Somewhere in the house a door slammed, then water ran through pipes.

'You know how it is when you watch nature films? You've got no doubt that the lion is going to gut that gazele, but you hang in anyway, then feel awful when it happens. It's like that. You hear these people moving from normalcy into nightmare, knowing they're going to die and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.'

'What about the flight data recorder?'

'That'l take weeks, maybe even months. The fact that the voice recorder worked as long as it did says something about break-up sequence, since power is lost to the recorders once the engines and generator go. But al they're saying now is that input ceased abruptly during a seemingly normal flight. That could indicate a midair disaster.'

'An explosion?'

'Possibly.'

'Bomb or mechanical failure?'

'Yes.'

I gave him a withering look.

'The repair records indicate there were minor problems with the plane over the past two years. Normal parts were reworked, and some sort of switch was replaced twice.

But the maintenance records group is saying it looks pretty routine.'

'Any progress on the tipster?'

'The cals were made from a pay phone in Atlanta. Both CNN and the FBI have tapes, and voice analysis is being done.'

Ryan swigged his lemonade, made a face, set it on the table.

'What's the word from the body teams?'

'This is strictly between us, Ryan. Anything official has to come from Tyrel.'

He curled his fingers in a 'go on' gesture.

'We're finding penetrations and a lot of lower leg and ankle fractures. That's not typical of ground impact.'

I flashed back to the gouty foot, and again felt puzzled. Ryan must have read my face.

'What now, buttercup?'

'Can I bounce something off you?'

'Shoot.'

'This is going to sound weird.'

'As opposed to your normaly conventional views.'

More withering eye action.

'Remember the foot we rescued from the coyotes?'

He nodded.

'It doesn't match any passenger.'

'What doesn't fit?'

'Mainly age, and I feel pretty confident in my estimate. There was no one that old on the plane. Could someone have boarded without being listed?'

'I can look into it. We used to hitch rides in the military, but I suspect that would be pretty tough on a commercial flight. Airline employees sometimes ride free. It's caled deadheading. But they'd be listed on the manifest.'

'You were in the military?'

'Crimean War.'

I ignored that.

'Could someone have given a ticket away? Or sold it?'

'You're required to show a picture ID.'

'What if the ticketed passenger checks in, shows ID, then passes the ticket to someone else?'

'I'l ask.'

I finished my pickle.