Supreme Justice

Chapter Forty-three

When Daphne Haggard opened her front door, she was assaulted by the scent of herbs and spices. Her husband was sweet, considerate, and great in bed, but she always told her friends that Brett had seduced her with his mastery of their kitchen. Daphne liked to think that she was considerate and good in the sack, but it was no secret that she couldn’t cook worth a damn. Brett’s passion was food and his flexible hours as an academic let him practice his hobby frequently. Daphne never knew what culinary delight awaited her on her return home. The divine aromas drew Daphne into the kitchen. Brett had his back to her, and she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Out, woman,” he growled. “Can’t you see I’m working?”

“What am I smelling?” she moaned.

“I’ve conjured up a golden oldie,” Brett said. “Chicken Marbella. You’re smelling oregano, prunes, garlic. It’s been marinating in the fridge all night.”

“It looks heavenly, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Brett looked over his shoulder. “What happened to lunch?”

“A traffic fatality on Wentworth Road just as I was headed to Elsie’s Café. I’m starving.”

“Hang in for another twenty minutes. It’ll be worth it,” Brett assured her.

Daphne was about to answer him when the cell phone she used for police business rang. She tugged it out of her jacket pocket and walked into the living room, grateful for anything that would distract her from her growling stomach.

“Detective Haggard,” she answered.

“Amal Shastri here, calling from the Orthosure offices in Omaha.”

A friend of Daphne’s at Princeton had been an upper-class Indian, and Shastri’s clipped British accent made her think of him.

“Thank you for returning my call, Dr. Shastri,” Daphne said.

“I was at a conference in New York City,” the president of Orthosure said. “I have just returned today, or I would have gotten back to you sooner. I was intrigued. Your message states that you are a homicide detective?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m with the Inverness Police Department in Wisconsin, and I was hoping you could help me solve a mystery.”

“That sounds exciting. How can I do that?”

“ Inverness is a college town in the northern part of the state. The area surrounding the campus is heavily forested. A few weeks ago, a student came across the remains of a human thigh.”

“My goodness.”

“She was pretty shaken up.”

“I would imagine.”

“We were set to search for other body parts when bad weather moved in. I didn’t have much hope once the storm passed, but we got lucky and found the other thigh. The medical examiner X-rayed it. The victim’s leg had been broken at some point and there was an orthopedic appliance-a stainless steel rod-that had been inserted to stabilize the fracture. When we examined the rod, we found Orthosure’s maker’s mark and a serial number. If I give you the number, could you identify the patient?”

“I couldn’t, but the surgeon who inserted the rod should be able to.”

“How can we find him?”

“Our records will tell me what hospital ordered the appliance. Part of the serial number tells us the year in which it was shipped. The hospital can give you the names of the orthopedic surgeons who operated in the given year. You’d have to interview them, but there should be a sticker from the rod with the serial number attached to the surgeon’s notes. It would be in the patient’s file.”

“That’s great.”

“What is the serial number?” Shastri asked.

“05-8L9765G.”

“OK, well that narrows it down. The 05 means 2005, so you have your year. I’ll have my secretary call you with the name of the hospital.”

Daphne thanked Shastri for his help and hung up. Then she smiled. Shastri was right, solving mysteries was exciting. It beat the hell out of rousting drunks and dealing with domestic disputes. And they had a grade A, first-class mystery on their hands in little Inverness. It also looked like she would be a step closer to figuring out the victim’s identity any day now. Take that, Jessica Fletcher, Daphne thought. Ace detective Daphne Haggard is hot on the trail in The Case of Severed Thigh.