Chromosome 6. Chapter 16-3
Chapter 16-3
‘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