“The assays for cyclosporin A and FK506 are not easy,” John snapped. “Besides, we’re backed up as it is. You can’t expect instant service with the budget I have to work with.”

“Okay!” Jack said agreeably, as he backed out of the lab. He knew that John was an irascible individual, and if aroused, he could be passive aggressive. If that happened, it might be weeks before Jack got the test results.

Descending yet another floor, Jack went into Bart Arnold’s office and implored the man to give him something since he’d struck out every place else.

“I’ve made a lot of calls,” Bart said. “But you know the situation with voice mail. You almost never get anyone on the phone anymore. So, I got a lot of messages out there, waiting for callbacks.”

“Jeez,” Jack complained. “I feel like a teenage girl with a new dress, waiting to get asked to the prom.”

“Sorry,” Bart said. “If it’s any consolation, we did manage to get a blood sample from Franconi’s mother. It’s already up in the DNA lab.”

“Was the mother asked whether her son had a liver transplant?”

“Absolutely,” Bart said. “Mrs. Franconi assured the investigator that she didn’t know anything about a transplant. But she did admit that her son had been much healthier lately.”

“To what did she attribute his sudden health?” Jack asked.

“She says he went away to a spa someplace and came back a new man.”

“Did she happen to say where?” Jack questioned.

“She didn’t know,” Bart said. “At least that’s what she told the investigator, and the investigator told me that she thought she was telling the truth.”

Jack nodded as he got to his feet. “Figures,” he said. “Getting a bona fide tip from the mother would have been much too easy.”

“I’ll keep you informed as soon as I start getting callbacks,” Bart said.

“Thanks,” Jack said.

Feeling frustrated, Jack walked through communications to the ID room. He thought maybe some coffee would cheer him up. He was surprised to find Lieutenant Detective Lou Soldano busily helping himself to a cup.

“Uh-oh,” Lou said. “Caught red-handed.”

Jack eyed the homicide detective. He looked better than he had in days. Not only was the top button of his shirt buttoned, but his tie was cinched up in place. On top of that, he was close shaven and his hair was combed.

“You look almost human today,” Jack said.

“I feel that way,” Lou said. “I got my first decent night’s sleep in days. Where’s Laurie?”

“In the pit, I presume,” Jack said.

“I gotta pat her on the back again for making that association with your floater after watching the video,” Lou said. “All of us down at headquarters think it might lead to a break in this case. Already we’ve gotten a couple of good tips from our informers because it’s stimulated a lot of talk in the streets, especially over in Queens.”

“Laurie and I were surprised to see it in the papers this morning,” Jack commented. “That was a lot faster than we expected. Do you have any idea who was the source?”