I had considered that. It was not an uncommon scenario.
“There are no drilled holes, no wire fragments, no signs of chemical treatment or mechanical modification. The bones were not assembled for display purposes.”
Magnified, the temporal marks looked like broad V-shaped valleys. Some ran parallel to the ear opening, others were scattered at angles around it. Micro-chipping along the edges suggested the damage had occurred when the bone was dry and defleshed.
“These marks weren’t made by a scalpel. They’re too wide in cross section. Also, the alignment is more random than I’d expect as a result of an autopsy. I think they’re postmortem artifacts.”
An ill-formed thought tapped gently on a mental shoulder.
Why the V-shape? That’s not typical of abrasion damage.
“This one had considerably fewer dental problems.”
I looked up. Bergeron was at the second worktable, examining the jaw fragments belonging to LSJML- 38427.
“The apicals are in the file.” I pointed at a yellow folder beside the bones.
Bergeron spread the dental X-rays on the light box.
“Could be a bit younger, I’d say fifteen to seventeen.”
“Do you see anything at all distinctive?”
Bergeron shook his head. The frizz wobbled.
Replacing the mandibular fragments of 38427, Bergeron moved back to 38428, picked up the skull, and aimed his penlight.
“There was something on this one…” Bergeron’s voice trailed off.
“What?”
Bergeron swapped the skull for the jaw, and aimed his beam at the lower dentition.
“Yes.”
Abandoning the scope, I joined him.
“What?”
“This should clarify the uncertainty on your dates.”
Bergeron handed me the skull and penlight.
21
“TIP THE CRANIUM, THEN MOVE THE LIGHT BACK AND FORTH over the molars.”
I did as Bergeron instructed.
“Do you see a glossiness in the folds of the enamel?”
I didn’t.
“Angle the beam.”
Bergeron was right. The shine was subtle but present, way down in the grooves.
“What is it?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the molars have been treated with a pit and fissure sealant.”
When I looked up, Bergeron was gangling his way to the scope. The man was definitely not poetry in motion.
“Sealant is a thin coating of plastic resin that’s applied to the chewing surface of a bicuspid or molar. It’s painted on as a liquid, and in roughly a minute it hardens to form a protective shield.”
“What’s the purpose?”
“To prevent occlusal caries. Tooth decay.”
Bergeron slipped the lower jaw of LSJML-38428 under the lens, peered through the eyepieces, and adjusted focus.
Hope did a little moth-flutter in my chest.
“When did these sealants come into use?”
“The first commercially available sealants were marketed to dentists in the early 1970s. They’ve been in widespread use since the eighties.” Bergeron spoke without looking up.
The moth exploded into a hummingbird.
The girl in the leather shroud couldn’t have died in the fifties! By elimination, that jumped her to the late eighties!
I tried to keep my voice calm.
