She regarded me like a shrewd mother who knew I had been drinking or making out or sneaking cigarettes. ‘What is it, Dr. Scarpetta?’ she said.

‘Have you seen my dissecting knives?’

She did not know what I was talking about.

‘The ones Lucy gave me. A set of three in a hard plastic box. Three different sizes.’

Recognition registered on her face. ‘Oh yes. I remember now. I thought you kept them in your cabinet.’

‘They’re not there.’

‘Shoot. Not the cleaning crew, I hope. When was the last time you saw them?’

‘Probably right after Lucy gave them to me, which was actually before Christmas because she didn’t want to take them down to Miami. I showed the set to you, remember? And then I put them in my cabinet because I didn’t want to keep them downstairs.’

Rose was grim. ‘I know what you must be thinking. Uh.’ She shivered. ‘What a gruesome thought.’

I pulled up a chair and sat. ‘The thought of him doing something like that with my-‘

‘You can’t think about it,’ she interrupted me. ‘You have no control over what he does.’

I stared off.

‘I’m worried about Jennifer,’ my secretary then said.

Jennifer was one of the clerks in the front office. Her major responsibility was sorting photographs, answering the phones, and entering cases into our database.

‘She’s traumatized.’

‘By what’s just happened,’ I assumed.

Rose nodded. ‘She’s been in the bathroom crying quite a lot today. Needless to say, what happened is awful and there are many tales circulating. But she’s so much more upset than anyone else. I’ve tried to talk to her. I’m afraid she’s going to quit.’ She pointed the mouse at the WordPerfect icon and clicked a button. ‘I’ll print out the autopsy protocols for your review.’

‘You’ve already typed both of them?’

‘I came in early this morning. I’ve got four-wheel drive.’

‘I’ll talk to Jennifer,’ I said.

I walked down the corridor and glanced into the computer room. Lucy was mesmerized by the monitor, and I did not bother her. Up front, Tamara was answering one line while two others rang and someone else was unhappily flashing on hold. Cleta made photocopies while Jo entered death certificates at a workstation.

I walked back down the hall and pushed open the door to the ladies’ room. Jennifer was at one of the sinks, splashing cold water on her face.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed when she saw me in the mirror. ‘Hello, Dr. Scarpetta,’ she said, unnerved and embarrassed.

She was a homely young woman who would forever struggle with calories and the clothes that might hide them. Her eyes were puffy and she had protruding teeth and flyaway hair. She wore too much makeup even at times like this when her appearance should not matter.

‘Please sit down,’ I said kindly, motioning to a red plastic chair near lockers.