"Reichs, Kathy - Temperance Brennan 01 - Deja Dead" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichs Kathy)

"Okay. I'll be there after lunch." Click. It was a statement, not a
request. Apparently it didn't matter if it was okay with me.

I hung up and returned to the lady on the table. Picking up the
clipboard, I flipped to the next page on the report form. Age. This was
an adult. Earlier, I'd checked her mouth. The wisdom teeth were fully
erupted.

I examined the arms where they'd been detached at the shoulders. The end
of each humerus was fully formed. I could see no line demarcating a
separate cap on either side. The other ends were useless-they had been
cleanly severed just above the wrists. I'd have to find those fragments
later. I looked at the legs. The head of the femur was also completely
formed on both right and left. Something about those severed joints
disturbed me. It was a feeling apart from the normal reaction to
depravity, but it was vague, ill formed. As I allowed the left leg to
settle back onto the table my guts felt like ice. The cloud of dread
that first touched me in the woods returned. I shook it off and forced
myself to focus on the question at hand. Age. Fix the age. A correct age
estimate can lead to a name. Nothing else will matter until she has a
name.

I used a scalpel to peel back the flesh around the knee and elbow
joints. It came away easily. Here, too, the long bones were fully
mature. I'd verify this on X ray, but knew it meant bone growth had been
completed. I saw no lipping or arthritic change in the joints. Adult,
but young. It was consistent with the lack of wear I'd observed on the
teeth. But I wanted more precision. Claudel would expect it. I looked at
each collarbone where it met the sternum at the base of the throat.
Though the one on the right was detached, the joint surface was encased
in a hard knot of dried cartilage and ligament. Using a scissors, I
snipped away as much of the leathery tissue as I could, then wrapped the
bone in another wet rag. I returned my attention to the pelvis.

I removed that rag and, again using a scalpel, began gently sawing
through the cartilage connecting the two halves in front. Wetting it
down had made it more pliable, easier to cut, but still the process was
slow and tedious. I didn't want to risk damaging the underlying
surfaces. When the pubic bones were finally separate, I cut the few
strips of dried muscle uniting the pelvis to the lower end of the spine
in back, freed it, carried it to the sink, and submerged the pubic
portion in water. Next I returned to the body and unwrapped the
collarbone. Again, I teased off as much tissue as possible. Then I
filled a plastic specimen container with water, positioned it against
the rib cage, and stuck the end of the clavicle in it.

I glanced at the wall clock-12:25 Pm. Stepping back from the table, I
peeled off my gloves and straightened. Slowly. My back felt like a Pop
Warner league had been practicing on it. I placed my hands on my hips
and stretched, arching backward and rotating my upper body. It didn't