“Thanks, buddy,” Jack said, getting on the elevator.
Jack emerged outside back into the downpour he’d almost missed coming back from his meeting with James. With only a travel umbrella, by the time he reached the DNA building he was soaked from mid-thigh down.
Naomi Grossman’s office was on a high floor. As Jack approached Naomi’s secretary, he worried he should have called first. Naomi was the director of the largest single department at the OCME. DNA science had come into its own, thanks to the enormous contributions it made to law enforcement and identification.
“Is Dr. Grossman available?” Jack asked.
“She is,” the secretary said. “And you are?”
“Dr. Jack Stapleton,” Jack said, relieved at Naomi’s availability.
“Nice to meet you,” the secretary said, extending her hand. “I’m Melanie Stack.” She was young and friendly, especially compared to those ancient secretaries in Bingham’s office. Instead of being confrontational, she was open and eager to help. She was dressed in an attractive, youthful style, with her radiant long hair pulled back from her healthy, smiling face with a barrette.
To Jack, Melanie was a typical representative of the OCME DNA building. Most of the people working there were young and energetic, and seemed to be generally happy and appreciative of their jobs. DNA was a new science with immense potential, and it was appropriate that it was centered in a bright, brand-new building. In many ways, Jack regretted that he didn’t work there, too.
“Let me check with Dr. Grossman,” Melanie said, pushing back from her desk.
As Melanie disappeared for a moment, Jack made eye contact with the other secretaries.
Each one returned his smile with one of her own. For Jack the office was a breath of fresh air and optimism despite the rain pattering against the glass.
“Dr. Grossman can see you,” Melanie said, reappearing in the blink of an eye.
Jack stepped into the inner corner office with a stunning view over the East River.
Naomi was seated behind a large mahogany desk with an in basket that reminded Jack of his own. Like most everyone else in the building, Naomi was relatively young, perhaps mid-thirties. She had an oval face framed by a nimbus of remarkably curly hair.
Her dark eyes were bright, and her expression was cheerful but questioning, as if her obviously sharp mind was always a bit dubious about what she was hearing.
“What a nice surprise!” Naomi said as Jack approached her desk. “To what do we owe this honor?”
“ ‘Honor’?” Jack questioned with a chuckle. “I wish I had your facility to make people feel good.”
“But it is an honor. We’re here to help you medical examiners. We’re just an adjunct to the process.”
Jack chuckled anew. “Let’s not carry it too far. With the rapid advances in DNA science, I think we’ll soon be working for you. This time, though, I’m here to ask you a favor.”
“Ask away.”
Jack quickly went through the same spiel he’d given Bingham, mentioning the archbishop, the ossuary, and its expected contents but nothing about the Virgin Mary.
“That’s utterly fascinating,” Naomi said when Jack finished. “Tell me the wife’s name?”
“Sana Daughtry.”
“I’ve heard of her,” Naomi said. “She’s really making a name for herself in the mitochondrial DNA field. I certainly wouldn’t mind having her work here for a time, and the project itself sounds intriguing, especially if it turns out that there are documents which might prove the body’s identity. But why don’t they do their work up at Columbia? Their facility might not be as new as ours, but I’m confident it is just as good.”
“For privacy purposes. They want time, I presume, to complete their studies before anyone knows about the find. And you know how it is in the academic world: Everybody knows everyone else’s business.”
“Truer words have never ever been spoken. They won’t have to worry about any leaks here. Have you spoken with Dr. Bingham?”
“I just came from his office, and he’s on board, provided you have no objections. And though he didn’t say so directly, I’m sure he likes the idea of having the archdiocese beholden to the OCME.”
Naomi laughed in a way that was infectious enough to bring a smile to Jack’s face. “I wouldn’t put it past him, given he’s such a political animal. But I shouldn’t cast aspersions. If not for him, I wouldn’t be sitting in this grand building.”
“So, you’re okay with this?” Jack asked.
“Absolutely.”
“When can they start?” Jack asked. “I have to confess from the moment I first heard about this, I’ve been dying of curiosity about the contents of the ossuary myself.”
“It’s tantalizing,” Naomi agreed. “Whenever the Daughtrys want to start is fine with me.
We still have plenty of lab space lying fallow.”
“How about tomorrow? Is the lab open on weekends?”
“Absolutely, although at a skeleton-staff level. But we have numerous projects that need to be looked after on a daily basis, so we’re open twenty-four-seven.”
“I’ll let them know. I don’t even know if they want to start so quickly, and perhaps I’m guilty of projecting my impatience onto them. But if they do want to start tomorrow, how would we get the ossuary into the building?”
“They could bring it through the front door if they so desire. How big is it, do you know?”
“I’m not sure, but I’d estimate roughly two feet long and one foot wide and deep.”
“It could fit through the front door without a problem, but there’s also a loading dock on the Twenty-sixth Street side, where most normal deliveries are made. Since tomorrow’s a Saturday, we’d have to make arrangements in advance.”
“The front door will be fine,” Jack said. “It all depends on them. In the meantime, would you mind showing me the lab area they will be using? I can help them get set up.” A few moments later they were on the eighth floor, which was one of the floors devoted to laboratory space.
“How does the building function?” Jack asked. Though he’d toured the building before, he was curious about how the department handled the number of specimens they processed.
“Specimens are received on the fifth floor,” Naomi explained. “Then they work their way upstairs maintaining a chain of custody. First the samples are cleaned as a preparation for DNA extraction. The isolated DNA then heads up to the sixth floor for preampli fication. When that’s completed, it’s on to the seventh floor for postamplification and sequencing.”
“It’s a type of assembly-line approach.”
“Very definitely,” Naomi said. “Otherwise, we’d never be able to process the number of specimens we get.”
“We’re now on the eighth floor,” Jack said, peering into the lab space through closed but glazed doors as they walked east from the bank of elevators. Through floor-to-ceiling windows on his left he could see Bellevue Hospital. “What happens here?”
“The eighth floor is out of the assembly line,” Naomi explained. “These labs are mostly for training. But in this direction toward the river are labs specifically for research projects. The pace of change in DNA science is rapid, and we have to keep up. Here’s the lab the Daughtrys may use.”
Naomi used a key to open the door, then handed it to Jack.
The room was constructed of white laminate plastic with bright recessed fluorescent lighting, giving it a futuristic look. There was a large center table the size of a library table. Along the east wall was desk space with cabinets above and below. On the west wall were floor-to-ceiling lockers with keys in each lock.
“What do you think?” Naomi asked.
“It’s perfect!” Jack said. He peered through a glazed door on the south wall into a bio-vestibule for gowning and degowning to prevent DNA contamination. Through yet another door was the lab itself, with all the instruments necessary for extraction, amplification, and sequencing DNA. He was impressed. It was a totally self-contained laboratory.
“There are even lockers here if they’re particularly paranoid,” Naomi joked, pointing to the full-length cabinets. “But let them know our security in this building is very good.
Which reminds me, they are going to need photo ID cards. Security downstairs can set them up tomorrow, as long as I give them the heads-up today. And they’ll also have to sign a comprehensive waiver from all liability. If
