Ray’s eyes sparkled at Shanley’s response.
Lew caught his expression and shook her head. She leaned off to the side of the phone to whisper to Osborne, “Can you imagine two guys so thrilled with a corpse? Only a grave digger …” She rolled her eyes.
“Rick, Chief Ferris needs to hear from you directly on some of the background behind your research,” said Ray.
“Of course,” Shanley responded swiftly. “And I’ll be brief, Chief, because I have a paper I just published that I’m sending up by messenger Monday morning. It will fill in a lot of details. As Ray may have told you, I head up a team working for FIEH, the Ford Institute of Environmental Health.
“We are a privately funded national consortium of chemists, zoologists, and endocrinologists. My team has been looking for evidence of alkyl phenols, a family of chemicals that can best be described as superestrogens, which are very powerful synthetic hormones affecting many life forms, both plant and animal. We have found traces of the alkyl phenols in lower life forms in your area. But before I detail what I found this morning, let me say that three of your victims do not fit the pathology I am researching.”
Shanley paused for several beats, and Osborne could hear papers shuffling, “The fourth body is remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. As Ray would say, ‘This is one trophy specimen.’
“But before I get into this, Chief Ferris, I must be perfectly clear: I do not have all the answers. No one has the answers. The research on naturally occurring hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, is so new that every answer generates ten new questions. My research is on how synthetic hormones affect our natural hormones—raising even more questions. By that I mean that everything I’m about to tell you is open to interpretation. I may have a Ph.D. in my field, but there are scientists who disagree vehemently with my findings. On the other hand, while I cannot prove my case definitively, they cannot disprove it, either.
“Chief, it’s critical that you know this because the results of my tests and what will stand up in a court of law are two entirely different matters.”
“Does anything you found concern the cause of death?” asked Lew.
“Oh no, no, no. But if you are looking to assign blame for the source of pollution …”
“Not an issue for me,” said Lew. “I am interested only in how these people died, why and, frankly, at this point, we are still trying to figure out who’s who.”
“Good,” said Shanley. “Then what I have to say may help you do that. Let me back up for a moment to explain why. Almost everyone is familiar with the DES scare in the late seventies. DES—diethylstilbestrol—is an estrogen-like drug that was administered to pregnant women for over twenty years. While the intent was to prevent spontaneous abortions, the result was a disturbance of the balance of hormones in the womb, which caused genital defects in the children. Among those defects were undescended testes, which is what we have with the victim in question.
“However, since DES was banned, it has been documented that at least forty-five other synthetic chemicals, particularly industrial chemicals in common use, have been found to affect the endocrine systems of various animal populations, including humans. That is, they disturb the delicate balance of naturally occurring hormones and have a profound effect on health. These chemicals happen to be chemicals used in paper and pulp production, including food wrappings—chemicals that have been released into the water around Loon Lake.
“We call them endocrine disruptors because that is, essentially, what they do. Once ingested by an animal or a human, they elbow their way into the cells of the reproductive tracts in fetuses, where they attach themselves to molecular receptors, which are like docking sites—for lack of a better description—cells that are normally reserved for natural estrogen. But these endocrine disruptors make themselves at home and proceed to become more and more active than normal estrogens, hence we call them superestrogens.
“And what these superestrogens do is biochemically feminize the embryo so that females end up with overdeveloped reproductive systems and males the opposite. Where females may experience an early, precocious puberty, males are feminized. Their puberty is delayed, almost canceled. In both sexes, the developmental growth that is supposed to happen during early adolescence is disrupted—but how severely depends on the level of exposure and over what period of time. And it gets more complicated.
“For example,” Shanley’s voice rose with excitement, “research done by another group, not mine, has shown that some of these superestrogens are capable of mutating into testosterone, the male hormone responsible for masculine development, wholly on their own. This changes the picture significantly. It explains why some of the feminized life forms have displayed unexpected male characteristics.
“But let me simplify what we know to date. We know the majority of the changes caused by a mother’s exposure to any of the superestrogens during her pregnancy won’t show up in a female child until the child is supposed to enter puberty. If she gives birth to a boy, then an early clue is undescended testes. In fact, the testes may never descend and the intra-abdominal tissue may degenerate over time, which is what I found in this victim.
“But back to puberty, when the most serious symptoms occur. Because the superestrogen blocks a natural release of testosterone, a boy will not experience a normal growth spurt, leaving him not only small in stature but with a feminized skeletal framework as well. He may experience little or no axillary hair growth, whether pubic, facial, or other body hair. In fact, your report from the pathologist here in Wausau will show that in addition to wearing a hairpiece, the victim had traces of adhesive on the lower jaw and above the upper lip, indicating the victim tried to disguise the lack of a beard. The superestrogens will also promote the development of a high level of body fat rather than muscle mass. Again, I found evidence of each of these characteristics in the victim.
“Other signs, which I cannot document, are a delay in the deepening of the voice, and the emotions may be affected, causing him to experience severe depression and anxiety.
“So, short of the emotional markers, which, of course, I cannot judge, it is remarkable how many signs of endocrine disruption I found in the victim. But not textbook. My guess is he had testosterone administered medically in his late teens, which accounts for his medium height. Otherwise, the hormone count is off the charts for female levels and, as I said, I found no evidence of testicular tissue in the abdomen, which confirms a severe hormonal imbalance during fetal development that restricted reproductive development.
“Not only is the skeleton feminized, but the victim also has a feminized corpus callosum, the bridge joining the two halves of the brain, which is always larger in females. I mentioned the marked lack of body hair, and I found some swelling of breast tissue, but that appears to have been arrested, probably with testosterone injections. And, finally, this body has the cleanest arteries I have ever seen in a male this age—the one good thing excess estrogen can do for you.”
“Rick, what are the signs of endocrine disruption in a female child?” asked Osborne, getting up to refill his coffee mug.
“Female development is affected in several different ways. Not only do some of the girls experience puberty much too soon as a result of excess estrogen, but if some of these estrogens mutate into testosterone, thereby boosting testosterone levels at the same time, an imbalance between the two can have a disproportionate effect on the growth of the spine. In addition to height, in some girls you will see the shoulders broaden, muscle mass develop, the voice may deepen and, often, the girl is hirsute.”
“Hirsute?” asked Ray. “What does that mean?”
“Hirsute means hairy, Ray. Affected females will have the misfortune of developing excess body hair. They may show evidence of pubic hair much earlier than expected in a young girl and, generally, a pattern of coarse hair growth down the midline of the abdomen and across the medial surface of the thighs. Some will have excess facial hair—they’ll need to shav
e.”
“Baldness?” asked Lew.
“I don’t know. That could be a secondary defect, but genetics play a role, too. Please remember what I said when I started: Our research raises ten questions for every answer. May I add one more factor to all this?”
“Go right ahead, Doctor.”
“This discussion is so focused on the physical defects caused by the superestrogens, I don’t want you to miss the psychological impact. The emotional and psychological damage can be devastating. Puberty may be a time to grow and develop physically, but it is also a time when you are learning what is good and evil in the world.
“Take a child whose puberty is totally askew and you throw in an entire new set of problems: sexually precocious children are at risk for sexual abuse, kids whose physical development is delayed may not be able to participate in sports. Teenagers seek the company of kids like themselves. These kids get left out.
“Left out and singled out because they look different. Normal in every other way—bright, enthusiastic, full of imagination. Think about it—at a time of life when peer pressure is all-powerful, they can easily become targets, objects of ridicule.
“This is what drives my reseach, people. The need to save children from disaster.”
Lew’s office was silent. Osborne sat perfectly still. Lew and Ray both shifted in their chairs. Lew cleared her throat.
“Rick, do we know exactly when and how the mother is exposed to these industrial chemicals during the pregnancy?” she asked.
“Yes and no. Our studies have found that plants affected by the industrial chemicals that produce endocrine disruptors make compounds called phytoestrogens, which are passed along to plant-eaters. We are finding phytoestrogens in the plant life in a number of lakes, rivers, and streams around Loon Lake. Minuscule amounts so far.”
“Plant-eaters like fish? I didn’t think fish ate plants,” said Osborne, uncrossing his legs to sit forward in his chair.
“Not fish, but frogs, salamanders, otters, mink, eagles—you name it,” said Shanley. “So far we have only seen it in nonhuman life forms in your immediate area. The contaminants enter the food chain in organisms lower than fish but are transmitted up through a food chain that includes fish. This is the first human male exhibiting so many female characteristics that I’ve ever seen—and, I want to emphasize, my observations are quite theroretical.
“More frequently observed, in your region, has been the feminization of male fish and some birds and mammals, along with decreased fertility and, in some cases, impaired metabolism. I would be hard-pressed to tell you just how a pregnant woman might have ingested the chemicals. For problems as severe as those I see in the victim, the mother had to be living in a veritable hothouse of superestrogens. Also, it could have been for a brief period of time but during a vulnerable stage of her pregnancy.”
“Doc, going back to the problem I have identifying this individual,” said Lew, “I have information that points to this victim being from the Kansas City area and having spent just a short period of time up here. I think that shoots Ray’s theory that the victim is from this area.”
“But you don’t know the individual’s life history. Where was he born? Where did he grow up? As Ray may have mentioned to you, the question my team has been dealing with is just how widely distributed are the source chemicals in the Great Lakes region. More specifically, throughout the watershed that includes Loon Lake.”
“Why choose Loon Lake?” asked Lew. “Why not an area farther north? Like around Lake Superior?”
“Because we know the industrial chemicals in question have been released in your region. For years, they were spewed by pulp and paper mills into your streams and rivers. More to the point, your area had mills that manufactured food wrappings, a primary source of alkyl phenols, which break down to produce the superestrogens. The big question is: How seriously has your groundwater been affected?
“But again, I must hedge and say nothing is certain. We are having a heck of a time because different species metabolize these chemicals in different ways. Also, the mix of endocrine disruptors in the environment is constantly changing. All we know for certain is there have been times in your area when the concentration of the chemicals in question has exceeded acceptable thresholds.
“That’s why I am going to go out on a limb and theorize that this victim was exposed to a unique environmental situation. This could lead us to a more potent source in your region than any we have found to date. Back to your question: The individual could be from somewhere else, but the coincidence is rather striking from my point of view. To find a body in this region, a known source region, exhibiting so many signs of endocrine disruption … well, you get my point.”
“We have the name of the victim, Dr. Shanley,” said Lew. “When our investigation is complete, you may want to check over the medical records, but I’m afraid I have to cut this short. We have a site we need to investigate before dark and a list of possible victims to check out.”
Osborne could see Lew was anxious to get off the phone and out to Dead Creek before dusk.
“I have a favor to ask, Chief Ferris,” said Shanley. “When it is appropriate, would you allow me to talk to the family? It would be of enormous value to our study if they would donate the remains.”
“That’s a tough one,” said Lew, “I’ll certainly do my best.”
“Do you have any more questions for us, Rick?” said Ray.
“No, just a heartfelt thank-you, everyone. This just pushed my research forward a good couple of years.”
“Does this mean I get a bonus?” asked Ray, winking at his friends.
“A bonus? Let me put it this way. When I publish the paper that will be written as a result of what I have observed this morning, I can guarantee FIEH will get funding for future projects up the wazoo. You won’t be able to get me enough specimens. You’ll get calls from scientists around the world looking for someone to harvest for them. A bonus? Man, you got a business.”
“Dr. Shanley, thank you for your time and for your immediate attention to this.” Lew stood up, directing her voice toward the speaker on the telephone. “I’ll get back to you as soon as I have a confirmed ID. Please keep these results confidential.”
“Of course. Chief Ferris?”
“Yes?”
“Tragic though it may be, this is very exciting stuff.” Lew managed a weak smile. “Not to someone who loves pan-fried bluegills.”
fifteen
God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than fishing.
Isaak Walton
They decided to use Osborne’s car so he wouldn’t be worried about the dog. Ray took the backseat with Mike sniffing over his shoulder. At Ray’s urging, the three had attached a trailer carrying one of the police boats to the car. Osborne noted Lew’s 9mm semiautomatic was strapped securely to her hip because she patted it about six times as if to be sure she hadn’t forgotten it.
By now, it was four in the afternoon. The light was flattening out, and the air had a cold, damp edge, though it still smelled of spring.
“Perfect day for muskies.” Osborne looked back at Ray. Ray nodded in agreement. But neither of them seemed to mind being where they were. As the car sped toward Shepard Lake and Dead Creek, Osborne told Lew and Ray about the Kansas City conversations. He also told them what had happened to Erin. Just as he finished Erin’s description of the threatening figure on the porch, they drove past the very road she had taken: the road with the sign for Marjorie’s Bed and Breakfast. Osborne slowed. The road they wanted was the next one, just around the bend in the highway.
“Well, that’s interesting.” Osborne turned to look back at Ray. “We found you in the same area where Erin saw that guy.”
“I always feel like it’s Deliverance territory back in there,” said Lew. “I don’t think Erin was too smart driving in there all alone.”
Osborne turned onto the dirt road where they’d found Ray. The car bumped along on rough sa
nd and gravel, heaving from side to side. It ran alongside a desolate-looking swamp where water appeared to have drowned thousands of trees. The spiky, leafless, needleless skeletons spread in gray formations for miles.
“Beaver,” said Ray as they drove along. His comment said it all: A beaver dam could trap acres and acres of healthy forest and turn it into a swampy wasteland almost overnight.
“Who on earth would want to live back here?” shivered Lew.
“Somebody who doesn’t need company,” said Ray. It seemed like ten miles before Osborne and Lew recognized a police flag Lew had left behind to mark the spot where they’d found Ray. Osborne pulled his station wagon into a small clearing. They parked, leaving the dog in the car, and continued on foot along a fairly well-worn track.
“My hunch is I probably put my boat in back here,” said Ray, loping ahead of the other two along a nearly invisible deer trail. “Boy, I sure hope it’s still there.” He pulled at his beard and talked as he walked. His strong legs, used to striding through brush and climbing beaver dams, cleared low branches off the path for Osborne and Lew.
“That boat’s a collector’s item. It’s one of the last ones old man Terney built, y’know. Two years to select each strip of that wood, twenty-seven coats to laminate it just so, without ever changing the color of that cedar, just gorgeous. You can’t buy a boat like that today.”
Ray paused and looked back at his friends. His tanned face had its color back, and his eyes seemed happy in spite of his concern. “I traded ten bucks, each one six points or bigger, for that boat—ten bucks over five years of deer hunting. I paid through the nose, but it was worth it.”
“Ten bucks in five years isn’t legal, Ray,” said Lew.
Dead Creek Page 14
