I waited while Larabee squeezed Aiker’s stomach contents into a jar and handed the specimen to Joe Hawkins.
“Accidental drowning?”
“I’m not finding anything to suggest otherwise. Fingernails are broken, looks like the hands may have been abraded. The poor bastard must have struggled to get out of the car, probably tried to break a window.”
“Is there any way to determine absolutely that death was by drowning?”
“Pretty tough cal after five years in the drink. Could test for diatoms, I suppose.”
“Diatoms?”
“Microorganisms found in plankton and freshwater and marine sediments. Been around since shortly after the big bang. Exist by the zil ions. In fact, some soils are formed entirely of the little buggers. Ever hear of diatomaceous earth?”
“My sister uses DE to filter her pool.”
“Exactly. The stuff is mined commercial y for use in abrasives and filtering aids.” Larabee continued talking as he opened and inspected Aiker’s stomach.
“It’s real y a kick to look at diatoms under magnification. They’re beautiful little silica shel s in al sorts of shapes and configurations.”
“Remind me what diatoms have to do with drowning.”
“Theoretical y, certain waters contain certain genera of diatoms. So, if you find diatoms in the organs, the victim has drowned. Some forensic pathologists even think you can tie a drowning victim to a specific body of water.”
“You sound skeptical.”
“Some of my col eagues hold a lot of stock in diatoms. I don’t.”
“Why?”
Larabee shrugged. “People swal ow diatoms.”
“If we could find diatoms in the marrow cavity of a long bone, couldn’t we conclude they’d gotten there by cardiac action?” Larabee thought about that.
“Yeah. We probably could.” He pointed a scalpel at me. “We’l have a femur tested.”
“We should also send a sample of the lake water. If they find diatoms in the femur they can compare the profiles.”
“Good point.”
I waited while Larabee cut lengthwise along Aiker’s esophagus.
“Is it significant that he was found in the rear seat?”
“The weight of the engine would have pul ed the front of the vehicle down, leaving the last bubble of air trapped against the roof in back. When victims can’t get car doors open, they crawl back and up to keep breathing as long as possible. Or sometimes the corpse just floats to the rear.” I nodded.
“We’l run a tox screen, of course. And crime scene’s processing the car and boat ramp. But I’m not finding anything suspicious.” Aiker’s clothing and personal effects were drying on the counter. I walked over for a look.
It was like telescoping the agent’s last morning on earth into a few soggy, mud-coated items.
Jockeys. T. Blue-and-white-striped long sleeve shirt. Jeans. Athletic socks. Adidas cross trainers. Black Polarfleece hooded jacket.
Did Aiker put his socks on before his jeans? His pants before his shirt? I felt sadness for a life so suddenly ended.