bingham yelled. He pointed his finger at Jack’s nose. ‘It’s
because you leaked the story about Franconi’s body being discovered here
at the morgue after it had been stolen. What did you think? This would
somehow advance your career?’
‘Hold up,’ Jack said. ‘First, I’m not all that excited about advancing
my career. Second, I was not responsible for this story getting to the
media.’
‘You’re not?’ Bingham asked.
‘Certainly, you’re not suggesting that Laurie Montgomery was
responsible?’ Calvin asked.
‘Not at all,’ Jack said. ‘But it wasn’t me. Look, to tell you the truth,
I don’t even think it’s a story.’
‘That’s not how the media feels,’ Bingham said. ‘Nor the mayor for that
matter. He’s already called me twice this morning, asking what kind of
circus we’re running around here. This Franconi business continues to
make us look bad in the eyes of the entire city–particularly when news
about our own office takes us by surprise.’
‘The real story about Franconi isn’t about his body going on an
overnight out of the morgue,’ Jack said. ‘It’s about the fact that the
man seemingly had a liver transplant that no one knows about, that’s
hard to detect by DNA analysis, and that somebody wanted to hide it.’
Bingham looked up at Calvin, who raised his hands defensively. ‘This is
the first I’ve heard about this,’ he said.
Jack gave a rapid summary of his autopsy findings and then told about
Ted Lynch’s confusing DNA analysis results.
‘This sounds weird,’ Bingham said. He took off his glasses and wiped his
rheumy eyes. ‘It also sounds bad, considering that I want this whole
Franconi business to fade away. If there is something truly screwy going
on like Franconi getting an unauthorized liver, then that’s not going to
happen.’
‘I’ll know more today,’ Jack said. ‘I’ve got Bart Arnold contacting all
the transplant centers around the country, John DeVries up in the lab
running assays for immunosuppressants, Maureen O’Conner in histology
pushing through the slides, and Ted doing a six polymarker DNA test,
which he contends is foolproof. By this afternoon, we’ll know for sure
whether there’d been a transplant, and, if we’re lucky, where it had
taken place.’
Bingham squinted across his desk at Jack. ‘And you’re sure you didn’t
leak today’s newspaper story to the media?’
‘Scout’s honor,’ Jack said, holding up two fingers to form a V.
‘All right, I apologize,’ Bingham said. ‘But listen, Stapleton, keep
this all under your hat. And don’t go irritating everyone under the sun,
so that I start getting calls complaining about your behavior. You have
a knack for getting under people’s skin. And finally, promise me that