“Have a seat,” Livia said. “So what did you find out about Victoria Ford that had you up so late at night?”
Avery sat in one of the chairs in front of the gunmetal desk. She pulled a single page from her purse and handed it to Livia. She had taken it from the Cameron Young file before sneaking out of Walt’s room earlier. It was the crime lab’s analysis of the DNA found at the crime scene.
“It turns out Victoria Ford was involved in a high-profile murder investigation in the months before she died. My story about her has taken an unexpected turn from her remains being identified to the details about the homicide investigation. I need some help with some specifics about it.”
“The woman identified was a suspect in a murder?” Livia said.
“She was. And I’ve managed to hook up with . . .” Avery stopped herself and shook her head. “。 . . To get in touch with the detective who ran the investigation. We’ve been reviewing the evidence and I’m having trouble with the blood that was found at the crime scene.”
“What sort of trouble?”
“Well, I’m stuck on it. I’m working hard to figure out if there’s another explanation of the crime scene. If there’s any chance things happened differently than how the prosecution presented them. My biggest issue is that droplets of blood recovered from the scene were matched to Victoria Ford through DNA analysis. I need to know how accurate the science is that made that match.”
“Very,” Livia said. “A specific DNA sequence is sequestered from the blood and then, in a normal investigation, matched against DNA samples taken from the suspect—usually through an oral swab. If the DNA profiles match, it’s as accurate as it gets. Statistically, the science is just about one hundred percent.”
Avery slowly nodded her head as she considered Livia’s words. The fact was that the blood at the crime scene belonged to Victoria. This would be the biggest problem with the theory that someone else had killed Cameron Young, and she could see no way around it.
“The science likely came out at trial,” Livia said. “DNA evidence and the science behind it are challenged when it’s done badly or if there is even a chance that it’s less accurate than normal. If the blood had been contaminated, for instance. Or, if it was not preserved correctly. Was any of the DNA evidence challenged at trial?”
“That’s just it,” Avery said. “The case never went to trial.”
“Why not?”
“Because the chaos of September eleventh marked the unofficial end of the case.”
“So the investigation was closed?”
“Not formally. It just sort of went away because after 9/11 the main suspect was dead and the case was not pursued. America started chasing terrorists.”
Avery’s mind returned again to the previous day when she skimmed through Victoria’s lost manuscripts. Finally, she looked at Livia.
“The other thing I texted you about,” Avery said. “Were you able to find anything out about it?”
“Yes,” Livia said. “I called Arthur Trudeau earlier this morning and he told me where to look. It’s in the bone-processing lab. Grab your coffee.”
Avery followed Livia through the dark hallways until they came to the lab. Livia swiped her card key and the red light on the lock turned green as she opened the door. She flicked on the lights and headed toward a bank of computers lining the far wall. The monitors were dark until Livia sat down at one of the stations and jiggled the mouse. The computer screen woke and brightened with the OCME logo. She logged in and clicked through the screens.
“The identification of Victoria Ford was made on May eighth. It’ll take me a second to get back there.”
Avery stood next to Livia as she scrolled through the screens.
“Okay,” Livia said. “Here we go.”
Avery bent over Livia’s shoulder and scanned the screen.
“It looks like the specimen was collected from North Tower debris on September twenty-second of 2001.”
“Does it tell you more about the original specimen?” Avery asked.
“I’m looking. Let’s see . . .”
A few more screens clicked past and then some more scrolling.
“Yes. Here are the original notes on the specimen. Small fragment measuring just three quarters of an inch long and badly charred at the time of recovery.”
“That’s tiny,” Avery said.
“From what I know about the recovery efforts, this was not uncommon. Many tiny fragments of charred bone were recovered. It’s really a miracle that from this minute fragment, DNA could be extracted.” Livia went back to the report. “It goes on a bit about the damage to the exterior of the specimen—pathology jargon. And then, let’s see.” Livia pointed to the screen. “The forensic dentists identified the specimen as a central incisor or canine.”
“Meaning what?” Avery asked.
“It was a tooth.”
“A tooth? From the rubble of the Twin Towers, a tooth was recovered?”
“Yes. We have over five hundred individual teeth here at the crime lab waiting to be identified. Some were recovered as part of a jaw and skull, but many more were single teeth.”
“How could a single tooth be salvaged from the rubble of a hundred-story building?”
“Not in the way you’re imagining. The recovery efforts in the early days and weeks after 9/11 did take place like you’re thinking—OCME employees literally walked through Ground Zero and collected bodies and body parts from the rubble. That’s true. And it was grisly work, from what I’ve been told. Many of those victims were identified quickly. But most of the remains the office still has stored today that are waiting to be identified are small bone fragments, and yes, many individual teeth. These small specimens were not recovered at Ground Zero, but instead through a sifting program that started a year after the towers fell. When construction and excavating machines cleared the debris from Ground Zero, it was loaded into trucks and transferred to a landfill in Staten Island. All the 9/11 debris was placed to the side in its own section of the landfill. That debris went through various stages of sifting. Think of it as panning for gold. From the rocks and rubble and construction debris, tiny artifacts were teased out. That’s how so many personal items like wedding rings, jewelry, wallets, and driver’s licenses have been recovered. It’s also how small bone fragments and teeth have been found.”
“That’s amazing,” Avery said.
Her mind was racing. Her ludicrous theory, as it echoed in her head, was sounding more plausible. Reading Victoria Ford’s manuscripts had sent her thoughts tumbling down a dark rabbit hole toward a wild theory. Until this moment, she believed the idea was fueled by an offshoot of her imagination that constantly searched for the sensationalism her American Events stories needed. But the fact that the specimen used to identify Victoria Ford was a tooth not only made her theory realistic, but possible.
“Has Dr. Trudeau been able to locate any other remains that matched Victoria Ford?”
“No,” Livia said. “The tooth was the only match to date. But the hope is that the new DNA technology will be able to get through the remaining unidentified bone fragments in the next few months. If more of Victoria Ford was recovered in the ruins of the Twin Towers, we’ll know soon enough.”