Mystery Street Page #2

I understand you have something | to show me.

Yes, I have. This is Detective Sharkey.

- Sharkey. | - Doctor.

And this is all you've got to go on.

Uh-huh.

- Got it solved already? | - Oh, it'll take a few days at least.

What are the facts?

Identification, none.

Fingerprints, none. Weapon, none.

We don't know if it's a man or woman, | suicide, murder, accident, or natural causes.

What about a starting point? | Where was it found?

I'm sorry. At a place called | Lakeman's Hollow. It is all we know.

"Two p. m., September 6th, the bones | of this unidentified person or persons...

...were found in the low bushes, | 100 yards north of Lakeman's Hollow...

Barnstable. Right here... | Massachusetts. "

That was an out-of-state case. | Jackson affair. Heard of it?

No. | - Interesting case.

Husband and wife in a violent quarrel, | neighbors heard it.

Woman found dead on the kitchen floor | in a puddle of blood.

Did they nail him?

McADOO:
He was walking out of the house | and out on her.

She wrecked the room in a rage of jealousy. | He was convicted of second-degree murder.

Six months later, | we were called in on the case.

Our autopsy proved | that she died of apoplexy...

...at almost the exact moment | the husband was buying a bus ticket.

- Saved that husband a little trouble. | You sure did.

A little trouble? Hm.

Say, but what about the puddle of blood?

Oh, uh, when she collapsed, | she bumped her nose. Nosebleed.

I'll get this case started.

- Say, doctor. | - Yeah?

- What's this? | - Man's head was split wide open.

It wasn't murder either.

It certainly wasn't apoplexy.

McADOO:
Believe it or not, | he did it himself. On purpose.

What is your name, please, madam?

Address?

How long ago did this happen?

Just a second.

- Sorry. | - Kilrain.

Maple? This is | the Boston Detective Bureau, mister.

Open the door, would you, Garrity?

We'll send someone right up, | Mr. Charles. Please don't touch anything.

Run this down, will you, Garrity?

Says a man came to fix her phone.

She got suspicious | because he wasn't wearing any pants.

Oh, Moralas, this is O'Hara.

- How are you? | How do you do?

Cape Cod skeleton case. | He'll be with us a while.

Been over to see McAdoo yet?

Do you know around 300,000...?

People die every year in this country | from unexplained causes.

He's met McAdoo all right.

It's because only eight states | require coroners to be doctors.

Maybe they figure doctors | can't help when you're dead.

No, I don't know. | Doctors like McAdoo can help plenty.

I saw murders | that turned out to be suicides.

Suicides that were accidents, | and accidents that paid off in murder.

- McAdoo say yours is murder? | - I think it is.

Take it easy. | Ever been on a murder case before?

Not exactly. Up in the Portuguese district | where I'm assigned, it's mostly small stuff.

- Excuse me. | - Let's unwind, lieutenant.

- You had dinner yet? | - Nope.

When do you see McAdoo again? | First thing tomorrow morning.

McADOO:
| Can you see it all right?

- Got it? | Mm.

McADOO:
Now, those are from your case. | Human hairs under low magnification.

They're darker at one end, aren't they?

Mm-hm. | Dark end natural, white end bleached.

- That makes it a blond. | - Or the murderer was a blond.

- Then it was murder. | - If it was murder.

- So far, we've got blond hair. | - Mm-hm.

Now, those leaves you brought in:

Cape flora, low blueberry, poison ivy.

Here's the poison ivy.

Now, these plants stopped growing | the day the body covered them.

They're almost in full leaf, the size | they should be the end of May.

- Then we know the date of the murder. | - Well, not necessarily.

Suppose the body had been dead | when brought there.

- If it had been brought there. | - Then, what have we got?

Rough working date. | Say, the week of May 20th.

- Your skeleton, lieutenant. | - Oh, yes.

By the way, Pete, you'll have to go back | and look for some more bones...

...and sift the sand | to a depth of at least a foot.

- What for? | - She's not all here.

- She? | - Oh, yes, definitely a lady. That was easy.

For example, let's take a look at John.

You'll notice that, like most men...

...his head size is larger in proportion | to the rest of his body.

He also has a little more jaw.

A woman's bones, on the other hand, | are lighter, smaller...

...and with less pronounced | muscular attachments.

I suppose you'd like to know her age.

I'd also like to know her height, | weight, occupation...

...and the name and number | of the person who murdered her.

We can answer all those questions | except the last.

- Age? | - Between 20 and 24.

- Probably closer to 24. | - That's only a guess, of course.

Oh, not really.

You see, it isn't until you reach the age | of 25 that all the bones get really solid.

She's just about completed that process.

Now, this is the last long bone | to fuse into one piece.

As you can see, it's almost closed.

- Um, occupation? Maybe? | - What people do often marks them.

Sometimes psychologically, | sometimes physically.

Uh, let's take this foot.

When this bone is this heavy, | it makes me think she was a toe dancer.

Now, as to height, | there are several ways.

The application of Pearson's Formula | to this thighbone...

...would indicate | she was about 65 inches tall.

How was she killed, doctor?

Haven't figured that out yet.

- Here's a preliminary report, lieutenant. | - Oh, thank you.

"A woman, bleached blond, | about 24, about 5'5"...

...died in or about the week of May 20th, | probably once a toe dancer. "

- Thank you, doctor. | McADOO: It's all right.

You've gotta find a face | to put on that skull.

Is that all?

You'll probably find not over 1000 girls | missing on that day.

- Approximately. | - Approximately.

- Goodbye. | - Bye.

Four from Connecticut.

Two from Vermont.

Twelve from Massachusetts.

Six from New Jersey.

Two from Maine.

A hundred and twenty-six | from New York.

- What do you think makes them do it? | - Do what?

I wish I knew. Then I'd tell my wife, | and maybe she'd disappear.

Hey, this one's not bad.

Now, for the picture that fits her skull.

- Look, these pictures are all different sizes. | - That's right.

But all we've gotta do is find out | how the photographs were made.

The camera used, | the exposure, the focus...

...what kind of film, what kind of paper | it was printed on...

...the distance from the camera, | and then match it.

Look, who says | this can even be done?

McAdoo. It was done once in Scotland.

Ha-ha. Lieutenant, you're not young enough | to start on this case.

Maybe. But I'm dumb enough.

McADOO:
| No. The eye sockets are too wide apart...

...and the forehead's too prominent | for this face.

- How many do we have left? | - About eight, sir.

- May be none of them, you know. | - That's encouraging.

No, the jaw of the skull's | too short for this girl.

Well, it wasn't a bad idea.

It was a good idea. If the skull fits, | it may not prove you have the right girl...

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