Find Her Alive (Detective Josie Quinn #8) - Lisa Regan Page 0,16
you tell how long they’ve been here?” Noah asked.
“Normally, I’d say a few hours,” Dr. Feist said. “Only because out here, in the woods, this little arrangement here wouldn’t last longer than that.”
“What do you mean?” Noah asked.
“Animals would have found these bones and carried some of them off or at least disturbed them,” Josie put in.
“Exactly,” Dr. Feist said. “Bodies left out in the elements, exposed, are usually subject to scavenging. Out here, there are all kinds of animals that would be interested in a decomposing body. There’s not much left of this one that would be of interest to scavenging animals but that wouldn’t stop them from investigating.” She leaned over, one of her gloved fingers hovering over the rib cage. “Actually, it does look like something got to these bones.” She beckoned them closer. Noah kept a careful hold on Josie’s arm, and they took a few more steps together. Dr. Feist pointed to the two lower left ribs where it looked as though pieces of fibrous material clung to the bones. “See this? This is soft tissue that wasn’t entirely removed from the bones. See how the bone looks frayed? That’s usually from scavengers picking the soft tissue off the bones.”
Josie thought she might be sick.
Dr. Feist kept talking. “This body was definitely exposed to scavengers during decomposition, but that didn’t happen here.”
Noah said, “You said ‘normally’ you’d say a few hours. You think these remains have been here longer than a few hours?”
Dr. Feist nodded. She shifted her weight and pointed to the arm bones. “Yes, but only because they’ve been pinned down.”
“What?” Josie said.
Dr. Feist reached down and tugged something from the ground. It was metal, about ten inches long, pointed at the end that went into the ground with a clear plastic piece on the top of it. “Steel tent stakes,” Dr. Feist explained. She held the stake in one hand and with the fingers of her other hand, she pinched a clear string that attached to another stake on the other side of the bones. “Fishing line. Someone tied one end to each stake and then used it to keep the bones tied down to the ground.”
“Fishing line?” Noah said.
Josie’s throat was dry. “So it doesn’t interfere with the way the display looks. It doesn’t distract from… this.”
Dr. Feist said, “Someone spent some time over this.”
“Even with the stakes, a determined animal would be able to make off with some of these bones, don’t you think?” Noah said.
Dr. Feist laid the stake back onto the ground. “Sure, but like I said, there’s not much left on these bones to entice them.”
“How long?” Josie asked. “How long have they been out here?”
Dr. Feist stood. “You know I can’t say with certainty, but knowing what I know about bones and animals and this area, I’d say no more than a day or two.”
“Can you tell how long the victim has been dead?” Noah asked.
“That’s a little more complicated. Since the body didn’t decompose here, we don’t know what kind of temperature or condition it was left in during the decomp process. To estimate the time of death, we generally rely on being able to determine the temperature of the environment in which the body decomposed, ideally going back as far as two months, as well as whether conditions were moist or dry. We rely on the presence of insects and bacteria in the soil. We also know that scavengers and extreme heat can accelerate decomposition considerably. Oftentimes, we can tell a lot by any personal items found along with it. Without any of those contextual clues, I can’t really say how long this victim has been dead. I might need to consult an expert in forensic taphonomy to give you any idea at all.”
“Forensic taphonomy?” Noah repeated.
“It’s the study of how remains decompose and fossilize,” Dr. Feist said.
Hummel, who had been standing nearby listening, said, “We’ll take those stakes in for analysis. Maybe we can get a print or a partial print. We’ll definitely check for manufacturer and which stores sell them.”
“Thanks, Hummel,” Josie said.
He nodded. “I’ll get Chan out here to get these remains transferred to the morgue. You want to have a look inside?”
Nine
Josie was about to say that she’d been inside, but Noah was already steering her away from the bones, around the cabin and through the front door. She did feel as though she could breathe better away from the crime scene. They were looking around when Mettner walked in.