“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Laurie asked.

“Maybe,” Jack said. “It kind of fits. He certainly has access.”

“I think we should say something to Lou,” Laurie said. “I’d hate it to be Vinnie, but we have to find out who’s been giving out confidential information around here.”

Conveniently for Laurie, her week-long rotation as the day chief was over, and Paul Plodgett’s was starting. Paul was already at the desk, going over the cases that had come in the previous night. Laurie and Jack told him they were planning on taking vacation time and wanted to skip doing any autopsies that day unless there was a glut. Paul assured them that the case load was light.

Laurie was more politically minded than Jack, and it was her opinion that they should approach Calvin about their vacation plans before they talked with Bingham. Jack bowed to her better judgment. Calvin’s response was to merely grunt that they could have given more notice.

As soon as Bingham arrived, Laurie and Jack went to his office. He regarded them curiously over the tops of his wire-rimmed glasses. He was clutching the morning mail, which he was in the process of going through.

“You want two weeks starting today?” he questioned with disbelief. “What’s the rush? Is this some sort of an emergency?”

“We’re planning on an adventure-type trip,” Jack said. “We’d like to leave this evening.”

Bingham’s watery eyes went back and forth between Laurie and Jack. “You two aren’t planning on getting married, are you?”

“Not that adventuresome,” Jack said.

Laurie sputtered with laughter. “We’re sorry not to have given more notice,” she said. “The reason for the haste is because last night both of us were threatened over the Franconi case.”

“Threatened?” Bingham questioned. “Does it have anything to do with that shiner you’ve got?”

“I’m afraid so,” Laurie said. She’d tried to cover the bruise with makeup but had only been partially successful.

“Who was behind these threats?” Bingham asked.

“One of the New York crime families,” Laurie said. “Lieutenant Louis Soldano offered to fill you in on it as well as talk to you about a possible mole for the crime family here in the medical examiner’s office. We think we have figured out how Franconi’s body was taken from here.”

“I’m listening,” Bingham said. He put the mail down and leaned back in his chair.

Laurie explained the story, emphasizing that the Spoletto Funeral Home had to have been given the accession number of the unidentified case.

“Did Detective Soldano think it wise for you two to leave town?” Bingham asked.

“Yes, he did,” Laurie said.

“Fine,” Bingham said. “Then you’re out of here. Am I supposed to call Soldano or is he calling me?”

“It was our understanding that he was going to call you,” Laurie said.

“Good,” Bingham said. Then he looked directly at Jack. “What about the liver issue?”

“That’s up in the air,” Jack said. “I’m still waiting on some more tests.”