The bodies were back in their cold storage trays and Jane had come down to see the X-rays. What kind of bleak existence had these kids experienced?
"Most of them look defensive, like you'd guessed," Doctor Isles said as she came up behind Jane at the light board. "The wearing here indicates frequently dislocated shoulders, as though they were carried by one arm often." Jane followed Maura's hand as it pointed out the damage.
"Maybe that's why we don't have any hits on them. Child abuse. Maybe they don't have birth certificates, maybe they aren't even listed as missing."
"A pretty severe case of child abuse," Doctor Isles agreed. "But perhaps not familiar. The DNA definitively shows that they're not related. If they were in foster care, a check would have been done by now, and they'd have been reported missing by CPS."
"So we might be looking at an older case. Kidnapping. Trafficking?"
"I would be expanding the range of your search. The oldest break is from somewhere between 6 and 8 years ago," Doctor Isles said, indicating one near the shoulder damage.
"So this kid woulda been three when this started?"
"Between three and six, yes." Doctor Isles said. "You can use those parameters to run another search, can't you?" She looked anxious, her eyes still darting over the bones on the light board. "I believe I've fully documented all of the bone injuries."
"So we're looking for... Let me see... you said they might be between 9 and 11? So we'd be looking for anywhere between a three year old from 6 years ago up to a six year old 3 years ago for this one?" Jane asked, pointing at the skeleton they'd been looking at. Her head tilted to the side. "It's pretty sad. They lived like this for six years? And no one helped them, no one knew?"
"It's sadly common." Doctor Isles looked conflicted for a moment. "I was adopted, so I did a lot of research into what happens to... unwanted children. I was fortunate - I was taken straight away, no foster care, no potentially abusive foster parents or foster siblings, no group homes, no orphanage. But for most children in the system, this is unfortunately common. Mostly out of disinterest, disengagement. A lot of biologically related children in pro-life states suffer the same fate." Doctor Isles stepped forward, touched a hairline fracture in an ulnar, almost in apology.
"No kidding? I didn't know you were adopted." Jane said, eyes still wandering the X-rays.
"Why would it be something you would know?" Doctor Isles asked, her gaze distant as it landed on Jane. "It's not relevant to my work," she said, as though she regretted that moment of humanity with Jane, confiding in her.
"Well, I'm glad whoever took you got to you before anyone who could do something like this to a child did," Jane said, turning back to the board. "And your research on abuse in the foster system might help us out, so it's relevant now." Jane looked at a shin. "Could part of it be osteoporosis? Not enough milk? I heard that makes bones weaker and more likely to break."
"They were very malnourished, so it's possible," Doctor Isles agreed. "I'll extract some bone for testing. It would explain the frequency of hairline fractures."
"So they weren't related, they were found together, they were shot while holding each other based on the trajectory of the bullet. How old is the oldest fracture on this one?" Jane asked, pointing at the less damaged x-ray.
"Four years. I suspect they are older than the other one, based on height, but it could be that the second one was so malnourished that their growth was stunted."
"So maybe 12, so we'd be looking for an eight year old from four years ago." Jane eyed the skeletons. "I hate to say it, but with this much damage maybe the bullet was the kindest thing that happened to them."
"Callous, but not incorrect," Doctor Isles noted.
"If we ever find out who these kids are, I don't know what we're going to tell their parents. 'Oh hey, we found your kids, and they were repeatedly abused over the last four to six years before they were executed and thrown away like garbage.'"
"I'm not - I'm not a people person, or a detective, but you may want to reword that."
"I was gonna," Jane said, smiling and jostling Doctor Isles' shoulder, who stared at Jane oddly. "Thanks for following up. Knowing how long the abuse happened helps us figure out when they went missing. We might get a hit. I'll expand the search a few more states - they might have crossed a lot of borders in all those years."
"That would be wise," Doctor Isles agreed. "Perhaps extend it to Canada and Alaska as well," she added. "Lack of sunlight may have impacted their bone density."
Jane looked over at Doctor Isles, her face closed and calm again, a single furrow remaining between her eyes. Jane rested her hand on Doctor Isles' shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "I mean it. I'm glad they have you looking out for them. If there are any more kids..."
"There might be," Doctor Isles said, her face tight. "If they disposed of these, they either had replacements or were looking for some. Probably younger."
"It just keeps getting better and better, dunnit?" Jane asked, letting her hand slip away. "I won't mention it, that you're adopted," Jane said suddenly. "Like you said, it's not relevant to your work. Not because there's anything wrong with adoption, you just seemed reluctant to share that information, even with me."
"Why would -" Doctor Isles caught herself, about to question why what she shared with Jane might be different than what she would share with anyone else, but she knew she wouldn't have told Korsak or Frost, and she hadn't mentioned it even offhand to Susie, the person who bothered her least. There was something about Jane, something so open and honest, that had Doctor Isles opening up. Her life outside the precinct and her office wasn't something she felt compelled to confide in anyone inside the walls of the building, but Jane had somehow drawn out one of her more private, fragile facts about herself that Maura stored carefully against her heart. "Thank you," Doctor Isles said instead.