Free Corpus de Crossword by Nero Blanc Page A

“Call me Lonnie.”
    â€œAll right … But thank you just the same. I’m sure you have work to do …”
    â€œYeah … I do have a couple of guys who pump gas for me, but they’re not mechanics, so if anything of an emergency nature pops up back at the station …”
    Jones looked past the two men. “Wasn’t there a woman who helped you with this?” He glanced at his clipboard. “A Ms. Amanda Mott? I was hoping she’d be with you to help answer some questions.”
    â€œShe couldn’t leave her classroom today. She’s a teacher. Elementary school.”
    When Abe Jones didn’t respond to this information, Lonnie forged anxiously ahead. “She’s also an EMT. That’s why I brought her in on the situation.”
    Jones gave Lever a look that clearly said, Spare us from novices messing with crime scenes, but opted for a less cutting: “EMT. Right. Good thinking.”
    Lonnie accepted the assessment as tacit approval. He stared at the skeleton. “He sure looks different all put together like that.”
    â€œAll in a day’s work,” Jones answered, “or three in this case … Now, what I want you to understand, Lonnie, is that everything I say, at this point, is based strictly on a preliminary visual examination of the remains. Other tests will take time …” Abe paused, waiting for Tucker’s response, which came in the form of a silent nod. “Now, from the hip and pelvic bones we know that this was most definitely not a male, but a female. At this point, I place her age somewhere between eighteen and twenty-one. Determining her age was a fairly simple exercise. Some of her bones are completely developed, where others, like her sacrum, for example, are not yet matured … Of course the most important fact, and the reason I alerted Lieutenant Lever, is that this woman was definitely murdered.”
    Tucker drew in a breath, although he didn’t utter a single word. It seemed a lot for him to take in all at once.
    With his pen Jones pointed to a small section of the skull that had been crushed inward. “This type of trauma to the rear of the skull would cause almost instant death … in most cases.”
    â€œJeez,” Lonnie finally said, “Amanda and I thought maybe the guys with the backhoe did that … Actually, we kind of hoped they had …”
    â€œNo. The fracture would appear quite different if that had been the case … I’m surprised Ms. Mott hadn’t made that assessment, given her EMT experience . Anyway, you’ll note that the woman’s bones have a dry and brittle appearance. If the backhoe had come into contact with the skull it would have cracked—like an eggshell cracks—while scrapes and nicks, easily recognizable as recent disturbances, would have then been introduced … The skull of a living person is much more flexible …” Again, Jones looked to Tucker for signs of comprehension. “My initial read on this, Lonnie, is that the damage occurred when our lady here was alive—and was definitely the cause of death—”
    â€œYou still don’t have any idea when she died? Or how long she was buried?” Lever interrupted.
    â€œNot yet … As I said, Al, tests like that are going to take some time.” Jones returned to Tucker. “Is there any way you could fill in some blanks for us?”
    â€œI can try …” Lonnie squinted his eyes, then muttered an unhappy: “Murder … This ain’t lookin’ good.” He blew out a breath and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
    Lever again reached for his pack of cigarettes, then, remembering Abe’s request, groaned and dropped his hands into his pockets. “I guess the big question is: Who was this young woman? Any ideas, Constable?”
    Tucker shook his head. “’Fraid not … Taneysville’s always