“Alice Hannigan,” Jessup whispered to Logan as he pulled out his journal in preparation for taking notes. “Captain of Region Five. She’s the ranger in charge of all eight northern counties.”
“May I have your attention,” Hannigan said briskly. “We’ll do our best to keep this short. I’ll give you a few preliminary facts. Then we will hear a brief overview from Dr. Bryce Plowson, the Plattsburgh ME, regarding the autopsy of the latest victim. Finally, Captain Krenshaw of the New York state police will discuss the investigative procedures to be followed, going forward.”
She cleared her throat, glanced over a few index cards. “The victim has been identified as one Mark Artowsky, twenty-two years of age. When discovered, he had been dead approximately eighteen hours. He was a graduate student, working with a small research team operating out of a disused fire station at the southern edge of the Five Ponds Wilderness. As you know, unlike the two backpackers whose remains were discovered previously, Artowsky was found along the eastern fringe of the Wilderness, about six miles north of the weather station and not quite four miles southwest of Pike Hollow. Any questions?”
When there were none, she yielded the podium to a bald elderly man with heavy spectacles, wearing a white coat over a dark suit. He adjusted the microphone, looked around. “I’ll spare you as much of the medical technicalities as I can,” he said in a high, reedy voice. “First, the good news. As Captain Hannigan has just told you, the body was found relatively soon after death. This meant that a much more accurate autopsy could be performed than on the two men found earlier. Unfortunately, despite that fact, much about this death remains inconclusive.”
Dr. Plowson took a sip of water from a glass at one side of the podium. “Put quite simply, although the attack was just as ferocious and violent as the first two corpses indicated, the size of the puncture marks, and the depth of the wounds, are not sufficiently large as to indicate a bear. A more likely animal would be a gray wolf.”
A wolf. Beside him, Logan felt Jessup stiffen.
“The size and distribution of the puncture marks, along with the uninhibited bite pattern around the neck, are consistent with that of a wolf. The puncture wounds were created no doubt by the maxillae, which then—as is common in dog or wolf attacks—served as anchor points for the tearing that follows when the attacking animal shakes its victim. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of literature regarding specific analyses and comparison of lupine dentition and claw marks, so the assessment that a wolf made these bites cannot be one hundred percent conclusive. Besides which, the body is simply in too great a state of dismemberment for the recovery of any paw marks. And it is precisely that dismemberment which adds a further complication to forensic analysis. Normally, a wolf attack—in cases, at least, where extreme aggravation or the protection of cubs was not an underlying cause—would be followed by postmortem feeding. That was not the case here. Instead, the victim’s limbs were severed from the torso with great violence—and in a way inconsistent with the kind of biting, rending behavior we would normally expect from a wolf attack. In addition, the evisceration of the body cavity is extremely unusual. Odontological analysis of the wounds to the limbs and viscera would be helpful, of course, but given the victim’s condition it is almost impossible to establish a useful bite mark protocol.”
Standing beside the medical examiner, Captain Krenshaw stirred. “Excuse me, Doctor,” he said. “Am I to understand, then, that certain aspects of this attack are consistent with that of a wolf, while others are completely inconsistent?”
“That is correct,” Dr. Plowson said. “As I mentioned, the concentrated bite pattern around the neck, and the nature of the puncture wounds, are typical. And yet many things—the mauling of the body, the blunt trauma inflicted upon it, the evisceration, and the lack of postmortem feeding—are not typical of a wolf at all and, in fact, are difficult if not impossible to explain.”
“Could not these wounds have been inflicted by a man, using a weapon such as a butcher’s cleaver, or maybe a winnowing fork?”
The ME pushed his glasses up his nose. “That might account for the lacerations, the way the body was for all purposes torn apart, but of course it would not explain the bite patterns.”
“Unless the man in question made the bite marks himself,” Krenshaw said. “Thank you, Doctor. Was there anything else?”
“Not at this time. If anything further comes to light, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
Krenshaw nodded, then let the doctor step aside and assumed the podium himself. “All right. From what Dr. Plowson has told us, we can’t rule anything out—animal or human. With this third murder, we now have no choice but to search these woods with a fine-tooth comb. Captain Hannigan of the rangers will coordinate that search. You’ll need to concentrate on the Five Ponds Wilderness and the area around Desolation Mountain. Given the lengthy periods between the killings and the discoveries of the first two bodies, not to mention the conditions of the terrain, previous searches were minimal. That won’t be the case this time. I’ll call in helicopter support to assist. Despite what we’ve heard, be prepared for anything—bear or wolf. Meanwhile, the troopers under my command will investigate the possibility that a human perpetrator is involved. We will interview the local residents, look for criminal histories, interface with Dannemorra prison regarding any recent parolees, and search for any commonalities. Troopers, you’ll be taking your specific instructions from your station commanders and zone sergeants. Any questions? No? Very good. This meeting is adjourned.”
As the rangers and state police began rising and murmuring among themselves, Logan watched Krenshaw leave the podium and—looking straight at him—make his way through the rows of chairs.
“Uh-oh,” he murmured to Jessup. “Care to do the talking?”
Captain Krenshaw stopped directly before Logan, meaty arms crossed over his chest. “What are you doing here, exactly?”
Logan took a breath. “I’m a historical researcher from Yale, investigating—”
“Academics aren’t invited to official briefings such as this.” Krenshaw smiled mirthlessly. Despite his girth, he had remarkably tiny, deep-set eyes that had the uncomfortable ability to bore into a person. “Besides, I know all about your researches, Doctor Logan. I’ve seen your face on TV more than once. And I can guess why you’re here—I’ve heard some of the talk coming out of Pike Hollow, too. If you want my own opinion, you’re wasting your time. This wasn’t the work of an animal, and it sure as hell wasn’t the work of a monster. In fact, I’ve got a pretty good idea who’s responsible.”
“And who would that be?” Jessup asked.