Crooked River(9)

He knelt. It wasn’t a sneaker exactly, nor was it a slipper. There were no laces, it being of an elastic, slip-on style. The sole was stamped in a nonskid waffle pattern. It was the kind of inexpensive, even disposable footwear someone who worked in a manufacturing clean room or a hospital ward might wear.

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out nitrile gloves and a mask and put them on. Then he plucked the shoe from the sand, looked at it closely, turned it over in his hands. It wasn’t only the design but the material that seemed unusual.

While he was poking a finger inside to palpate the flesh, he heard someone call loudly. “Hey! Hey, you!”

Pendergast turned to see the man in the gold-braided uniform—the one the police chief had said was a Coast Guard commander—gesturing at him, a hard look on his face.

Pickett said something and then called out to Pendergast. “Agent Pendergast, would you mind?”

Pendergast carefully replaced the shoe, walked across the beach, and approached the group, pulling off the mask and gloves as he did so.

The Coast Guard commander was glowering at him. “You shouldn’t be touching crime scene evidence without—”

“Agent Pendergast,” Pickett interrupted, his voice edged with impatience, “this is Deputy Sector Commander Baugh of the U.S. Coast Guard.” He then introduced Pendergast to the mayor of Sanibel and the police chief of Fort Myers, both of whom seemed a little cowed by the red-faced bluster of the commander. “Commander Baugh will be taking overall charge of the investigation.”

“That’s correct,” said Baugh. “And any evidence handling will be done by teams designated for the task. This is a fluid situation, and we need to set up a clear chain of command, division of responsibilities, procedures, and timetables. Only then can we proceed with the investigation.”

“Speaking of timetables,” Pendergast said, “it appears these feet have been in the water about three weeks. I’m curious to know how that fact will drive your investigative plans.”

There was a sudden silence. The commander looked at him, his frown mingling with uncertainty. “Three weeks? How would you know that?”

“Or perhaps four, on the outside—the laboratory examination will provide more specifics. You see, Commander, the life cycle of the lowly barnacle is most useful in matters of forensic marine biology. They develop on a set schedule, and a juvenile barnacle in the early sessile phase was visible on the sole of the shoe I was examining. Barnacles—something you should look into at your earliest opportunity.”

When Baugh turned to the bald police chief from Fort Myers and asked why this barnacle observation had not yet been reported, Pickett took Pendergast a few yards away from the group. “You can see how it is,” he said, an irritated crease in his brow. “Already the jackasses are out in force. The case is so bizarre it’s thrown all the local agencies into confusion. Commander Baugh is claiming jurisdiction, given that these damned feet are coming in from the sea. Naturally, it’s important for the FBI to be represented.”

“Naturally.”

“No doubt a task force will be set up, and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that Commander Baugh will be put in charge. You’ll have to appear subordinate to the commander. I’ll expect regular reports.”

Pendergast took a deep breath. “Sir, are you forgetting what I said earlier?”

“I remember what you said. But tell me: have you ever seen anything like this before?”

“No.”

“Never in your experience? Nothing remotely like it?”

A pause. “No.”

“Do you have even the slightest idea of a reason why sixty, seventy human feet would wash up on a beach in the middle of a Florida resort island?”

“Not the slightest.”

“And yet, you’re not curious about it?”

Pendergast did not answer the question.

“There you go.” Pickett looked pleased, as if he’d just checked a chess opponent. “That’s why you must take this case. Because it is absolutely outside of all our experience. You have to know.”

“I do not particularly like boats or the sea.”

“Dramamine,” said Pickett. “And I was thinking you could use some help on this case. Like last time, I mean. A partner.”

Pendergast went quite still.

“It’s worth mentioning that Agent Coldmoon’s still around. He’s applied for a posting to Colorado, and if it’s approved—which it will be—it will take a few weeks to process.” Pickett paused to brush some sand from his cuffs. “And after all, you worked so brilliantly together.”

Pendergast remained still. “I made every effort to be accommodating to Agent Coldmoon. Are you implying I could not have solved the Brokenhearts case on my own?”

The long silence answered the question. “We’re dealing with something quite different here,” Pickett went on, “but equally baffling. Coldmoon is an agent whose qualities complement yours.”

“As I recall,” Pendergast said coldly, “through haste and impetuousness, Agent Coldmoon fell into a pit and I had to rescue him.”

Pickett held up his hands. “All right, all right, let’s forget about Coldmoon. You know I always believe partnering is the better strategy, but never mind. If I give you free rein to explore this on your own, using your own methods—observing the task force chain of command, of course, but with total freedom from our end—will you agree to investigate?”