Today she wore a little more makeup than usual, mostly to hide the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her silk blouse was slightly too fancy, and her snug black pencil skirt was perhaps a tad too short. She’d bought these items while climbing the social ladder in Florida. Patients came to her office to spend thousands of dollars on cosmetic dental work. What would they think their teeth would end up looking like if their dentist had a crappy appearance?

She had no money to buy a conservative suit for interviews now, but her shoes were a sensible height, and the briefcase she carried was professional. This should balance things out. Val tried to reassure herself that being petite, she could pull off wearing something short without appearing inappropriate. Plus, her long brown hair was demurely pulled back in a barrette and she wore black-framed glasses over her dark, almond-shaped eyes. When she was younger, men found her attractive, mostly because of her eyes, which gave her a slightly exotic look. Now, at thirty-six, she wasn’t sure where she stood with the opposite sex anymore. Other than seeking a job, she hadn’t been out of the house much in the past year.

As Val entered the building, she wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and pulled down on the hem, then approached the secretary, who was sitting behind a large window of what appeared to be bulletproof glass. A speaker in the middle of it was attached to a microphone on the other side. To the left of the window were large metal doors, presumably to enter the rest of the building. They had big warning signs: “Alarm will sound” and “Restricted area” and “Wait for lock to open”.

Jesus, is this the medical examiner’s office or the goddamn U.S. Mint?

Val waited as patiently as she could, her foot tapping anxiously on the floor, but the woman behind the glass ignored her. The nameplate on the desk read Betty Fletcher. Betty had a telephone pressed to her ear and made no effort to discontinue her conversation to greet her.

Val wondered if Betty knew the microphone was on because she could hear everything Betty said. “DNA results are pending on that skull found in Chestnut Ridge Park. The one missing all the teeth.”

Pause.

“A hiker found it on one of the trails. From what I heard, you couldn’t miss it. Detective Gavin thinks it was put out in the open on purpose, that it was supposed to be seen. He talked to several people who were on that trail only the day before, and it wasn’t there.”

Pause.

“It must belong to Jeanne Coleman. You know, the murdered woman that had all her teeth ripped out.”