Unnatural Exposure

'I don't think we're dealing with the same killer this time.'

'I don't know what to think,' Marino said. 'But we got two big things in common. A

torso, and it was dumped in central Virginia.

'He's had a varied victimology all along,' said Wesley, wearing his surgical mask loose around his neck. 'One black, two whites, all female, and one black male. The five in Dublin were mixed, as well. But again, all were young.'

'So would you now expect him to choose an old woman?' I asked him.

'Frankly, I wouldn't. But these people aren't an exact science, Kay. This is somebody who does whatever the hell he feels like whenever he feels like it.'

'The dismemberment isn't the same, it's not through the joints,' I reminded them. 'And

I think she was clothed or wrapped in something.'

'This one may have bothered him more,' Wesley said, taking the mask off altogether and dropping it on top of the desk. 'His urge to kill again may have been overwhelming, and she may have been easy.' He looked at the torso. 'So he strikes,

but his M.O. shifts because the victimology has suddenly shifted, and he doesn't really like it. He leaves her at least partially dressed or covered because raping and killing an old woman aren't what turn him on. And he cuts off her head first so he doesn't have

to look at her.'

'You see any sign of rape?' Marino asked me.

'You rarely do,' I said. 'I'm about to finish up here. She'll go in the freezer like the other ones in the hope we eventually get an identification. I've got muscle tissue and marrow for DNA, hoping that we'll eventually have a missing person to compare it with.'

I was discouraged, and it showed. Wesley collected his coat from the back of a door, leaving a small puddle on the floor.

'I'd like to see the photograph sent to you over AOL,' he said to me.

'That doesn't fit the M.O., either, by the way,' I said as I began suturing the Y-incision.

'I wasn't sent anything in the earlier cases.'

Marino was in a hurry, as if he had somewhere else to go. 'I'm heading out to Sussex,' he said, walking to the door. 'Gotta meet Lone Ranger Ring so he can give me lessons in how to investigate homicides.'

He abruptly left, and I knew the real reason why. Despite his preaching to me about marriage, my relationship with Wesley secretly bothered Marino. A part of him would always be jealous.

'Rose can show you the photograph,' I said to Wesley as I washed the body with hose and sponge. 'She knows how to get into my e-mail.'

Disappointment glinted in his eyes before he could mask it. I carried the cartons of bone ends to a distant counter where they would be boiled in a weak solution of bleach, to completely deflesh and degrease them. He stayed where he was, waiting and watching until I got back. I did not want him to go, but I did not know what to do with him anymore.

'Can't we talk, Kay?' he finally said. 'I've hardly seen you. Not in months. I know we're both busy, and this isn't a good time. But…'

'Benton,' I interrupted with feeling. 'Not here.'

'Of course not. I'm not suggesting we talk here.'

'It will just be more of the same.'

'I promise it won't.' He checked the clock on the wall. 'Look, it's already late. Why don't I just stay in town. We'll have dinner.'

I hesitated, ambivalence bouncing from one end of my brain to the other. I was afraid to see him and afraid not to see him.

'All right,' I said. 'My house at seven. I'll throw together something. Don't expect much.'

'I can take you out. I don't want you to go to any trouble.'

'The last place I want to be right now is out in public,' I said.

His eyes lingered on me a little longer as I labeled tags and tubes and various types of containers. The strike of his heels was sharp on tile as he left, and I heard him speak to someone as elevator doors opened in the hall. Seconds later, Wingo walked in.

'I would have got here sooner.' He went to a cart and began putting on new shoe covers, mask and gloves. 'But it's a zoo upstairs.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' I asked, untying my gown in back as he slipped into a fresh one.

'Reporters.' He put on a face shield and looked at me through clear plastic. 'In the lobby. Casing the building in their television vans.' He looked tensely at me. 'Hate to tell you, but now Channel Eight's got you blocked in. Their van's right behind your car so you can't get out, and nobody's in it.'

Anger rose like heat. 'Call the police and get them towed,' I said from the locker room.

'You finish up here. I'm going upstairs to take care of this.'

Slamming my balled-up gown into the laundry bin, I grabbed off gloves, shoe covers and cap. I vigorously scrubbed with antibacterial soap and yanked open my locker, my hands suddenly clumsy. I was very upset, this case, the press, Wesley, everything was getting to me.

'Dr Scarpetta?'

Wingo was suddenly in the doorway as I fumbled with buttons on my blouse, and his walking in on me while I was dressing was nothing new. It never bothered either of us, for I was as comfortable with him as I would be with a woman.

'I was wondering if you had time…' He hesitated. 'Well, I know you're busy today.' I tossed bloody Reeboks into my locker and slipped on the shoes I had worn to work. Then I put on my lab coat.

'Actually, Wingo' - I checked my anger so I did not take it out on him - 'I'd like to talk to you, too. When you finish down here, come see me in my office.'

He did not have to tell me. I had a feeling I knew. I rode the elevator upstairs, my mood darkened like a storm about to strike. Wesley was still in my office, studying what was on my computer screen, and I walked past in the hallway without slowing my stride. It was Rose I wanted to find. When I got to the front office, clerks were frantically answering phones that would not stop, while my secretary and administrator were before a window overlooking the front parking lot.

The rain had not relented, and this had not seemed to deter a single journalist, cameraman or photographer in this town. They seemed crazed, as if the story must be huge for everyone else to be braving a downpour.

'Where are Fielding and Grant?' I asked about my deputy chief and this year's fellow. My administrator was a retired sheriff who loved cologne and snappy suits. He stepped away from the window, while Rose continued to look out.

'Dr Fielding's in court,' he said. 'Dr Grant had to leave because his basement's flooding.'

Rose turned around with the demeanor of one ready to fight, as if her nest had been invaded. 'I put Jess in the filing room,' she said of the receptionist.

'So there's no one out front.' I looked toward the lobby.

'Oh, there are plenty of people, all right,' my secretary angrily said as phones rang and rang. 'I didn't want anybody sitting out there with all those vultures. I don't care if there is bulletproof glass.'

'How many reporters are in the lobby?'

'Fifteen, maybe twenty, last I checked,' my administrator answered. 'I went out there once and asked them to leave. They said they weren't going until they had a statement from you. So I thought we could write something up and…'

'I'll give them a statement, all right,' I snapped.

Rose put her hand on my arm. 'Dr Scarpetta, I'm not sure it's a good idea…' I interrupted her, too. 'Leave this to me.'

The lobby was small, and the thick glass partition made it impossible for any unauthorized person to get in. When I rounded the corner, I could not believe how many people were crammed into the room, the floor filthy with footprints and dirty puddles. As soon as they saw me, camera lights blazed. Reporters began shouting, shoving microphones and tape recorders close as flash guns went off in my face.