Dr. Maggie Ross, Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, parked her light gray Audi in front of the police tape. The entire southern shore of the Charles River was cordoned off with yellow tape.

She looked around curiously, taking in every detail.

Onlookers lined the scene, and here and there, Maggie heard speculation about the large number of fire and police officers. That's what she had to find out, she thought. That was precisely why she had been brought here.

She locked her car with the key fob and was about to slip under the barrier when a voice abruptly reprimanded her. "Excuse me, but you can't park here. Get back in your car and drive on; this is a police operation."

Maggie raised her eyebrows slowly, wondering briefly whether she should engage in a war of words with the young officer she had never seen before but then decided against. Instead, she pulled her badge out of her back pocket and held it before the officer's eyes. "Would you be so kind as to tell me who is in charge of the investigation?" she replied politely but with a directness of voice that brooked no contradiction.

The officer looked puzzled at the badge and then back into Maggie's striking blue eyes. His face lit up, and his expression relaxed. He turned to the side. "That's a lieutenant of Homicide." He pointed to the medium-sized woman with brown hair tied in a loose bun, who stood out as the only non-uniformed person in the group of uniformed officers.

Although she had her back to Maggie, she recognized her daughter Nikki immediately. It had been some time since she had last had anything to do with Nikki.

Maggie took a few long steps toward the lieutenant. She must have seen her mother out of the corner of her eye because before she reached Nikki, she turned around and looked at the ME.

"Ah, Dr. Ross, how nice you could come so quickly. We've been expecting you," said Nikki with a slight frown. Her blue eyes, lined with fine laugh lines, sparkled happily.

Maggie nodded with a slight smile. "And what do we have today?" Maggie looked at her daughter curiously.

Nikki took a deep breath and turned to an ambulance, pointing to a man in his mid-thirties with thinning blonde hair wrapped in a blanket and talking to one of the paramedics. "That's Enno Jones. He made a quick stop because the engine of his car spluttered when he saw a body floating down here in the river arm. He quickly jumped into the water and pulled the man out." Nikki turned around and pointed to an area hidden by a fence on the shore. "However, any help came too late. The man was already dead. Judging by his appearance, he had probably been dead for some time. But –" she added, smiling at Maggie, '…you can judge that better, of course.'

Maggie nodded slowly. "Do you already know anything about the dead man?"

"No," replied Nikki, licking her lips. She knew what the question was aiming at. Depending on the circumstances of the case, a quick identification could often lead to the discovery of a motive for a possible suicide, such as a severe medical diagnosis or a suicide note left at the home of the person concerned. Information about serious, possibly fatal underlying illnesses could be obtained from the family doctor, or details about a mental illness or arguments in the deceased's environment could be found out from relatives before the autopsy. "The dead man was not carrying a wallet, money, or any other papers."

"Well, let's go then," said Maggie, motioning for the lieutenant to accompany her toward the shore.

xxx

Tim Garner tossed restlessly from side to side in his bed. He should have been at work by now, where he was a painter and decorator. But he had called in sick today. He couldn't stop thinking about the conversation with the lawyer. This O'Laighin. Tracy Payne thought O'Laighin could help them, but Garner needed more convincing. In all these years, no one had helped him. And now that he had been heard for the first time and there was even going to be an interview in the newspaper, that seemed to be falling apart as well. They had been so close to it. The interview with the Boston Observer will get things moving. It had to. Somehow, he had to make it happen. But he didn't know how.

Desperate, he pushed his blanket aside and sat on the edge of his bed. What time was it, anyway? Garner looked at his wristwatch. 8:12 a.m. Get up or stay in bed a little longer? What the heck, he thought. Another half hour. He reached under his blanket and fumbled for the remote. When he found it, he crawled back into bed. With the push of a button, the TV came to life. The set was one of the things he was really proud of. He gave himself it last December, paid for by the Christmas bonus he hadn't expected.

Garner rubbed his eyes. On the local news, Terim Kaymak was interviewing Marcus Cantu, the leading candidate for mayor. Somehow, Cantu looked familiar. Of course, he was a public figure as a politician, but there was something else. Cantu and Kaymak laughed because the politician had just given an unexpectedly quick-witted answer to a critical question.

"Mr. Cantu," the journalist said, ending the brief conversation. 'In a sentence: What can the people of Boston look forward to if you become the next mayor of our beautiful city in two months?'

Cantu thought for a moment and didn't answer right away. "That I will be honest and keep my promises. Even if that doesn't always meet with enthusiasm. But sometimes, it's important to make unpopular decisions. Especially if it will be the best in the long run."

While Terim Kaymak said a quick thank you and took her leave of her guest, Garner turned back on his side.

Typical politician. Before the election, there are always big promises, and afterward, they don't keep them. It won't be any different with Cantu, he thought.

With his left hand, Garner reached for the remote and turned off the TV, wondering when he had seen Cantu for the first time.

xxx

"Hello, Ms. O'Laighin," Tracy Payne greeted Ashlyn just outside the entrance of the venerable editorial building in the heart of Boston.

"Hi," Ashlyn replied with a smile. "Thank you for taking the time so spontaneously."

"My pleasure, no problem. I want to get ahead here just like you. And if I can help, that's the least I can do. Would you like a coffee?"

"Absolutely. I could really use one now. And then I need you to tell me exactly why you came to me with Tim Garner again."

"Well, to be honest, I was really worried about Booker. Both of them, Booker and Garner, were very interested in the interview. I think they felt that someone was finally listening to them and that they could tell their story. And then Booker was suddenly no longer there. It was extraordinary." They crossed the street towards a coffee stand. "I mean, it happens pretty often that interview guests back out at the last minute. But then it's usually when we've approached them because we want to know something. But here, it's the other way around. After all, we provide the forum for the two of them."

Ashlyn nodded. She felt that Payne was seriously concerned. It speaks for her, the lawyer thought. So it's not just about the story but really about the people behind it. "Let's get a coffee first," she interrupted her thoughts and pointed to the coffee stand.

After she had equipped herself with two cappuccinos, Ashlyn asked further: "Why didn't you go to the police with him?"

"For one thing, because it would almost certainly have led nowhere. The cops would have told us that a grown man could disappear and reappear as he wished. Unless there was evidence of a crime, the cops probably wouldn't even have taken the details."

"And the other one?"

"Well, Garner didn't want to go to the police. He's disappointed in the government agencies with his story and has a problem there."

Ashlyn nodded slowly. Both made sense. But to find Booker, she needed more background information. "Couldn't it be that he just extended his vacation?" she asked.

Tracy Payne shook her head. "I can't imagine that. It doesn't fit into the picture for me. They were so grateful that I listened to them. And the plan with the interview, that we wanted to bring all this to light, was a big deal for them." She took a sip of her cappuccino before continuing. "That's why I don't think Booker would stay away without getting in touch."

"And what do you think of the whole story? It's crazy that you've never heard of it, isn't it? About this abuse." Ashlyn frowned, then stopped and looked Payne straight in the eye. "So many years ago, and no one ever talked about it. How can that be? Do you believe them?"

"Every word!" Payne replied, and as if someone had flipped a switch, all the happiness had disappeared from her face. She continued in a severe tone, "Since Garner first told me the story a good three months ago, I've done quite a bit of research. It seems Garner and Booker weren't the only ones. Over the past forty years, there have been numerous cases of minors being placed with pedophiles, either organized or tolerated by the authorities. All the documents I found on this were worded so that the so-called Granther Experiment appeared to be a very scientific story, indeed, a significant piece of research." She shook her head contemptuously. "If you ask me personally, though, I'd say Granther took advantage of the gullibility and naivety of several officials."

Ashlyn took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yes, it does sound like that. But again, isn't it strange that this has never been widely reported in the press? The media would have had to have jumped on it to hold those responsible to account."

"You would think so," Payne admitted. "But whichever information I followed up always ended up dead. That's why I'm interested in the interview with Booker and Garner. I'm sure it will get things moving on this whole affair."

"I think so, too. If we can find Booker."

"As soon as we find him," Payne corrected the lawyer, raising her eyebrows. "He has to turn up again."