had so far in his forensics career, it might be the most interesting
case he’d ever have.
Returning to the morgue, he stashed his bike in the usual location, went
up to his office to drop off his coat, then went directly to the DNA
lab. But Ted wasn’t ready for him.
‘I need a couple more hours,’ Ted said. ‘And I’ll call you! You don’t
have to come up here.’
Disappointed but undeterred, Jack descended a floor to histology and
checked on the progress of his permanent microscopic sections on what
was now labeled the Franconi case.
‘My god!’ Maureen complained. ‘What do you expect, miracles? I’m rushing
your slides through ahead of everybody else, but still you’ll be lucky
to get them today.’
Still trying to keep his spirits up and his curiosity at bay, Jack rode
the elevator down to the second floor and sought out John DeVries in the
lab.
‘The assays for cyclosporin A and FK506 are not easy,’ John snapped.
‘Besides, we’re backed up as it is. You can’t expect instant service
with the budget I have to work with.’
‘Okay!’ Jack said agreeably, as he backed out of the lab. He knew that
John was an irascible individual, and if aroused, he could be passive
aggressive. If that happened, it might be weeks before Jack got the test
results.
Descending yet another floor, Jack went into Bart Arnold’s office and
implored the man to give him something since he’d struck out every place
else.
‘I’ve made a lot of calls,’ Bart said. ‘But you know the situation with
voice mail. You almost never get anyone on the phone anymore. So, I got
a lot of messages out there, waiting for callbacks.’
‘Jeez,’ Jack complained. ‘I feel like a teenage girl with a new dress,
waiting to get asked to the prom.’
‘Sorry,’ Bart said. ‘If it’s any consolation, we did manage to get a
blood sample from Franconi’s mother. It’s already up in the DNA lab.’
‘Was the mother asked whether her son had a liver transplant?’
‘Absolutely,’ Bard said. ‘Mrs. Franconi assured the investigator that
she didn’t know anything about a transplant. But she did admit that her
son had been much healthier lately.’
‘To what did she attribute his sudden health?’ Jack asked.
‘She says he went away to a spa someplace and came back a new man.’
‘Did she happen to say where?’ Jack questioned.
‘She didn’t know,’ Bart said. ‘At least that’s what she told the
investigator, and the investigator told me that she thought she was
telling the truth.’
Jack nodded as he got to his feet. ‘Figures,’ he said. ‘Getting a bona
fide tip from the mother would have been much too easy.’
‘I’ll keep you informed as soon as I start getting callbacks,’ Bart
said.
‘Thanks,’ Jack said.
Feeling frustrated, Jack walked through communications to the ID room.
He thought maybe some coffee would cheer him up. He was surprised to
find Lieutenant Detective Lou Soldano busily helping himself to a cup.
‘Uh-oh,’ Lou said. ‘Caught red-handed.’
Jack eyed the homicide detective. He looked better than he had in days.
Not only was the top button of his shirt buttoned, but his tie was
cinched up in place. On top of that, he was close shaven and his hair
was combed.
‘You look almost human today,’ Jack said.
‘I feel that way,’ Lou said. ‘I got my first decent night’s sleep in
days. Where’s Laurie?’
‘In the pit, I presume,’ Jack said.
‘I gotta pat her on the back again for making that association with your
floater after watching the video,’ Lou said. ‘All of us down at
headquarters think it might lead to a break in this case. Already we’ve
gotten a couple of good tips from our informers because it’s stimulated
a lot of talk in the streets, especially over in Queens.’
‘Laurie and I were surprised to see it in the papers this morning,’ Jack
commented. ‘That was a lot faster than we expected. Do you have any idea
who was the source?’
‘I was,’ Lou said innocently. ‘But I was careful not to give any details
other than the fact that the body had been identified. Why, is there a