“I think I figured out how Franconi’s body was taken from the morgue,” Laurie began. “You teased me about suspecting the Spoletto Funeral Home, but now I think you’re going to have to take that back. In fact, I think it’s time that you took over.”

Laurie then outlined what she thought had happened. She told Lou that she suspected that someone from the medical examiner’s office had given the Spoletto people the accession number of a relatively recent, unidentified body as well as the location of Franconi’s remains.

“Often when two drivers come to pick up a body for a funeral home, one of them goes in the walk-in cooler while the other handles the paperwork with the mortuary tech,” Laurie explained. “In these instances, the mortuary tech prepares the body for pickup by covering it with a sheet and positioning its gurney in a convenient location just inside the cooler door. In the Franconi situation, I believe the driver took the body whose accession number he had, removed its tag, stashed the body in one of the many unoccupied refrigerator compartments, replaced Franconi’s tag with that one, and then calmly appeared outside the mortuary office with Franconi’s remains. All the tech did at that point was check the accession number.”

“That’s quite a scenario,” Lou said. “Can I ask if you have any proof of this or is it all conjecture?”

“I found the body whose accession number Spoletto called in,” Laurie said. “It was in a compartment which was supposed to be vacant. The name Frank Gleason was bogus.”

“Ahhhh!” Lou said, becoming much more interested. He leaned forward on his desk. “I’m beginning to like this very much, especially considering the matrimonial association between the Spoletto and the Lucia people. This could be something important. It kind’a reminds me of getting Al Capone on tax evasion. I mean, it would be fantastic if we could get some of the Lucia people on body theft!”

“Of course, it also raises the specter of an organized crime connection to illicit liver transplantation,” Jack said. “This could be a frightening association.”

“Dangerous as well,” Lou said. “So I must insist on no more amateur sleuthing on your part. We take over from here. Do I have your word on that?”

“I’m happy to let you take over,” Laurie said. “But there is also the issue of a mole in the medical examiner’s office.”

“I think it’s best I deal with that, too,” Lou said. “With the involvement of organized crime, I’d expect some element of extortion or criminal coercion. But I’ll deal directly with Bingham. I shouldn’t have to warn you that these people are dangerous.”

“I learned that lesson all too well,” Laurie said.

“I’m too preoccupied with my end of the mystery to interfere,” Jack said. “What did you learn for me?”

“Plenty,” Lou said. He reached over to the corner of his desk and hefted a large book the size of a coffee-table art book. With a grunt, he handed it to Jack.