The technician handed Kate the report. ‘It’s definitely not a match with the follicles we removed from the hairbrush DC Trotter gave us.’

Kate let out a guttural groan, unsure if it was relief or disappointment. ‘Daisy isn’t our victim.’

The technician shook his head in agreement.

‘What about the National DNA Database? Still no matches?’

He shook his head mournfully again. ‘No hits on the UK version. We’re trying to reach out to our neighbours in the US, but it’ll take a few days until we have something back.’

Kate pocketed the piece of paper and thanked him for his support, before heading back to the incident room to update the team. If Daisy wasn’t their victim at the school then it meant she was still out there. But it also meant they now had a new victim to identify. And there was only one person who might be able to shed light on who that victim was.

---

Kate was relieved to spot Ben’s car in the staff car park behind the entrance to the mortuary, in the basement of the hospital. Given how late they were out last night before they’d gone their separate ways, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d decided to come to work later. He was stretching his arms above his head as they walked into the laboratory.

He poked his head out from behind the computer monitor. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’ he asked, as a yawn escaped.

Kate raised the cardboard tray of coffee cups into the air. ‘Thought you might be in need of refreshment.’

He smiled at the gesture, before moving out from behind the desk. ‘How are you? How’s the investigation going?’

‘I’m okay,’ Kate answered. ‘Daisy Emerson isn’t our school victim. I’m hoping you can give me some clue about to whom the foot may have belonged. Have you had a chance to look at it yet today?’

‘I went to bed late but I couldn’t stop thinking about it,’ he admitted. ‘In the end, I gave up trying and came in. I haven’t stopped since.’

‘And?’ Kate couldn’t prevent her naturally impatient nature.

‘And I kept thinking about ways in which we identify victims. Where possible, we opt for one of the primary identification methods: DNA, fingerprints and dental comparison. And then we might use secondary identification features, such as scars, birthmarks and tattoos. Finally, we’d cross-reference this to the victim’s personal effects, such as clothing and jewellery. But we can’t do any of that with just a foot. And then it hit me: forensic anthropology.’ He turned the monitor so she could see. ‘Kate Matthews, I’d like you to meet Dr Xander Garcia. Xander, this is the brilliant detective I was telling you about.’

Kate leaned closer to the screen, seeing an olive-skinned man with a jowly face and wearing thick lens glasses. His image blurred slightly as he waved at the screen. Kate nodded at him, and he nervously returned the gesture.

‘Xander is a forensic anthropologist,’ Ben continued. ‘He provided support with a study I completed while at medical school, and we’ve been great friends ever since.’

‘Friends who only speak on the phone or video calls,’ Xander interjected, a Hispanic tone to his American accent. ‘When are you going to come and visit me over here, Ben? My wife thinks you’re a figment of my imagination.’

Ben smiled into the camera. ‘You know I’d be over in a flash if I didn’t have so much work to do.’

Kate watched the two men exchanging light-hearted banter, surprised that Ben had never mentioned him before, and wondering if there was another reason he hadn’t crossed the pond to visit him.

Kate cleared her throat. ‘Sorry, can one of you tell me what forensic anthropology is?’

‘Do you want to take this one?’ Ben asked the camera.

Xander nodded. ‘Forensic anthropology is the study of skeletal remains to determine who they belong to and how they ended up in the condition in which they were discovered. I’m trained in anthropology, archaeology, human osteology, and chain-of-evidence procedures. I often support the local PD here in New York with cases of identifying victims. The biological profile derived from skeletal examination has the potential to reveal a victim’s personal history. For example, if we discovered an orthopaedic implant in a victim’s knee, we might be able to determine that they were an athlete or—’

‘So, you might be able to build a picture of the owner of the foot?’ Kate concluded, hopefully.

‘Hopefully,’ Ben replied. ‘Xander is an expert in this field, which is why I reached out to him this morning. I hope you don’t mind?’

‘Of course not,’ Kate replied, appreciative of his out-of-the-box thinking. ‘This is exactly what I was hoping you might be able to do. So, what have you discovered?’

The smile quickly left Xander’s face. ‘Skeletal trauma analysis is a time-intensive process. Ideally, I’d need to examine the foot, and in particular the bones, but you’ll have to make do with me guiding Ben through the video call.’

Kate suddenly noticed the curtains hanging from the wall behind Xander’s head. ‘Oh Jesus! What time is it where you are?’

‘Thankfully, I’m on the east coast so it’s just after six in the morning. I can talk for another hour, but then I’ll have to get ready, as I’m guest speaker at a conference later today.’

‘Really appreciate your help, Xander,’ Ben offered.

‘You’re welcome. It sure as hell beats listening to my wife snore.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘Anyway, Ben has sent me some close-up images of the foot, as well as X-rays, which I’ve been reviewing. I appreciate this is an open investigation, so I will delete the files when we’re done here. Are you happy for me to continue?’

What choice did she have? Kate nodded, and Ben pulled the sheet back from the slab, revealing the foot. ‘The X-ray showed two stress fractures: one in the second metatarsal, and the other in calcaneus.’

‘At the risk of sounding like the class idiot, can you dumb-down the explanation a fraction?’ Kate asked sheepishly.

Ben chortled. ‘The heel and here,’ he indicated, pointing at the two areas on the appendage. ‘These are the two most common areas to find stress fractures, and could indicate our victim had recently taken up a new sporting activity such as running.’

‘It could also indicate that the victim could have been suffering with osteoporosis or some other bone-weakening disease,’ Xander interjected. ‘But that can be determined by testing the bone directly, which Ben will do in due course.’

Ben turned the foot over in his hands. ‘Before, I identified blistering of the skin around the base of the foot, which could suggest some kind of sudden switch to physical activity. When someone first takes up running, it can often take several weeks for the skin around the sole of the foot to adjust to the new activity. It looks like the blisters were being treated with a moisturiser or cream to aid the healing process.’

Kate couldn’t hide her disappointment. ‘Gentlemen, while this is all very interesting and information I didn’t have before I arrived, it doesn’t really help me narrow the pool of possible victims. Please tell me you have something else?’

Ben turned the foot back over, resting the sole on his outstretched palm. He hovered his little finger near the cut site. ‘After I’d cleaned the blood from the foot, I notice this small pattern. Can you see? Last night I took it to be light bruising just beneath the skin, but now I think there might be more to it.’ He raised the foot to allow Kate to look at the small pattern.

‘What is it?’ Kate asked.

He moved it closer to her face. ‘Unless I’m mistaken, it’s scarring left from a tattoo that’s been removed by a laser. Recently too. The scarring is fresh, suggesting it was removed not long before the victim died. I’d say anywhere in the last week.’

‘What was the tattoo of?’ she asked excitedly.

‘That I can’t tell you, I’m afraid,’ Ben admitted. ‘It seems the tattoo was on the victim’s leg, and we only appear to have the end trails of it on the ankle. I can use negative exposure to try and make the image more discernible.’

‘It certainly gives us a new direction to follow.’

‘I’ll send the image over to you as soon as I’ve sharpened it up. Maybe one of your team can take it around the local tattoo parlours to see if anyone remembers removing it.’

‘Thanks. Do you think you’ll be able to find out anything else?’

‘We’ll see what we can do. Xander likes a challenge, don’t you, pal?’

Xander’s face bobbed up and down as he nodded. ‘Even if I don’t get to handle that foot, I’ll do whatever I can to help you, detective.’

Kate thanked them both, and left the laboratory. Although she didn’t yet know Jane Doe’s real name, she felt she was a small step closer to solving the riddle.