His wife, on the other hand, had not fared nearly so well, even though the weather conditions outside the hut were very similar to those inside. But it had rained once or twice, my colleagues said. At times she had been in the sun, and buzzard feathers nearby helped explain some of the damage I saw. The discoloration of her body was much more marked, the skin slipping badly and not the least bit doughy.
I silently observed her for a while in a wooded area not far from the shed, where she lay on her back, naked, on leaves from surrounding locust, hickory, and ironwood trees. She looked older than her husband and was so stooped and wizened by age that her body had reverted to a childlike androgynous state. Her nails were painted pink, and she had dentures and pierced ears.
“We’ve got him turned over if you want to look,” Katz called out.
I went back to the shed and squatted by the husband again while Dr. Shade directed a flashlight at the marks on the back. The pattern left by an iron drain was easy to recognize, but those left by nails were straight red streaks that looked more like burns. It was the marks left by coins that fascinated us the most, especially one left by a quarter. Upon close scrutiny, I could barely make out the partial outline of an eagle left on the man’s skin, and I got out Emily’s photographs and made comparisons.
“What I’ve figured out,” Dr. Shade said, “is the impurities in the metal cause the coin to oxidize unevenly while the body’s on top of it. So you get blank spots, an irregular imprint, very much like a shoe print, which usually isn’t complete, either, unless the weight is distributed uniformly and you’re standing on a perfectly flat surface.”
“Have they done image enhancement with the Steiner photographs?” Katz asked.
“The FBI labs are working on it,” I said.
“Well, they can really be slow,” Katz said.
“They’re so backed up, and it just gets worse all the time because there are so many more cases.”
“And you know how it goes with budgets.”
“Ours is already bare bones.”
“Thomas, Thomas, that’s a terrible pun.”
In fact, I had personally paid for the plyboard in this experiment. I had offered to furnish an air conditioner, too, but because of the weather, that had not been needed.
“It’s hard as hell to get politicians excited about what we do out here. Or about what you do, Kay.”
“The problem is, the dead don’t vote,” I said.
“I’ve heard of cases where they did.” We drove back along Neyland Drive, and I followed the river with my eyes. At a bend in it I could see the top of the Farm’s back fence peeking above trees, and I thought of the River Styx. I thought of crossing the water and ending up in that place as the husband and wife from our work had done. I thanked them in my mind, for the dead were silent armies I mustered to save us all.
“Too bad you couldn’t have gotten here earlier,” said Katz, who was always so kind.
“You missed quite a game yesterday,” Dr. Shade added.
“I feel like I saw it,” I said.
19
I did not follow Wesley’s advice but returned to my same room at the Hyatt. I did not want to spend the rest of the day moving into someplace new when I had many calls to make and a plane to catch.
But I was very alert as I walked through the lobby and got on the elevator. I looked at every woman, and then remembered I should pay attention to men, too, for Denesa Steiner was very clever. She had spent most of her life in deceptions and incredible schemes, and I knew how intelligent evil could be.
I saw no one who caught my eye as I walked briskly to my room. But I got my revolver out of the briefcase I had checked in baggage. I had it next to me on the bed as I got on the phone. First, I called Green Top, and Jon, who answered, was very nice. He had waited on me many times, and I did not hesitate to ask pointed questions about my niece.