Chapter 5
"You got here quick," Melinda commented to the Sergeant and Detective as they walked into autopsy.
"Well, when you call, we come running," Fin teased.
"Detective Amanda Klass," the Queens SVU detective introduced herself formally. While she knew an assistant ME, she had not met the head of the department before.
"Mindy speaks highly of you, which is why it pains me to have to tell you that this is not Nicole Cox," Melinda gave her a tight smile as she pulled the white sheet off of the table covered in the skeleton of a pre-teen girl.
"Damn," Klass heaved a sigh.
"Indeed. There's another family out there not knowing where their daughter is," the medical examiner said.
"How can you tell it's not Nicole?" Fin wanted to know.
"During our dig last night, we found a metal plate. The serial number came back to a missing girl by the name of Makayla Powell. Seems she suffered a skull fracture in a nasty car accident that killed her father. I can't imagine what her mother is going through," Melinda heaved a sigh.
"So, this little girl hadn't been through enough, someone had to kill her and then try and hide her body," Klass shook her head.
"Do you know how she died?" Fin was trying to get past the sadness of it all. It was another sad moment to add to the pile that had accumulated over his long career.
"Well, that's another mystery. Her hyoid bone is missing, but since our killer more than likely moved the body, that isn't a surprise. There are no broken bones or bullet holes. She could have been suffocated or could have died from natural causes," Melinda said.
"Natural causes?" Klass gave her a look.
"Heart attack from malnutrition, asthma attack, anaphylaxis…" the medical examiner stopped naming the items as the list grew.
"So, you're going with undetermined cause," Fin said.
"For now, until you can get me more info," she nodded.
"We need to go and find her family. Then I'll get back to Queens," Klass said.
"Did I say I was done?" It was Melinda's turn to give them a look. The two detectives looked at each other and then went back to her.
"Ummm what now?" Klass asked.
"Well, you see as we were collecting poor Makayla's bones, we found a few things that didn't belong," the medical examiner turned around to the table behind her and grabbed a small evidence container.
"Is that what I think it is?" Fin wanted to know as he looked at the contents of the container.
"Well as far as I know Makayla didn't have twelve fingers and toes. We have extra bones," Melinda confirmed.
"So, our body burier had two bodies? Why not put them both in the same hole?" Klass was confused.
"I can't answer that but it's possible the bones were mixed up prior to the first burial. We don't really know how sick this guy is. We just know he likes them young," Melinda said.
"That's sick enough. Any way to identify who the finger bones belong to?" He asked.
"No. They don't hold much marrow. Find me some more bones though…" she trailed off.
"All righty, we have our work cut out for us. What do you think Klass? Can you convince your Captain to stay with Manhattan SVU for a little while longer?" The Sergeant asked.
"I'll see what I can do," the detective gave him a smile. She pulled out her phone and moved away to make a call. Melinda turned to Fin and whispered,
"You think she's going to be ok?"
"This is the case that got under her skin. We've all had them," he whispered back.
"Ain't that the truth," she nodded.
To Be Continued…