As Blake drove the SUV into the small parking lot in front of the County Coroner's office, she noticed that a van from the University was already parked there.

"Looks like the bone expert has arrived," she observed as she and Reid took off their seatbelts and climbed out of the SUV.

"Mustn't have had an early morning class," Reid commented as they walked towards the cement block building.

"Agent Blake – Dr. Reid!" Dr. Warner greeted them in the lobby. "I was getting ready to call you."

"This is Dr. Smyth from the Anthropology Department over at the University," she continued. "He is taking the time this morning to come over and to give me the benefit of his experience with ancient skeletons."

"Agent – Doctor," the small muscular man looked at them over the top of his glasses as he reached out an already gloved hand to shake. "This is a pleasure."

"Sorry about that," he appeared to notice the gloves.

"No problem," Reid assured him. "With the number of pathogens passed in a routine handshake the potential for – "

"We appreciate your assistance," Blake interrupted. "Your expertise should be a big help to our investigation."

"Well, let's get started." Dr. Warner led the way to the lab where the skeleton was still laid out on a table.

"You said these bones were found where?" Dr. Smyth asked as he surveyed the skeleton.

"A somewhat swampy area," Dr. Warner explained as Blake pulled out copies of the crime scene photos and handed them to him.

"It appears that this piece of ground floods just about every time it rains," Dr. Smyth was closely examining the photos. "That means that if these bones had been there any length of time, they would show signs of being periodically submerged." He picked up a thighbone and looked at it. "And, they don't," he concluded.

He picked up another bone and carefully examined it. "It would be my impression that these bones have been kept in a relatively dry environment until quite recently," he specified. "While the outer layer is slightly damp, the interior appears to be dried out."

"You mean like a coffin?" Blake asked.

"No. There would have been moisture in there from decay," Dr. Smyth told her. "Plus, from their coloration, it appears that they have also been exposed to light."

"So, it would be your opinion that these bones were planted at the site?" Reid stated.

"Definitely," the expert replied. "They show no signs of having been buried or having laid out in the weather. Now, as to how old they are – I can't give you a definite answer without running further tests on them. But, based on the way they have dried out and splintered, my guess would be at least 30 - 40 years, maybe more. I know that doesn't help much but – " He hesitated.

"But what?" Blake asked.

"It's just an impression, nothing based on facts, but I would guess that these bones have been handled over the years," Dr. Smyth said. "Of course, you would have to run tests for fingerprints, skin fragments, etc. to verify that."

"Handled?" Reid echoed.

'"You mean like passed around a campfire to go with spooky stories handled?" Blake suggested.

"Like I said, I have no facts to base that on. However - ," Dr. Smyth let the question hang as he continued thoughtfully staring at the bone he was holding.