“And sweet cheeks’ license turned up in a house with two kilos of snort and a dead guy in the privy.” Slidel .

Ring man number two.

“A house in the possession of Sonny Pounder, a low-level dealer who snitched to the cops about Tamela’s baby.” Pinky number two.

“A house with bears interred in the yard,” I added, dropping both hands.

Slidel tendered an emphatic expletive.

I suggested one of my own.

A phone rang in Larabee’s office.

“You’re going to fil me in on al of this,” the ME said to me, then shot out the door.

Rinaldi reached into an inside pocket, withdrew a Ziploc baggie, and tossed it onto my desk.

“CSU found this stashed with the cocaine. Thought it might mean something to you.” Before reaching for the bag I glanced at Rinaldi.

“Trace analysis has already gone over it.”

Unzipping the seal, I studied the contents.

“Feathers?”

“Very unusual feathers.” Rinaldi.

“I know nothing about feathers.”

Slidel shrugged. “You were al over Yogi and his friends, Doc.”

“That’s bone. These are feathers.”

Rinaldi withdrew an eight-inch plume and twirled it. Even under fluorescent light the blues looked rich and iridescent.

“It’s no song sparrow,” he said.

“I’m not fol owing this,” I said.

“Why would someone hide avian plumage with il egal drugs?”

“Maybe the feathers were already in the basement and the coke was accidental y parked on top of them.”

“Maybe.” Rinaldi replaced the feather.

I flashed on the bear bones.

“Actual y, there was some kind of bird mixed in with the bears.”

“Tel me more.”

“That’s al I know.”

“Identifying the species might not hurt.”

“You need an ornithologist.”

“Know any?”

“I can make a few cal s.” I gave Rinaldi a look that had talons. “But first let’s talk headless bodies.” Rinaldi’s arms folded across Brooks Brothers linen.

“I don’t like being kept in the dark, Detective.”

“And we don’t like wool y thinking, Doc.” Slidel .

I turned to him.

“Is there something you’re not sharing?”

“Nothing gained by a lot of pointless wheel spinning.” Slidel scowled at me.

I scowled back.

“When we’ve verified what we’re looking at, we’l pass it on.” Slidel .

Rinaldi picked at a cal us on his thumb. Between the spiky hairs, his scalp looked pale and shiny.

Larabee’s voice drifted down from his office.

Slidel held my look. I wondered if he could hang on to it with my boot up his ass.

Rinaldi broke the silence.

“I see no harm in including Dr. Brennan in our thinking.”

Slidel ’s eyes rol ed to his partner, snapped back to me.

“What the hel .” Slidel sighed. “No skin off my nose.”

“Three, four years back. I can’t precisely recal . An inquiry came across my desk.”

“About a body with no head or hands.”

Rinaldi nodded.

“Where?”

“South Carolina.”

“It’s a big state.”