Slow Kill - Michael Mcgarrity [81]
“What else can you tell me?”
“Not much until I do some tests. The important work will be the mitochondrial DNA comparison of the bones to the blood sample provided by Alice Spalding.”
“I only asked for a saliva swab,” Kerney said.
“Normally, that would be good enough,” Grant said. “But for what I have in mind, I’ll need a blood sample.”
“Assuming these aren’t the remains of George Spalding, is there still a chance a positive ID can be made?” Kerney asked.
Grant smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask that question. I did postdoctoral work at the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, which has the largest staff of forensic anthropologists in the world. I’d like to query them and ask for a records search of their POW/MIA data bank based on what I can tell them before we get the DNA results back. It might help narrow a search for a likely victim. But don’t expect to get a list of names you can easily investigate.”
“Why is that?” Kerney asked.
Grant walked to a desk and started rummaging through a drawer for some forms. “Because if this is truly an MIA, the man is probably just a name in their system. Or it could well be that the victim isn’t even an American soldier. The laboratory cooperates with over seventeen countries to identify remains of both military personnel and civilians from foreign governments who are unaccounted for in Vietnam. Your task could be daunting.”
“How can I narrow the field?” Kerney asked.
Grant labeled a manila file folder with a marker and put the blank forms in it. “Based on what you told me, George Spalding was handled as a KIA, which means after recovery his remains went to one of two well-equipped mortuaries in-country, Da Nang in the north and Tan Son Nhut outside of Saigon. Mortuary affairs are handled by the Army Quartermaster Corps. Finding out which facility handled these remains could be helpful. They keep excellent records.”
“What better place to switch remains than a mortuary?” Kerney said.
“You got it,” Grant replied. “But we shouldn’t stop there. I can short-circuit the process considerably by sending our DNA results to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory at Walter Reed Hospital. They have thousands of blood samples from POW/MIA family members in their database, and a new high-speed automated robotic processing system in place. Of course, that’s assuming the lab has maternal DNA of the victim on hand.”
“How long would we have to wait for a report?” Kerney asked.
“Even with the new system, months, I would imagine. Unless, that is, you know some way to get it bumped up on the priority list.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Kerney replied. “The Army is as interested in this case as I am.”
Chapter 11
By choice, Kerney spent very little time in Albuquerque, driving down from Santa Fe only for necessary business or to catch a plane at the airport. But after leaving Jerry Grant he lingered at a diner over a cup of hot tea and called the half-dozen Calderwoods listed in the local phone book. He made contact with four people who professed no knowledge of, or kinship to, the long-lost Debbie, and left messages for the others.
To make sure he hadn’t missed anyone, he called the phone company and asked for any unlisted numbers under the Calderwood name. There were none. He closed the dog-eared, grease-stained directory he’d borrowed from a waitress, drank his tea, and looked around the diner. By the front cashier station a row of booths lined one wall. Perpendicular to the booths was a serving station in front of swinging doors that led to the kitchen. Behind a long counter with padded stools a waitress refilled a trucker ’s coffee cup.
Kerney liked diners, not for the food but because they made great people-watching places. An elderly couple at one of the nearby tables carefully examined their menus and discussed whether they should order the early-bird dinner special. The woman wore loose-fitting slacks and a summer blouse, the man jeans and a short-sleeved shirt topped off by a ball cap adorned with tourist pins from the places he