She grinned. “Kind of. Anyway, Mommy and Baby should be easy enough to verify.”

“Good,” said Milo. “I like answers.”

CHAPTER
13

Milo and I drove back to his office, where he searched missing persons for a match to the dead woman. By three p.m., twenty-eight possibilities had surfaced. By six, each lead had fizzled. An initial foray into one of the national data banks proved fruitless but there were other lists. So many women unaccounted for.

My phone rang. Service operator letting me know that Holly Ruche had canceled her appointment.

“Any reason given?”

“No, Doctor, but she did sound kind of tense. You’d think that would be a bad time to cancel, huh?”

I agreed and amended my date book.

Milo was staring at a phone-photo he’d taken of the dead woman. He said, “Even if her main squeeze doesn’t miss her, someone will. Time to go back to the media. Starting with that reporter.” He checked the blue-bound murder book he’d begun on the old bones, found what he was looking for. “Kelly LeMasters, you’re my new girlfriend. And that’s saying a lot.”

He punched numbers, barked, “Sturgis, call me.” Moments later, his office phone rang.

I said, “That was quick.”

“The old charm kicking in.” He switched to speaker.

Deputy Chief Maria Thomas said, “How’s it going on the two you picked up today?”

“Just started, Maria.”

“Run the details by me.” Not sounding the least bit curious.

He gave her basics.

She said, “How are you planning to I.D. your adult vic?”

“The usual way.”

“Meaning?”

“Our pals in the press. Just left a message for the Times reporter.”

“What message?”

“To call me back.”

“When she does,” said Thomas, “undo it.”

“What?”

“Tell her you were just touching base on the old one, don’t give her anything on the new ones.”

“Why would I touch base without new info?”

“Figure something out.”

“What’s going on, Maria?”

“You know the answer.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“Think.”

“Edict from on high?”

“An administrative decision has been made.”

“Why?”

“Can’t get into that, nor can I advise you how long it’ll be operative.”

“On the first bones you couldn’t wait to play Meet the Press. In fact, you did it without letting me—”

“Flexibility,” said Thomas, “is the hallmark of good management.”

“What the hell changed?”

“Nothing changed. The cases aren’t the least bit similar.”

“Exactly, Maria. The first one was ancient history. With these new ones I might actually get a lead by going public.”

“Or not,” said Thomas.

“What’s the risk?”

“As I said, the cases are structurally different. The first bones were perceived as a human-interest story. Historical, quaint, however you want to put it.”

“A dead baby is quaint?”