POSTED BY thefirewatcher AT 9:57 AM

5 COMMENTS

KHainsworth said . . .

Dude, what’s the Judy Garland song?

helenM1972 said . . .

It’s San Francisco from the 1936 musical of the same name about the 1906 Earthquake. It stars Jeanette MacDonald and Clark Gable and was nominated for 6 academy awards.

RDAtack said . . .

Earthquakes are no longer measured on the Richter scale but by means of the Moment Magnitude Scale: Mw1 where w represents the mechanical work accomplished. The moment magnitude is a dimensionless number: Mw = 2/3(log10M0−16:0). Although this method wasn’t developed until the 1970s.

Dublinsmouse said . . .

Fuck off @RDAtack you boring wanker

PerryA said . . .

Actually, the Richter scale was invented in 1935 so we can only really guess the magnitude of the SF earthquake. Fun fact! I used to work in the Audiffred Building, one of the few buildings in SF to survive the quake and the demolition. It was slated for demolition to create a fire-break but the owner gave the firefighters beer so they’d skip it.

DarkHorsey said . . .

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The second body lies curled in a shallow grave of half brick and rubble, returned in death to the fetal position in which it began life. Since the extraction of Gerald Cartwright, the SOCO team has been painstakingly sifting through the debris behind the ruined wall, a routine search for evidence that has unearthed something far from routine. Tyler inches his way backward out of the partially demolished cellar wall and straightens.

Behind him, Doggett shuffles his feet in the rubble. “Definitely a woman?” he asks.

Elliot looks paler than ever, his white scene-of-crime suit shining in the light of the arc lamps. “Aye.”

“The body’s been here longer,” Tyler points out. The skeletal remains are further decayed than Cartwright’s, despite their being buried deeper.

“My guess is ten years plus.” Elliot turns and places a gloved hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “You’ll notice the use of the word ‘guess,’ mind.”

Doggett snorts. “All right, Doc, we won’t hold you to anything. God forbid you should give us any specifics.”

Elliot’s face creases with a tight smile. “How’s that lovely wife of yours, Jim?”

“Still banging her gym instructor as far as I know. Speaking of wives . . . ?”

“The missing Cynthia Cartwright?” Elliot shrugs.

Tyler considers that possibility. “If it is her, then Edna Burnside lied to us. She said she spoke to Cynthia after she left.”

“There was a mistress as well,” Doggett says. “A Sandra or Sarah or something or other. We never did track her down. Not to mention any number of prostitutes who visited the place. Some of them might not have been missed.”

Elliot gestures to the other SOCOs to carry on, and the three of them move as one away from the body and back toward the cellar steps.

“Did you know her?” Doggett asks Elliot.

“Who?”

“Cynthia Cartwright.”