My suspicion had been right. The eyebal belonged to one of the Vail ancourts. A member of the Vipers had probably found it at the scene and kept it for some macabre reason. But who had placed it on my car?

I heard the phone before I reached my door, and bolted the last few steps. Marcel Morin was cal ing from downstairs.

"We missed you at the morning meeting."

"Sorry."

He went straight to the point. In the background I could hear voices and the sound of a Stryker saw.

"A ship arrived at the port two weeks ago and several cargo containers were off-loaded for repair."

"The big ones that go onto eighteen-wheelers?"

"C'est ça. Yesterday workers opened the last of the containers and found a body. The captain thinks the deceased is probably a stowaway, but has no explanation beyond that."

"Where is the ship registered?"

"Malaysia. I've begun the autopsy but the remains are so badly decomposed I'm not going to be able to do much. I'd like you to take a look at them."

"I'l be down shortly"

When I hung up and crossed to the lab I found Jocelyn the temp bending over my worktable. Ms. Charm School wore fishnets and a leather skirt that rode high enough to show dark at the top of each stocking. At the sound of the door she straightened and turned.

"Dr. Morin asked me to give you this."

She extended an arm, and her earrings oscil ated like tiny schoolyard swings. Each hoop was large enough to perch a finch.

I crossed to her and took the request form, wondering why Morin hadn't left it on my desk.

"Kil er haircut." She spoke in a low, monotone voice, and I couldn't tel if she was being sarcastic. Her face looked more pal id than normal, her eyes red-rimmed and underlined by dark commas.

"Thank you, Jocelyn." I hesitated, not wanting to pry. "Are you al right?"

She reacted as though the question total y confused her. Then she hitched a shoulder and mumbled, "Al ergies kick me around in the spring. I'm fine."

With one last puzzled look, she scurried out of the lab. I reboxed the Osprey remains and spent the rest of the morning with the Malaysian stowaway Morin had not exaggerated. The bulk of the soft tissue in the body bag belonged to maggots.

At noon I went back upstairs to find Kit seated in my chair, boots crossed on the windowsil , a Frank Sinatra fedora on the back of his head.

"How'd you get onto this floor?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise. I'd total y forgotten the lunch date we'd arranged via the refrigerator door."

"I left my driver's license with the guard and he let me come up." He flipped the blue visitor's pass that was clipped to his cob lan "I was sitting in the lobby then a lady took pity and brought me here."