Freezing

in Georgia?’

‘Theoretically? No. New office, new supervisor. But if the body parts we saw this morning are related to the case in Georgia, we need to know ASAP. Has a Georgia serial killer gone mobile? Does California need to be on alert? Are there any clues on the Ventura Freeway that will help us solve the cases in Georgia? To get leads to answer those questions, we need ID’s for the body parts.’

‘It sounds like you want us to do this external exam just because you don’t want to wait for the coroner’s office. Or is there something more?’

‘Listen, superficially, those body parts have characteristics that look like one of my cases, so I think of them as part of my case; doesn’t matter that they turned up in LA not Atlanta. I’m ready to ID them, then the Bureau takes it out of my hands and gives it to people who’ve got so many bodies to ID, they’ve become statistics.’ He tilted his head back and forth as though getting a kink out of his neck. ‘Maybe I don’t like that so much.’

She almost laughed. ‘That doesn’t sound like “maybe”.’

‘Yeah, well, Eric pointed out that it’s no coincidence that “bureaucracy” and “Bureau” share the same Latin root.’ He paused. ‘Look, we’ve been told to make the transfer as soon as possible. In my experience, that means we’ve got two days with the body parts in our custody. Can you do an exam and a report for me in that time?’

‘Could you provide X-ray facilities?’

‘Sure.’

She thought about this. Then she asked, ‘How will this be cleared?’

‘Don’t have to clear it; the material’s in our custody.’

‘You’ve got cold storage?’

He nodded. ‘Big enough for this case anyway.’

Jayne was silent for another moment, looking into the distance toward the ivory bulk of County-USC Hospital and the summer-drawn smog blanket above East LA. She felt small against the spread of the city and the thought of how many millions of people it took to make that haze by driving cars, smoking cigarettes, manning factories, wielding leaf blowers. Living. Then she thought about the paupers’ graves the county funded to bury the overflow bodies that had never been identified. She thought about the body parts from the freeway ending up there, with only some taxpayer-funded strangers to say a few words for them.

‘OK, count us in,’ she said.

FOUR

Jayne knew she was the first one back at the Agency when Scott dropped her off because Carol’s ‘Out to Lunch’ sign was still hanging on the front door. The phone started to ring as she walked in. She picked it up at Carol’s desk.

‘This is Ron from A-One Electrics?’

Jayne wondered if he was asking her or telling her. She sat down in Carol’s chair. ‘How can I help you?’

‘Yeah, I’m calling about the generator?’

‘The generator?’

‘Yeah!’ Chewing gum snapped and clicked. ‘I’ve got a . . . uh . . . two-stroke Give-All generator with shut-off switch to deliver and I just need to confirm your address.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Oh, if you’re worried about the installation, that’s all included.’ He sounded pleased.

‘That’s nice but I didn’t order a generator and neither has anyone else at this address, to my knowledge.’

‘Well, ma’am, I’ve got the receipt right here.’

‘So who ordered it?’

‘Let’s see –’ snap-snap-pop – ‘I don’t have a name on the requisition sheet but there’s a note about angles.’

‘ANGLES? Is it an acronym?’

‘Or, “angels”? “Angels flight”?’

‘What?’ Jayne stood up so abruptly she almost yanked the phone off the desk by its cord as she looked to see if Scott was still in the parking lot.

‘You still there, ma’am? It is all paid for.’

She straightened the phone. ‘Ron. I’m going to put you on hold for a minute.’

She punched the hold button and dialed out on another line.

‘Houston.’ He was on speakerphone and she could hear ambient noise in the background.

‘Scott, I’ve got a guy on the other line asking me where I want my new generator. You know anything about this?’

‘No-o-o.’

‘No?’ Jayne was incredulous and her words came out like bullets. ‘I find that very hard to believe because he just told me that it’s for “angels flight”. Now that’s too much coincidence in my book.’

‘Let’s say I do know something about it. Why are you so angry?’

‘You can’t just turn up here and start giving me gifts!’

‘Let me reassure you right now that I don’t think the way to a woman’s heart is through gas-powered machinery. It’s for the Agency.’

Jayne was too hot under the collar to feel mortified. ‘I know that! What I meant was, you can’t just give me gifts for the Agency. We’re governed by five-oh-one C three regulations. And, dammit Scott, I can take care of this place myself!’

‘Well, that’s not what Steelie said to Eric in relation to this.’

Jayne faltered. ‘Steelie?’

‘Yeah. She got to talking with Eric about the brownouts, mentioned your office needs a generator but doesn’t have the funds, and Eric decided to organize a donation to the Agency. All by the book.’

Before Jayne could muster a response, Scott continued. ‘Plus, we don’t want your computers going down while you’re working on anything related to our discussion at Angels Flight.’

‘I see. Well, in that case, thank you. We’ll send you a donation receipt. Or send it to Eric . . .’ She petered out.

‘Take your time, Hall.’ He sounded amused. ‘Ten-four.’

Jayne reflected on Scott’s mellow response to the fact that she’d completely jumped the gun before she remembered gum-chewing Ron on Line 1. She pressed the button to retrieve him and politely organized the delivery of the generator for Wednesday.

She’d only been back at her desk for a few minutes when she heard Carol and Steelie enter the building. Jayne walked out her side door to meet them in the hall.

Steelie asked, ‘Good lunch?’

Jayne followed them into the small kitchen where they were putting leftovers in the fridge. ‘We need to be at the FBI’s Wilshire office tomorrow at eleven.’

She explained Scott’s theory about the body parts and his desire for a preliminary report.

Steelie sounded doubtful. ‘And the coroner’s office isn’t going to have a problem with this?’

‘Apparently not.’

Carol looked at the two anthropologists. ‘If Scott’s got it cleared on his end and you’re not compromising a future autopsy, you won’t be interfering with the wheels of justice turning down at the coroner’s office. Maybe you’ll even grease them a little. That fits into the Agency’s mission, in my view.’

The bells on the front door rang out. Carol said, ‘I’ll go.’

As she padded away, Jayne addressed Steelie. ‘Your loose lips have won us a generator.’

‘No way.’

‘Yeah. Eric and Scott have ordered one for the Agency.’

‘Wow.’ Steelie’s broad smile collapsed when she caught Jayne’s expression. ‘Don’t tell me you did one of your don’t-think-me-ungrateful-but-we-can-do-it-ourselves numbers on them? Oh, you didn’t!’ Steelie threw up her hands. ‘Y’know, not everyone is paternalistic or even chauvinistic—’