“Oh I forgot. I’m new at this,” says my former FBI, ATF agent niece who spent years undercover and doesn’t need my coaching.

I tell her to be careful, and she says she’ll see me later.

“Probably back at the office at some point,” she adds, and I don’t ask if Dorothy and her mountain of luggage are in the car with Janet and Desi yet.

I end the call, not inclined to bring up my sister in front of Marino, who watched me the entire time I was on the phone. I have a feeling he’s thinking about her but I’m not going to give him an entrée to talk about it. If what Benton said is true and Marino and Dorothy have started something unbeknownst to me, I don’t want to hear it now. I have enough to deal with.

“Ready?” I say to him.

CHAPTER 29

THE AMBIENT TEMP’S EIGHTY-SEVEN degrees,” Marino says, and I spot the thermometer he placed on top of my scene case near the body.

I pull on purple nitrile gloves, and already I’m sweating through my scrubs.

“Thanks.” I find my notepad.

“What are you going to do about taking her temp?” he asks. “I’m worried we should have just gone ahead and done it when we first got here.”

“With flashlights in the dark when we don’t know what evidence we might be disturbing or contaminating?”

“I know. And I’m with you, Doc. But just saying I’ve heard some comments, you know, cops talking about you sitting in the cool truck and not bothering.”

“And we’ve heard such comments before, and we’ll hear them again.”

“Should we turn her over or something? Because I don’t see how you’re going to put a thermometer in her armpit when both arms are straight up.” He lifts his arms above his head, and when he’s swathed in white protective clothing I’m reminded why Bryce sometimes calls him The Yeti.

“We’re fine at the moment. I won’t need to turn her to take her temp.”

“Okay. But it seems like the longer she’s out here …?”

“I know how it seems,” I reply. “But as you’ve pointed out, her arms are straight up over her head. Even if I reposition her, it wouldn’t be ideal for getting a core temperature.”

That leaves the option of using the rectum. But there’s no way I’m inserting a thermometer and possibly introducing injury or have some pugilistic defense attorney accuse me of it. I’ll opt for the less convenient technique of making a small incision in the right upper abdomen to get the temperature of the liver.