Why do I put up with this guy?
“Found some potential places where the gas might have come from.” Vaughn got up, grabbed his coat. “Hey, let me ask you something. What do you know about construction?”
“Construction?”
“Yeah, someone had to build those rooms in the barn.”
“I built a shed once. Hardest part was laying the concrete foundation. The rest? Studs, drywall? Likethat? Easy. Can do it in a few hours.”
“Great.” Another dead end. “Alright, gas it is. Let’s go.”?
?Chapter 14
They struck outat the water treatment plant. The NJEPD didn’t actually use H2S gas; it was just a byproduct of sewage decomposition.
When Vaughn had asked if they had any tanks, went as far as to inquire if any had recently gone missing, he was met with a stare that rivaled the emptiness of their victims’ faces.
No dice.
The company that provided “gas solutions”—which Darnell had high hopes would be able to help him with his flatulence problem—was only slightly more fruitful.
Yes, they sold gas. No, they hadn’t sold any H2S gas in the last six months. Yes, they had to get a special import permit for that particular gas. Yes, the detectives could do an inventory of their stock. No, there wasn’t any H2S gas on the premises.
That left the Princeton CBE department.
First, a detour.
Officer Delaney called, told them that Dr.Button had an update from the morgue.
Seeing bodies in the morgue was always easier for Vaughn than coming across them at a crime scene. The temporal and physical separation from their location of death had a numbing effect, helping affirm their status as victims rather than actual people.
Callous, but a necessary coping mechanism.
Not so for Darnell, who grimaced as they approached the first victim, naked, splayed out on the table, chest opened in a classic Y cut.
Hard to make jokes in the presence of death.
“Hydrogen sulfide is extremely volatile,” Dr.Button said. He was the least affected by the ten bodies, speaking in a professorial tone. Matched his appearance to a T. The only thing he was missing was a bow tie. “It dissipates rapidly. Found evidence of chemical burns in the mucosal membranes of the deceased’s nose and mouth. Fluid in the lungs.” He pointed at the grayish organs that were still contained within the body cavity. “Blood analysis revealed the presence of low levels of thiosulfate in his system.”
“Thiosulfate?” Darnell asked. He shivered. “Also, there a reason you’re doing this in a meat locker and not out there?”
Apparently, youcouldmake jokes around the dead.
Dr.Button frowned at this.
“Like I said, H2S is highly volatile. Keeping the bodies cold slows the degradation process. As for your question, thiosulfate is a metabolite of hydrogen sulfide. Smell that? That rotten egg odor?”
Vaughn inhaled. He mostly smelled cleaning chemicals, perhaps embalming fluid, but there was a distinct, albeit subtle, egg odor. He just couldn’t tell if this was still lingering from the crime scene or if it was new.
He nodded anyway.
“I need to do some more tests, but I’m fairly confident that this victim died from acute H2S exposure.”
“How does that happen?” Vaughn asked. Dr.Button blinked. “I mean, what does the gas do to the body?”
“Binds to cytochrome C oxidase. Prevents the mitochondria from utilizing oxygen.”
“So they suffocate?”
