Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness by William Bernhardt

for you."
    Ness looked at him sharply. "Have any idea how much work, how many hours, that might involve?"
    "Haven't I been out with you every night?"
    "Good point. Can you keep your nose clean?"
    "Absolutely."
    "Got any objection to working days at a time?"
    "Not the least."
    "Got a wife?"
    "Nope."
    "Probably better that way. You sure you want to do this?"
    "I am, sir. My mother says you're doing God's own work, right here in Cleveland. I want to be a part of that. I want to help you any way I can."
    Ness grinned, then slapped Chamberlin on the shoulder. "Then you're on the team, pal. Now tell me how we get into that club."

18
    "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
    "There was nothing to tell."
    "You're saying another woman bein' butchered is nothing?"
    "It happened some time ago. I had no reason to believe there was any connection. Still don't."
    "You should've said something."
    "You should've known."
    Merylo bit down on his lower lip, which prevented him from saying what he was thinking. Pearce had always been an arrogant so-and-so, but now he was interfering with Merylo's ability to do his job, and that was unacceptable. The coroner was supposed to help the team, not hinder it.
    "That woman's torso must've been brought to you. How could you forget something like that?"
    "I didn't. I simply didn't see a connection. And excuse me, but weren't you on the homicide squad? Why didn't you remember?"
    "Because it wasn't reported as a homicide." It was a mistake, meeting Pearce here, in his own inner sanctum. It gave him an edge. A home-team advantage. Should've thought of an excuse to make the good doctor come to him. "They had the idea that it was an accidental death. Boating accident."
    "It might have been. The body was too decomposed by the time I got it to draw any definitive conclusions."
    "Whether it was or wasn't, that shrimp from the News is going to tell people it was. He's going to say this Torso Killer has been running around Cleveland for more than a year and we haven't done anything to stop him."
    "I don't see that this is my problem, much less my fault."
    Lieutenant Zalewski took a tiny step forward, clearing his throat. Pretty pathetic when your greenhorn assistant has to play peacemaker. "I read your report on the first case, Doctor. The Lady in the Lake. Despite the state of decomposition, you wrote that there was something unusual about the texture of the skin."
    "I recall that," Pearce said, fingering his glasses.
    "In fact, you wrote that it was possible the body had been exposed to some sort of preservative."
    "And your point is?"
    "His point is obvious," Merylo barked. "It's the same thing you said about the Kingsbury Run corpses. It makes a strong case for a connection between the murders."
    Pearce took a cigarette out of his pocket case and lit it. "Perhaps." He inhaled deeply, then waved it about in the air. Merylo wondered if he used cigarettes as a shield, something to create a barrier between them. "There are other possible explanations. A corpse floating in Lake Erie could be exposed to many corrosive chemicals."
    "No one at the News is going to report that. They'll go with the obvious. Reporters always do. Nothing can stop them."
    "Of course something can stop them. Catch the killer. That will stop them cold."
    "Do you think I'm not trying?" Merylo could feel his frustration mounting. Soon he wouldn't be able to suppress the anger. He needed to get himself out of here. He probably wasn't doing any good, and he risked alienating someone who, like it or not, he needed on his side. "It took two days, but my men found the rest of the last corpse on Orange Avenue, just a few blocks south of where we found the baskets. Everything except the head. Have you examined it?"
    Pearce shrugged. "They recovered the upper half of a female torso, minus the right arm, which we already had, and the head. Both lower legs. Mixed with extraneous substances that have been positively identified as charcoal, chicken feathers,