were just A, B and C, but already to Kyra they were Abigail, Bethany and Chloe. She prayed that some day soon she could give these girls back their real names, but until then she wanted to do all that she could to make them living human beings in her own mind.
As she identified what seemed to be two of Chloe’s metacarpals, the door to the room swung slightly on silent hinges, making Kyra jump a little. “Who’s there?” Her voice sounded a little high and sharp in her own ears. She wasn’t used to having much company on Saturdays.
Josh came through the doorway with a grimace. “Sorry. I didn’t even think about startling you. I knew you’d be here, and frankly, I ran out of things to do at home so I decided to come in and try to get something done.”
Kyra looked at Josh, realizing that this was the first time that she’d seen him out of his weekday uniform of dark pants and a white shirt. Today he wore khakis and a sportier shirt, and no tie, either. “That’s okay. I was so focused on this set of bones and what they’re telling me that I didn’t expect anybody to come in.”
His brow wrinkled a little. “I have to admit that it’s really strange to me to hear you talking about bones telling you anything. Frankly, I don’t even know how you can tell which ones belong to which…set.”
His pause told Kyra that Josh still didn’t think about Chloe and the others as real people yet. It would probably take an identification of at least one set of the bones for Josh to see any of them as a girl who had lived, grown, had sorrows and joys like anybody else, and then died. She sighed softly. “They tell me quite a bit, Josh. And explaining how I can tell one person’s remains from another might take me a couple of hours. Once I’ve worked through everything we’ve collected, maybe I can show you.”
He nodded slightly. “Sure. I understand that you can’t do it right now. Getting as much done as you can makes more sense. Meanwhile, I’ll go in and sort through some more missing persons reports on the computer.” He crossed the room, heading for the door that led to Kyra’s office. “Does anybody make coffee on weekends?”
“Sometimes. There aren’t many of us in today, though, and nobody’s gotten around to it. I’d welcome a cup if you get some going,” she told him.
“That I can do,” Josh said, with a ghost of a smile on his lips. “In my department at the bureau, making decent coffee was a survival skill not dependent on gender or rank within the department. If we could have talked them into a cappuccino maker I could have run that, too.”
He looked around into the corners of the room. “I know this is a brand-new set of labs. I don’t suppose…”
Kyra had to grin. “Nope, the State of Maryland barely sprang for regular coffeemakers. Weekdays when everything is open, I think there’s a cart in the lobby closest to the cafeteria that serves foo-foo coffee.”
That brought a laugh out of Joshua for the first time. “Foo-foo coffee, huh? After that iced coffee last night I figured you for a vanilla latte kind of person. Guess I was wrong.”
“Guess you were,” she said, trying to focus on her work. “When I’m not eating Thai or Vietnamese food, straight, black coffee in any insulated container that keeps it hot and prevents me from spilling it is my beverage of choice.”
He gave her a mock salute. “Ready in ten minutes, ma’am. I’ll even wash the mug.” Before she could reply he was through the doorway and out of sight, leaving Kyra to wonder what part of what she’d said had tickled Josh. He had a nice laugh. Too bad he didn’t use it more often.
She’d puzzled out two bits of Bethany’s foot, and what she thought was her left orbital arch, when Josh slid back into the room as quietly as the first time, making her startle again. “Any chance we can get you to wear a bell or something?” she groused. “You’re just too quiet.”
“It’s a talent I need when I’m doing undercover work. Besides, people reveal a lot more about themselves when they don’t think anybody’s there. For example, you tend to stick just the tip of your tongue out at the corner of your mouth when you’re trying to figure something out.”
Kyra had a flash of irritation as he handed her the warm travel mug. She was tempted to make some smart remark, but the truth was that Josh was right. “Thanks for the coffee,” she said, trying not to sound too irritated. Being astute was part of his job. She realized that she could probably use his gifts of perception about people to explain to him how she knew things just from looking at the bones in front of her. But first, she wanted to sip some of this coffee and stretch to get the kinks out of her neck. Deep concentration on these small bones left her physically pained after a while.
When she looked back at him, Josh had a thoughtful look on his face. “What?” she asked, hoping he’d tell her what he was thinking.
“You look uncomfortable. How many more hours can you lean over that kind of close work without making yourself sore for days?”
Kyra shrugged, still trying to get some of the kinks out. “A few. I think I’m close to a breakthrough here, so I’ll keep at it. If I can find a few more facial bones on…gurney B,” she said, unwilling to tell Josh about the names she’d given the girls, “we might have enough to start looking for medical records.”
“Don’t you always need teeth for that?”
“It helps,” Kyra admitted. “But I think I’m seeing a pattern of some old, healed facial injuries in this one skeleton. It’s the kind of thing that would have given her a distinctive look, and probably left a legal trail as well.”
Josh’s expression clouded. “You said these bones probably belonged to teenagers. If the injuries you’ve found are healed, you’re thinking child abuse, aren’t you?”
“It’s one of the top reasons for fractures in kids, unfortunately. I wish I could say it wasn’t.”
“Yeah, me too.” He turned around, then appeared to reconsider leaving and faced her again. For a moment he stood silently. “How can you see stuff like this and still believe in God? What kind of God lets little kids get beaten up?”
“God didn’t beat up this child. A human being is responsible for that,” Kyra said with more fervor than necessary. “If you want to see what God can do in a kid’s life, then come with me tomorrow.”
“To church?” Josh asked, a challenge in his steely eyes.
“No, to the mall for a movie. Bring money for popcorn and ice cream after the show.”
“Sure.” His quick acceptance surprised Kyra. She’d expected him to put up an argument.
“And clean out the backseat of your car if you need to,” she instructed. “My truck will only hold two besides me. You’ve got seat belts for three in the backseat, don’t you?”
“Yes.” He raised one eyebrow, seeming to ask what he was getting himself into. “What were you going to do before I came along?”
“I have no idea,” Kyra admitted. “I figured that if God wanted me to take all of the kids to the movies, then a way to take them all would show up.”
“And you got me instead,” Josh said. Kyra didn’t have the heart to tell him that she thought he was exactly what God had in mind. Josh was nowhere near ready to hear something like that.
FOUR
