В сердце большого города скрываются тайны и загадки. Каждое утро открывает новый слой этой истории, напоминая о безвозвратности прошлого. Внутренние драмы и судьбы, переплетающиеся в пространстве и времени, создают непредсказуемую атмосферу будничной мелодрамы.
The Sr isotope composition of that individual’s dental sample suggests a childhood diet with an average Sr value of plus fifty to plus sixty.”
“Meaning 38428 was not born in the same region as the other two?”
“Correct.”
“Can you tell where she’s from?”
“That’s where it gets interesting. Last year we had a case of jumbled remains from a barrel found in some hophead’s basement in Detroit. Police knew the victims were business associates of the drug dealer who owned the house, but wanted the bones sorted into individuals.
“We didn’t have control groups from the three areas in question, so we had to infer the isotope composition of the dietary Sr from the bedrock geology in each region, then work back to the various bones in the barrel. You still there?”
“I’m here.”
“Someone who spent their childhood in north-central California should have Sr values in the range of plus thirty to plus sixty.
For a moment I was taken aback.
“Meaning my girl’s from California?”
“Meaning she could be. If you have no other ideas, it’s as good a starting point as any. Of course, she could be from another region with similar bedrock geology.”
“And my other unknowns?”
“A couple of years back we had a case involving commingled remains recovered from a common grave in Vietnam.
Art gave me no chance to interrupt.
“A study of the Sr isotope composition of the groundwater near St. Johnsbury in Vermont suggested values in the range of plus eighty-four to plus ninety-four. The teeth from one of the soldiers produced Sr values smack-dab in that range.”
“The Vermonter.”
“Yes. The teeth of 38426 and 38427 produced identical values.
“Meaning these girls were from Vermont?”
“Not so fast. The same rock formations extend across the border into Quebec. What I’m suggesting is that the Sr values of your other two girls are consistent with what I’d expect from people born in the region where the remains were found.”
“The Montreal area.”
“Yes. Now let’s talk bones. For 38426 and 38427, the Sr values in their teeth are similar to the Sr values in their bones.
