“Your little farce.”
“What farce?”
“Having a caller pretend to be the chief ME.”
“Wrong guy.” Danny placed spread fingers on his chest. “Perry scares the crap out of me.”
I felt a tiny flame spark in my gut.
“Are you serious?”
“Totally.”
Uh-oh.
“Are you still there, Dr. Perry?”
“Yes.” Terse.
“We have a terrible connection. May I phone you back?”
She provided the number.
I clicked off and dialed.
“Aloha. Honolulu medical examiner.”
“Dr. Brennan returning Dr. Perry’s call.” Face burning.
“Hold, please.”
Perry picked up right away.
“I’m sorry. What I was hearing didn’t make sense. Lord knows what was coming through on your end.” Nervous laugh. “This phone jumbles sound when the signal gets weak.” Dear God, I was rambling. “How can I help you?”
Perry repeated what she’d said earlier. Homicide, body parts, young male, help.
“Can’t someone local assist you?”
“No.”
I waited. She didn’t elaborate.
“There are board-certified anthropologists at the CIL.” I glanced at Danny. Though he was trying hard to look focused on 2010-37, I knew he was listening.
“And they often help me out, Dr. Brennan. This time I’m asking you.”
“I’m in Honolulu for only a very short time.”
“I know that.”
Oh? I leaned back in my chair.
“Dr. Perry, I’m committed to resolving a situation at the CIL.”
“That’s military. They quit early. You can work with me after hours.”
Choosing a long bone, Danny moved to the sink.
“Why me?”
“You’re the best. You said so yourself.”
“I was joking.”
“I’m asking this as a personal favor.”
Far down the line I heard a barely audible voice, like a ghost speaking in some parallel dimension.
Or a nameless victim crying out for justice.
I glanced at Danny. At 2010-37.
“I’ll come by at five thirty,” I said. “But only for an hour.”
After disconnecting, I glanced at Danny. His shoulders had the tautness of someone who is angry or afraid.
“You overheard?”
“Enough.”
“I assume the two of you don’t get along.”
“Let’s just say Hadley Perry won’t be dining at my house real soon. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help her.”
“Do you want to tell me?”
“I don’t like her, it’s mutual, we’ll leave it at that.”
Danny strode to the table. I followed. He added his freshly scrubbed tibia to the man from Lumberton.
For a moment we both stared at the half-cleaned skeleton.
