have noticed my disappointment.
“You give up too easily, my dear. Your friend Mr. O’Connor was not so easily dismayed. Now, within these regions, there are only so many places with fluoride levels that could produce fluorosis this severe. But setting that aside for the moment, I must tell you that your previous coroner really did not follow up on a great many clues to her identity.”
“Such as?” Frank asked.
“According to the autopsy report, her skin was fairly tanned. This makes the Southwest the most likely candidate of the three regions, although she could have been from a farm or worked outdoors in the others. But we have other evidence that she was from the Southwest.
“The autopsy report also indicates that the time of death was about seven P.M. the evening she was found. Her stomach contents showed she had been killed shortly after she ate her dinner. Guess what she had eaten?”
Frank and I shrugged.
“Tacos!” he shouted, slamming his hand on the desk again. It must be harder than hell to doze off in this guy’s classes.
“This blond woman ate tacos for dinner in southern California in 1955! Now, there were Mexican restaurants then, of course, but Mexican food was not available through big chain restaurants all over the country.
“This is just a hypothesis, of course, but I believe that this woman may have spent at least some of her childhood years in a sunny border state, somewhere with a considerable Hispanic population. It had to be an area where high fluoride content in the water stained the local children’s teeth. I would say that narrows the field to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.”
“Can we be certain that she didn’t get the stains from fluoride added to the water supply or by fluoride tablets from a dentist?” Frank asked.
“Certain? No, nothing is certain. Reasonably sure? Yes. Fluoride wasn’t added to water in the United States until the mid-1940s, and Hannah here probably would have been too old to receive these stains then. But the most compelling reason to doubt it is that fluoride additions to water supplies are done very carefully, and at low levels. I believe stains like hers would be from a source three to four times higher in fluoride than the highest fluoride addition.”
“Is there any kind of listing of communities that might fit that level of natural fluoridation?” Frank asked.
“Of course. I’ve had copies of a fluoridation survey of the Southwest prepared for you.”
He thumbed through the papers and handed over a few pages. “I gave a copy of this same report to Mr. O’Connor. I’ve highlighted the communities which are the most likely candidates for this degree of fluorosis.”
“Thank you, Dr. MacPherson,” said Frank, glancing at the report. I tried to read over his shoulder.
“Of course,” MacPherson said as we read, “you’ll also want her picture.”
“What!” we shouted in unison, both startled into looking up at the old man.
MacPherson couldn’t have been more pleased with himself.
“The picture is what took so long. Amazing what these computers can do. I sent copies of the photos from the autopsy and measurements of the skull to a fellow who is quite good at visual reconstructions.”
From his papers, he pulled out a computer-generated drawing that, across the desk, did not look unlike a photo.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “allow me to introduce Hannah.”
16
LOOKING BACK AT US from the photo was an attractive young woman with medium-length, curled blond hair and a tan complexion. She had high cheekbones and dark, arching brows over dark eyes. The computer artist had given her make-up and a hairstyle circa 1955, and, with an understanding of human frailties, a closed-mouth smile.
The professor had several other views, a couple with smiles showing the stained teeth; there were even some with slightly different noses.
“The nose suffered the most damage in the violence done to her face,” MacPherson explained. “Interestingly, the eyes weren’t touched. As I said, this case was, in my opinion, badly mishandled. Had the head been severed and removed from the scene with the hands and feet, then I could understand the lack of progress. But this type of battering is not impossible to reconstruct — indeed, someone did take the time to remove the flesh from the skull, to painstakingly glue her skull back together, but then, it seems, did not proceed from there. The photos from the autopsy wouldn’t be a pretty sight for the lay person, but to someone who works in a field which constantly exposes him to the very worst sorts of damage human beings can suffer, it would not be so bad.”
At this point, he pulled out one of the autopsy photos. I guess I’m still a lay person; to me it looked awful. Frank didn’t flinch, though, so I suppose the professor was right.
“I’ll let you take all of this,” MacPherson said, carefully replacing the skull in the box and gathering up the papers. “I will be happy to answer any questions which arise after you’ve had a chance to read the material. Would you please make sure that Hannah’s skull is safely returned to Dr. Hernandez?”
“Certainly,” Frank answered, taking the box. I was glad he had handed the box to Frank. I’m not especially squeamish, but the idea of riding back in the car with a skull in a box was enough to give me the willies.
“Dr. MacPherson,” I said, “I know this would have meant a great deal to Mr. O’Connor. You’ve undertaken a lot of work here on his behalf. We do appreciate it.”
“Not at all, not at all. Your friend had a way of piquing one’s curiosity. I am the luckiest of men. I find this type of work fascinating, and sometimes I’m even paid to do it. Please let me know what you learn.”
We all shook hands and Frank left his card, in case Dr. MacPherson had questions of his own later on. We started to leave, when Frank hesitated, then said, “One other thing, Dr. MacPherson. We have to advise anyone even remotely connected with Mr. O’Connor on this case to be very careful. Mr. O’Connor’s son has been critically injured. Shots have been taken at Miss Kelly’s home. We’re dealing with a very violent person here.”
“Detective Harriman, when you have testified against as many psychopaths as I have, you become cautious by habit. But how interesting! I would have thought the odds of the killer still being alive and in the area slim, but this
