Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell Page B

whose name was Sanford. 'How do you figure he was doing that?'
    'Tank top half on, shirt and tie crumpled on the passenger's seat,' Jones explained. 'Seems he was leaving work to meet some friends at a bar. We've had these cases before -- someone changing clothes, shaving, putting on makeup while they're driving.'
    'That's when you want the little box on the death certificate that says manner of death was stupid,' Fielding said.
    'Quite possibly all of you are aware that Carrie Grethen escaped from Kirby last night,' I went on. 'Though this does not directly impact this office, clearly we should be more than a little concerned.'
    I tried to be as matter-of-fact as possible.
    'Expect the media to call,' I said.
    'They already have,' said Jones as he peered at me over his reading glasses. 'The answering service has received five calls since last night.'
    'About Carrie Grethen.' I wanted to be sure.
    'Yes, ma'am,' he said. 'And four more calls about the Warrenton case.'
    'Let's get to that,' I said. 'There will be no information coming from this office at this point. Not about the escape from Kirby nor the Warrenton death. Fielding and I will be downstairs the better part of the day, and I want no interruptions that aren't absolutely necessary. This case is very sensitive.'
    I looked around the table at faces that were somber but alive with interest.
    'At present I don't know if we're dealing with an accident, suicide, or homicide, and the remains have not been identified. Tim,' I addressed the toxicologist, 'let's get a STAT alcohol and CO. This lady may have been a drug abuser, so I'll want a drug screen for opiates, amphetamines and methamphetamine, barbiturates, cannabinoids, as fast as you can get it.'
    He nodded as he wrote this down. I paused long enough to scan newspaper articles that Jones had clipped for me, then I followed the hallway back to the morgue. In the ladies' locker room I removed my blouse and skirt and went to a cabinet to fetch a transmitter belt and mike that had been custom-designed for me by Lanier. The belt went around my upper waist under a long-sleeved blue surgical gown so the mike key would not come into direct contact with bloody hands. Last, I clipped the cordless mike to my collar, laced up my morgue shoes again, covered them with booties, and tied on a face shield and surgical mask.
    Fielding emerged into the autopsy room the same time I did.
    'Let's get her into X-ray,' I said.
    We rolled the steel table across the corridor into the X-ray room and lifted the body and accompanying fire debris by corners of the sheets. This we transferred onto a table beneath the C-arm of the Mobile Digital Imaging System, which was an X-ray machine and fluoroscope in one computer-controlled unit. I went through the various set-up procedures, locking in various connecting cables and turning on the work station with a key. Lighted segments and a time line lit up on the control panel, and I loaded a film cassette into the holder and pressed a floor pedal to activate the video monitor.
    'Aprons,' I said to Fielding.
    I handed him a lead-lined one that was Carolina blue. Mine was heavy and felt full of sand as I tied it in back.
    'I think we're ready,' I announced as I pressed a button.
    By moving the C-arm, we were able to capture the remains in real time from many different angles, only unlike the examination of hospital patients, what we viewed did not breathe or beat or swallow. Static images of dead organs and bones were black and white on the video screen, and I saw no projectiles or anomalies. As we pivoted the C-arm some more, we discovered several radiopaque shapes that I suspected were metal objects mingled with the debris. We watched our progress on screen, digging and sifting with our gloved hands until I closed my fingers around two hard objects. One was the size and shape of a half dollar, the other smaller than that and square. I began cleaning them in the sink.
    'What's left of a small silver metal