The Bone Collector (Lincoln Rhyme 1)

She touched her mouth, which was bent into a grin. "Stings like hell."

Rhyme glanced sideways. "And what happened to you, Banks? Shaving your forehead now?"

"Walked into a fire truck." The young man grinned and touched the bandage again.

"Rhyme," Sachs began, smiling no longer. "There's nothing here. He's got the little girl and I couldn't get to the planted PE in time."

"Ah, Sachs, there's always something. Have faith in the teachings of Monsieur Locard."

"I saw them burn up, the clues. And if there was anything left at all, it's all buried under tons of debris."

"Then we'll look for the clues he didn't mean to leave. We'll do this scene together, Sachs. You and me. Come on."

He gave two short breaths into the straw and started forward. They'd got ten feet nearer the church when she said suddenly, "Wait."

He braked to a stop.

"You're getting careless, Rhyme. Get some rubber bands on those wheels. Wouldn't want to confuse your prints with the unsub's."

"Where do we start?"

"We need a sample of the ash," Rhyme said. "There were some clean paint cans in the back of the wagon. See if you can find one."

She collected a can from the remains of the RRV.

"You know where the fire started?" Rhyme asked.

"Pretty much."

"Take a sample of ash--a pint or two--as close to the point of origin as you can get."

"Right," she said, climbing up on a five-foot-high wall of brick--all that remained of the north side of the church. She peered down into the smoky pit at her feet.

A fire marshal called, "Hey, officer, we haven't secured the area yet. It's dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as the last time I was there," she answered. And holding the handle of the can in her teeth started down the wall.

Lincoln Rhyme watched her but he was really seeing himself, three and a half years ago, pull his suit jacket off and climb down into the construction site at the subway entrance near City Hall. "Sachs," Rhyme called. She turned. "Be careful. I saw what was left of the RRV. I don't want to lose you twice in one day."

She nodded and then disappeared over the edge of the wall.

After a few minutes Rhyme barked to Banks, "Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"What I'm saying is, could you go check on her?"

"Oh, sure." He walked to the wall, looked over.

"Well?" Rhyme asked.

"It's a mess."

"Of course it's a mess. Do you see her?"

"No."

"Sachs?" Rhyme shouted.