- Not used on victim here
Stercobilin, urea 9.3 g/L, chloride 1.87 g/L, sodium 1.17 g/L, potassium 0.750 g/L, creatinine 0.670 g/L - fecal material
- Possibly suggesting interest/obsession in underground - From future kill sites underground?
Benzalkonium chloride - Quaternary ammonium (quat), institutional sanitizer
Adhesive latex - Used in bandages and construction, other uses too.
Inwood marble - Dust and fine grains
Tovex explosive - Probably from blast site
* * *
Rhyme turned from the chart to Amelia Sachs, whom he caught staring out the window into the sleety morning. She was still obviously troubled by the news she'd received yesterday - that Pam was going on a 'round-the-world tour with her boyfriend, then moving in with him when they returned.
Seth was a nice young man, she'd explained as they'd lain in his sumptuous bed last night, lights out, the wind battering the windows. 'To date. Not hole up in a hostel in Morocco or Goa. Maybe he's Mr Perfect, maybe he's not. Who can tell?'
'Think it'll blow over?'
'No. She's determined.'
'Like you. Remember your mother didn't like you going out with a gimp in a wheelchair?'
'You could've been a marathon runner and she wouldn't've liked you. Nobody could meet my mother's standards. She likes you now, though.'
'My point exactly.'
'I like Seth. I'll like him better in a year.'
/> Rhyme had smiled.
She had asked, 'Any thoughts?'
'Afraid not.' Rhyme had been married for a few years. He'd gotten divorced not long after his accident (his call; not his wife's), but the marriage had been doomed for some time. He was sure he'd been in love at some point but the relationship had soured for reasons he could never isolate, quantify and analyze. As for what he had with Sachs? It worked because it worked. That was the best he could say. Lincoln Rhyme was admittedly in no position to offer romantic advice.
But then who, ultimately, was? Love is an occurrence for which there are no expert witnesses.
Sachs had added, 'And I didn't handle it well. I got protective. Too motherly. It turned ugly. I should've been objective, rational. But, no, I let things get out of control.'
Now, this morning, Rhyme could see that Sachs was still deeply troubled. He was thinking he should say something reassuring, when, to his relief, the professional deflected the personal.
'Have something here,' Pulaski called from across the lab, where he'd been staring at a monitor. 'I think ...' He fell silent, glowering. 'Damn Internet. Just when I had some hits.'
Rhyme could see that his screen was frozen.
'Okay, okay, up again.'
He was tapping more keys. Maps and schematics and what appeared to be lists of compounds and elemental materials popped up on the big screen.
'You're getting to be quite the scientist, rookie,' Rhyme said, regarding the notes.
'What do you have, Ron?' Mel Cooper asked.
'Some good news for a change. Maybe.'
CHAPTER 18