Free Crazy Mountain Kiss by Keith McCafferty Page B

I hope I didn’t overstep my authority.”
    â€œNo, that’s fine. You said something about her foot.”
    Hanson led Ettinger to the table. The antiseptic odor was very strong, but not strong enough. He pulled back the sheet covering the victim’s feet.
    â€œNote the pooling of blood during her time of suspension.” He lifted the curled toes and pointed with a steel probe to a circularpuncture wound under the right arch. A starburst of angry red lines radiated from the wound. “The puncture extends to the distal area. It stops just under the skin, you can see the contusion. The infection is in an early stage. That suggests the wound occurred in the same time frame as her death.”
    â€œWhat made it?”
    â€œA corroded iron nail. I can say that with certainty because the last centimeter broke off inside her foot. I extracted it and carried it to the forensics lab, handed it to Wilkerson personally. Isn’t it a relief to finally have a facility of our own? It got so tiresome sending everything to the state lab in Missoula, flagging for priority and waiting in the queue. I heard Gigi helped make that happen.”
    â€œShe’s a wonder.”
    â€œIs that sarcasm I detect?” The furry caterpillars that were the medical examiner’s eyebrows flexed half an inch.
    Martha ignored the comment. “There’s been talk about this girl having a relationship with the young man who disappeared at the same time. Is it possible to determine if she was a virgin?”
    Hanson shook his head. “The hymen is far from a perfect indicator of virginity, if that is what you’re getting at. But in this case the state of intactness is irrelevant. What you may have mistaken for postmortem bloating—I initially did—was the swelling of a second-trimester pregnancy. The fetus was 13.3 centimeters long. It’s hard to close the window on the time of conception because the fetus has lost weight since the mother died and mortality presents other complicating factors.”
    Martha felt her gut knot. “How far along?”
    â€œFive months, that’s approximate.”
    Martha thought back to her own pregnancies. At five months, could she feel the baby kick? Wasn’t that about the time it had started?
    â€œSo it had hair, teeth?”
    â€œShe. It was a girl. The fetus can make faces at that age, even what looks like a smile.”
    Martha sought the pulse in her throat, feeling for it with the latexsheath on her forefinger. It took effort to control her voice. “So that means she got pregnant at the time of her disappearance.”
    â€œJust before or after. If before, the obvious question is did she know. Did she perform a pregnancy test and that’s why she decided to run away? Perhaps she felt like she couldn’t go to her parents. I know I don’t need to tell you this.”
    Martha had stared off toward a shuttered window.
    â€œMartha?”
    â€œI heard you, Bob. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Did you inform Loretta Huntington?”
    â€œNo. I called to provide cause of death only.”
    â€œThis is going to strengthen her belief that it’s the young man who worked at the ranch. I’ll have to contact his family for a DNA sample to confirm paternity. What’s best, a sibling?”
    â€œOr the parents. But she was age of consent at the time of conception. According to the form I was provided, she turned sixteen the previous June. If no crime has been committed, I wouldn’t think there would be a legal obligation to comply with your request.”
    Martha pressed her lips together. “They’ll want to know. I would if it was my son.”
    â€œYes, you’re probably right. We’ve seen this kind of story before, haven’t we? The sexual urge is so strong. I just wish we were better at convincing teenage boys to put a wrapper on it.”
    Martha nodded. She noticed that Hanson was