The Burial Hour (Lincoln Rhyme 13)

Nodding toward the now-translated chart, Rhyme said, "The trace, of course. Now, the substances

paired with the propylene glycol are shaving cream. With the blood, it's a reasonable conclusion that he cut himself shaving. To change his appearance as much as he can, he'd lose the hair and beard. The shaved-head look seems popular here in Italy.

"Now, the indole, skatole and thiol are excrement." A glance toward the chart once more. "Those're shit. With the paper fiber? Human shit, of course. No other creatures I know wipe. It's old shit, quite old, desiccated. You can see in the picture--and of several different types. See the color and texture variations? I would speculate there is a sewer nearby, one that might not have been used for some time.

"The animal hairs are from a rat. It's shedding because it's scratching; it has a skin irritation--the bartonella bacteria are causing that. The particular strain is the one that most commonly infects rats. Rats and sewers, well, you find them everywhere but more often in cities than smaller towns. So, urban setting."

"Bene," said Beatrice Renza.

"The iron shavings tell me the Composer cut a lock or chain to get access to the place. Iron isn't used much anymore--most locks are steel--so it's old. With the rust on only one side--you can see it there, that photo--it was recently cut."

Rossi said, "You suggested it used to have public access, in the past."

"Yes, because of the rubber."

"The rubber?" Ercole asked. He seemed to be memorizing all that Rhyme said.

"What else would be vulcanized? Translucent, decomposing shreds. Vulcanized rubber."

It was Beatrice who nodded. "They are the old condoms, might it not be?"

"Exactly. Hardly a romantic trysting place, with the rat neighbors, and sewers, but perfect for streetwalkers." Rhyme shrugged. "They're bold deductions. But we have a man who's about to be strangled to death. I don't think we have time to be timid. So, what does this tell you about where the victim might be? Underground in Naples? Of course, a deserted area."

Rossi said, "Not many of those here. We are a very crowded city."

Beatrice said, "And Naples has more underground passages and walkways than any other city in Italy. Perhaps than Europe. Kilometers after kilometers."

Ercole disagreed. "But not so many where access is in deserted places."

The lab analyst muttered to him, "No, I think many. We must find other ways to narrow these concerns down."

Rhyme said, "A map. There has to be a map of underground locations."

"Historical documents," Daniela offered.

With a smile, Ercole said to her, "Yes, of course. From a library or a college or a historical society."

Rhyme turned to him and his eyebrow rose.

Ercole hesitated and said, "Is that wrong? It was just a suggestion."

Rossi said, "I think, Ercole, that Captain Rhyme is not questioning your thought--which is a good, if obvious, one--but your delay in providing such maps."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course."

Sachs told him, "Go online. We don't have time for you to prowl though libraries like The Da Vinci Code."

Must have been a book, Rhyme supposed. Or movie.

Sachs asked Beatrice, "You mentioned the underground passages here. Are there walking tours?"

"Yes," she replied. "My sister's children, we are going on such tours. Several, three times."

"Ercole," Rhyme called, "download all those tour routes too."

"Yes, I will. You mean so that we can eliminate those areas from our underground search. Of course he would avoid places with tourists."

"I want to orient myself. A map of the city. We need a map."