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“Ients use ’eered by a cell phone, sootta have so as a terrorist to rig one of those, and Stuart Latham runs an Avis rental-car franchise”

“Well, either he killed her or he didn’t,” I said in exasperation “If he did, either he had an accomplice or he didn’t And if he didn’t have an acco, either in the car or out at the scene, indicating how he set off the fire froio”

“Are you willing to take a look? In the car and out at the property?”

“I’m not an evidence technician,” I reminded him

“But you’re great with taphonomy,” Roper said I was iy, taphonomy referred to the process or circuists tended to use it ement and relation of bodies, bones, and any other environht on aPoste, ed with a sell-by date, even a year-old sapling or a seasonal wasp nest within a rib cage or an eye socket-all these could be considered taphonomic evidence of when a murder occurred

“I’ll be glad to take a look at the taphonoet out of the office”

“The car’s at the KPD impound lot,” he said “When do you want to see it?”

“How about early in the rees?”

“I’ll have ator, Darren Cash,ready to ask a grand jury to indict Stuart Latharee murder, based on the insect evidence you found in the skull First, though, we’ll get a search warrant to go back for another look at the property If you find anything else in the car, that could help with the warrant”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said, “but don’t hold your breath What time should I meet Cash?”

“How does nine o’clock sound?”

“Sounds late and hot,” I said “What about eight instead?”

“I’ll have Darren ht”

“You ? He wasn’t available when the KPD forensics team went over the car”

“I’lad to have Art take a look”

AT 7:55 THE NEXT MORNING, Art and I turned onto the lane leading to the KPD impound lot The lot was on a dead-end street in East Knoxville, directly across I-40 fro about the juxtaposition struck me as funny-hundreds of captive animals on the south side of the interstate, I realized, hundreds of captive vehicles on the north side As we entered the dead end, I i under the freeway, then speeding off in stolen cars and trucks-chietaway vehicles, hippos and elephants hunkering in the back of the biggest trucks I pointed out a car to Art, a red BMW convertible with the top down “You think a giraffe could fit into the back of that Beemer?”

Art glanced at me, then at the car, then stared at ical specimen myself He raised his eyebrows slowly, then shook his head, an expression of deep pity on his face “We have got to get you some professional help,” he said

“Come on,” I said, “it’s not that far-fetched Prinitions”

“Professional help,” he said again “Ato lose”

The i-four narrow lots, actually-sandwiched between the interstate on one side and a set of railroad tracks on the other The first lot, an unfenced pad of gravel about fifty yards square, contained vehicles that would be auctioned off on Septen announced These were unclai with several horse trailers, which particularly intrigued me Surely I could find a use for a cheap horse trailer at the Body Farht

The second lot was a fenced expanse of asphaltdictated by the train tracks bordering the back-but stretching a hundred yards long This lot held vehicles that had been towed for aone unfed for weeks on end, junkers had been abandoned alongside the interstate, unpaid traffic tickets had mounted to thousands of dollars Many of the vehicles had open s, and several, like the red BMW, were convertibles open to the ele for those convertibles we’re in the ht,” I said

Art shrugged, unconcerned “If the top’s down or the s are openit, nothing we can do We don’t have the keys”

I noticed a video camera mounted on a pole at one corner of the lot “Have you had break-ins, right here in the impound lot?”

“You wouldn’t believe what a probleuy sneak in ire cutters one night, cut a big hole in the fence, and drive away”

“He hot-wired one of the cars?”

“He had the keys It was his car”

“He stole his own car fro “Did y’all catch him?”

Art shook his head “We got the car back-he ditched it over in North Carolina-but we never got the guy”