Dry Bones

What happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant teacher at the cole Nationale dAdministration, who trained some of Frances best and brightest as future prime ministers and presidents, vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. This ten-year-old mystery inspires a betone that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching in Toulouse, France, instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back home in Scotland, can ill afford to lose. The wager is that Enzo can find out what happened to Jacques Gaillard by applying new science to a cold case. Enzo goes to Paris to meet journalist Roger Raffin, the author of a book on seven celebrated unsolved murders, the assumption being that Gaillard is dead. He needs Raffins notes, and armed with these, he begins his quest. It quickly has him touring landmarks such as the Paris catacombs and a chteau in Champagne, digging up relics and bones. Then Enzo finds the actual head of Jacques Gaillard. The artifacts buried with the skull set him to interpreting the clues they provide and following in someones footstepsmaybe more than one someoneseeking the rest of Gaillards remains and reviewing some ancient and recent history. As with any quest, its as much discovery as detection, and Enzo, despite all his missteps, proves to be an ace investigator, scientific and intuitive, who definitely meets his goals.