The Wrong Bones (Widow's Island #10)(4)

Henry measured a thighbone. “The femur makes up approximately one-quarter of the body’s height. She was approximately sixty-four inches tall, give or take an inch.”

Tessa wrote another note.

Henry placed a few more bones and glanced back into the box. “We probably have about seventy-five percent of these remains. Mostly small bones are missing.” He placed an arm bone, then paused, turning it over in his hands. “This is weird.”

Tessa and Logan moved closer.

Henry set down the bone and pulled out a pair of reading glasses. He adjusted his lamp, then changed to fresh gloves and pointed to the end of the femur. “This looks like a saw mark.” He checked the ends of the other long bones. “Here too. And here.” He straightened, his eyes meeting Tessa’s gaze, then Logan’s.

“Saw marks on the joints of the large bones.” Dread rose in Logan’s throat.

The doctor paled. “I think she was dismembered.”

“Postmortem?” Tessa asked.

“I hope so,” Henry said. “But I can’t say for certain.”

“Still means she was murdered,” Logan said, though he’d known the case was murder from the beginning.

“Yes.” Tessa echoed Logan’s thoughts. “People who die of natural causes or accidents aren’t kept in boxes.”

Henry reached into the box for another bone. “This might be the clue we need. This ulna was broken and stabilized with a bone plate and screws.”

Logan peered over the doctor’s shoulder. “Do medical devices have serial numbers we can track?”

Henry shrugged. “Many manufacturers use serial numbers, but there’s no centralized database to search.”

Tessa tapped her pen on her notebook. “But if there was a missing person report filed, the injury and repair should be noted and will make identification of the remains easier.”

“Correct.” Henry pointed to another mark on a bone. “These look like teeth marks.”

“Let’s hope those are from animal predation on the corpse,” Tessa said in a grim voice.

They all went silent for a few seconds. Logan did not want to think about cannibalism.

Henry cleared his throat. “The anthropologist should be able to give us more information on the type of teeth that gnawed on the bones.”

Logan leaned over to examine some shallow gouges in another bone. “The body or body parts could have been left outside or buried at some point.”

“Which would also explain some missing bones,” Tessa said. “Animals carry off body parts.”

Henry gave the bones another thorough inspection, then stepped away. “That’s about all I can tell you. I’ll inventory these bones and send them to the medical examiner on the mainland in the morning.”

“The ferry is down,” Logan said. “Might be a day before it’s up and running again.”

Tessa sighed. “I can’t justify the cost of emergency transport. The remains aren’t fresh. It’s hard to argue that one extra day would make a huge difference in the outcome of the case. She’s clearly been dead a long time.”

The ferry system in Washington State was typically very reliable, but Widow’s was less busy than the nearby San Juan Islands. Outside the summer tourist season, their island wasn’t the highest priority for ferry repairs.

“On the bright side,” Logan said, “without the ferry running, our suspect will have a harder time getting off the island.”

“We’ll need to secure the remains until then.” Tessa frowned.

“Evidence locker at the station would be more secure than Henry’s office.” Logan met Tessa’s gaze.

A few weeks ago, Henry had been kidnapped. He’d dislocated his shoulder in a nasty fall. Logan didn’t want him to be a target or suffer any additional physical or mental trauma. Though she said nothing, Logan could tell that Tessa agreed.

She nodded to Logan, then turned back to Henry. “Call me after you catalog the bones. I’ll secure them at the station.”

“Will do.” Henry scanned the rough skeleton. “Give me a couple of hours.”

“Okay.” Tessa turned to leave.

“Hold on.” Henry peeled off his gloves and washed his hands. “Let me have a look at that cheek.”

“It’s okay,” Tessa said. “Nothing’s broken.”

Henry crossed his arms.

Tessa sighed. “Fine.”

Henry changed his gloves, then probed her cheek. “You’re right. I don’t think anything is broken. Ice will help minimize any swelling and bruising.”

Tessa nodded, but they all knew she wouldn’t bother.

Henry stood. “You don’t want a bruise on your face for your wedding.”

Tessa shrugged. “It’s nothing a little concealer won’t fix.”

Logan stifled a laugh at the very-typical-Tessa response. She was practical almost to a fault.

“We’ll touch base in a couple of hours.” Henry made an ice pack for Tessa; then he walked them to the door. Logan followed Tessa outside. The locks engaged with a snicking sound.

“Do you think the suspect will try to steal them back?” Logan asked.

“Who knows?” Tessa lifted both shoulders. “They tried to run away with the bones, so the bones are clearly important.”