“I want to get the analysis done as soon as possible.”
“You and Frank are a good pair. He thinks he’s indispensable too. I hope nothing happens to either of you, or the rest of us are doomed.”
Diane smiled at him. “I’m not indispensable, but there’s no one here this minute to analyze the skeleton but me.”
“Yeah, Frank would say the same thing.”
“How did he get into learning the accordion?” asked Diane.
Linc grinned at Diane. “Because everyone made fun of it, I think. Frank was a kid totally immune to peer pressure and completely stubborn. He wouldn’t let anyone back him down, and he didn’t care what people thought.”
“That must have made school rough. His peers must have been on to him all the time.”
“At first, but Dad taught us to box from the time we could put gloves on and not fall over frontward.”
“Boxing? Not some martial art?”
“No, boxing’s the best.” He went into a boxing posture and punched the air. “Once you get your feet off the ground, you’re off balance. We’d love it when the other kids thought they were so cool with their fancy kicks. They were pretty easy to knock down.”
“He didn’t tell me about the boxing. But I just found out he’s pretty mean on a karaoke machine.”
“You should see the three of us.”
Diane laughed. “How about Ava? Is she into karaoke and boxing?”
“She plays the piano. Quite well. Not into anything physical. She’s the older sister and takes her job seriously. Frank’s really going to get an earful when he’s better.”
“You have a nice family.”
“We like it.” He took a long drink of Coke. “Can I have a look at the skeleton?” he asked.
Diane had finished eating all she could eat, which was two slices from an extra-large pepperoni, mushroom and green pepper pizza. She took a swallow of her water and eyed him closely.
“Frank asked me to keep an eye on you,” he said in answer to her silent stare. “He apparently knows you quite well.”
“Sure, you can have a look. I’ll record a few more observations and go home.”
Korey was still there, but was on his way out. Diane introduced him to Linc.
“We’re all sorry to hear about your brother,” said Korey, shaking his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dr. Fallon. Been finding some interesting stuff in that small stack of papers.”
“We have some pizza left,” said Linc. “Why don’t you take the extra one home with you?”
Korey looked surprised. “Sure. Thanks.”
As Korey left, Diane fished the key from her pocket and opened the door to the storage room.
“This is the mysterious guy,” she said.
“You don’t have a skull?” asked Linc.
“Unfortunately, no. I really wish I had it. We could find out what he looks like. The excavators are still looking for it.”
“You think it was removed?”
“The vertebrae don’t show it.”
“What do you know about him?”
“He grew up in a cool, humid climate, he was a vegetarian but ate fish, he’s been missing for about five years, maybe, judging from the vegetation growth over him.” Diane told him about the stable isotope analysis.
“I’m impressed.”
“You should be. I found that out when we had only the clavicle. With all these bones, you’d think I’d be home free.”
“What about his age and condition?”
“He’s still undergoing epiphyseal union on all his long bones-from a half to three-quarters fused, including his iliac crest.” She ran her fingers along the top of his pelvic bone and picked it up. “Look at the pubic symphysis.” She rubbed her thumb over the horizontal ridges and grooves where the two pelvic bones joined in front. “This is a young surface. My guess is he was in his late teens or early twenties.”
“My son’s that age,” Linc said, caressing the bone. “There are some parents somewhere wondering where he is.”
“Speaking of his pelvis, this is sort of unusual.” She showed him the lesion on the bone near the pubic symphysis. “I usually see this in pregnant women or those who have just given birth. It’s caused by the strain on the joint.”
“What about his shins?” asked Linc.
“Shins? He has a healed break in his tibia.”
“Check his elbows.”
Diane raised her eyebrows and reached for the left ulna and examined the proximal end. She raised her eyebrows further and checked the right ulna. However, it had been gnawed by animals.
“The left ulna has a healed lesion. The right might, but I can’t tell.”
Linc winked at her.
“How about the lower back?”
Diane narrowed her eyes and examined several of the lumbar vertebrae. “One shows some wear on the margins.”
Linc grinned broadly, showing a row of even white teeth.
Chapter 36
Diane laid the vertebrae back in place on the table and turned to face Linc, who was still grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“Okay, are you going to tell me?”
“I think your fellow here was a hockey player,” he said.
“Hockey?”
“I’ve seen that cluster of injuries many times in hockey players. Breaks in the tibia are common, so are lower back problems. I’ve seen olecranon bursitis so bad it’ll leave scars on the bone. Groin pain is common in a lot of sports, but the side-to-side motion in hockey puts a strain on the pubic symphysis, causing the kind of lesions you just showed me.”
“Possibly a hockey player. Good. In fact, terrific. Grew up in a cool climate, that fits. Surely someone out there will recognize all the information we have and can identify this guy. Thanks.”
“Glad to be of help. Now, will you follow my orders as a doctor and go home and get some rest?”
“Sure.” Diane locked the vault, turned out the lights in the lab and locked it and the second floor when they left. Their shoes echoed on the marble floor as they walked across the lobby and through the doors to the elevator. Chanell Napier and Bernie Chapman were the two security officers on duty. They were talking to each other at the front information desk. Chanell was inside the semicircular booth and Bernie was leaning on the desk.
“Where’s Leonard tonight?” asked Diane.
“He’s been sick the last couple of days,” said Chanell. “We’re filling in for him.”
Diane realized how much she’d been neglecting the museum and felt guilty. “Not serious, I hope?”
“I don’t think so,” said Chanell. “He said he was having migraines.”
“You two doing OK?”
“It’s real quiet here. Bernie was just about to make the rounds.”
Bernie ran a hand through his red hair and put on his security cap. “Just going now,” he said, and started off on his rounds.
“Be sure to keep an eye out for that missing snake,” she told him. “I want him found.”
“Oh, my God,” Bernie said. A little tremble went through him. “I forgot about that snake.” He watched the floor along the walls and looked under a table in the hallway as he passed. At one point he gave a sudden jump to
