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Lowering the long pole, I positioned the hook and began to lever as hard as I could. The gulls, clearly displeased, squawked and circled low overhead.
After much maneuvering and an abundance of perspiration and unspoken cursing, the cluster of seaweed, kelp, and branches reluctantly yielded and popped free.
There was little current in the basin. Still, I didn’t want the tangle to bob off and be carried away from the boat. Or, worse,to sink. Reaching out, I snagged one sturdy-looking loop of stem.
The bundle rolled.
Four toes pointed skyward.
The flesh was mottled green and white, and bone showed where portions had been lost to scavengers. Still, Legalt was right.Les orteilswere unquestionably human.
Wordlessly, Plante thumbed a button on the net in his hands. Its telescoping handle extended to full length.
Way to go, constable.
As I kept the seaweed snarl as still as possible, Plante tried scooping it into the net.
Sounds easy. It wasn’t. It took at least a dozen tries to bring the slop aboard.
Plante and I watched murky water run outward from our catch and darken the deck. Even in the open air, the smell of putrefaction was almost overwhelming.
Overhead, the gulls screamed. Closer in, the flies flew into a frenzy.
Again, Plante descended into the cabin. This time he returned with a tarp.
I watched him unfold and spread the makeshift covering, knowing his effort might deter the gulls. But not the flies. I had no doubt that the dogged females would find a way in. That they would gleefully oviposit. That their eggs would render my upcoming task even less pleasant.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I hit a speed dial entry.
LaManche answered immediately.
“Oui,Temperance. Things are going well?”
“Sizzling.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Send a van.”
“Alors. The remains are human?”
“They are.”
“Is it the man from the bridge?”
“Impossible to say.”
“Is the body intact?”
“Far from it.”
“Shall I redeploy the marine search team?”
“Without delay.”
4
I stayed to oversee the transfer of the seaweed bundle and its grim contents from Legalt’s boat to a coroner’s van. While making sure that process unfolded properly, I also observed a team of divers as they searched Bickerdike Basin.
