lunatic American busybody, as the major called him, out of their hair. He was to do it without offending Oliver or the other Americans, he was to do it without creating any fuss, and he was, above all, to do it without involving Major Saleh any further. The extremist crisis was growing; another tourist, a Dane this time, had been shot near the main ferry landing the previous evening, and the major’s time and energy could no longer be wasted on fantastic intrigues, imaginary murders, and old skeletons.
But Gabra’s could, of course. Ah, well, he thought philosophically—his stomach had settled and he was feeling more in tune with the world—wasn’t this, after all, the very nature of delegation?
It was as the old proverb said:
Shit falls downward.
TO: Major Yussef Saleh FROM: Gideon Oliver
1. INTRODUCTION
Today I reexamined a set of skeletal remains originally found in an abandoned storage enclosure at Horizon House on November 28. At that time they were mistakenly identified as being those of an archaeological specimen from the institution’s collection, an error in which I concurred in an examination on November 29.
However, a later examination leads me to conclude that these remains are modern, belonging to an individual dead between two and five years.
2. BONES PRESENT
The partial skeleton consists of four ribs, one thoracic and two lumbar vertebrae, the skull (minus the mandible), the right scapula and humerus, the right second and third metacarpals, the first phalanx of the right index finger, the sacrum, both innominates, both femurs, both tibias, and the left fibula. No other bones were recovered.
Gabra yawned and lit up a Cleopatra King. This would be tough going even if his English were up to it.
3. CONDITION
No soft tissue was present. There is moderate environmental erosion and considerable evidence of rodent and canine gnawing, particularly at the long bone ends.
4. TRAUMA AND PROBABLE CAUSE OF DEATH
There is a ten-centimeter antemortem fracture of the
right parietal running diagonally back from the coronal suture. This type of injury is commonly associated with falls. Total absence of healing indicates that death followed shortly after. It is therefore highly probable that cranial damage resulting from a fall was the cause of death. Naturally, other causes of death that might not show in the existing bones cannot be ruled out.
In my opinion, it is highly likely that foul play was involved. (See “Conclusions and Implications.”)
5. RACE
The admixture of racial strains in these remains makes positive racial identification difficult. However, given the circumstances, the admixture of Caucasian, Mediterranean, and African attributes suggests strongly that the individual was Egyptian.
6. SEX
The subpubic angle and the angles of the sciatic notch indicate that the bones are those of a male.
7. STATURE AND BODY BUILD
Estimated stature, based on combined long bone lengths and using the regression formula of Trotter and Gleser, ranges from 169 cm to 176.5 cm (66.5“ to 69.5”), with a likely height of about 173 cm (68“).
8. AGE
All epiphyses are fused, indicating that the skeletal system had reached maturity. The pubic symphyses, although damaged by carnivore activity, appear to be at about phase five of the Suchey-Brooks age determination system. This, combined with other indicators such as cranial suture closure and “lipping” of long bones, vertebrae, and scapula, suggest an age of about forty to fifty years, with forty-five to fifty being likely.
9. PATHOLOGIES AND ANOMALIES
The right malar was fractured sometime before death, possibly in childhood. Although completely healed, the bone did not set properly, and it is likely that the right cheek of this individual had a caved-in or “dropped” appearance.
Other than this, there is no evidence of anomalies or of pathological conditions beyond the normal bone deterioration and degeneration to be expected with an age in the late forties.
Gabra scowled and read the last section again. At fifty-four, he was all too aware that his teeth weren’t what they had been, or his digestive system either. But was he supposed to believe that his very
He began to see some merit in Saleh’s assessment of Gideon Oliver. Gabra himself had had dealings with a pair of forensic scientists once before and had failed to be impressed when they quarreled over the age and race of a decomposing corpse that had turned up along the river south of Qena. The only thing they had agreed on was the sex, but Gabra had hardly needed an expert for that.
And look at the mess the physical anthropologists had made with their famous examinations of Tutankhamun’s mummy.
No, these experts had to be taken with a grain of salt. If Gabra’s bones were “degenerating,” no one was going to have to tell him about it; he would be the first to know.
The broken swivel in his chair clacked (or was that his hip joint?) as he shifted and went on reading.
10. POSSIBLE INDICATIONS OF OCCUPATION
