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"Special Agent Felt, this department will pull out every stop to cooperate with your investigation. But  I am curious  about one thing: why  start now?  Ten years ago  there was  another murder victim found just a few yards over the state line. My father was the sheriff  at the time.  He reported it  up to the  Bureau and expected a  federal response but he  was just told to  handle it locally."

Felt said, "I don't know the particulars of your father's case. In  this  one  the  deceased  is already  involved  in  a  DECON investigation  by Special  Agent in  Charge Tolson,  and whoever perpetrated the  crime arranged  her corpse in  such a  way that deliberately goaded the Director."

As Hoover had cautioned him, he refered to the Special Projects section by the acronym coined by Tolson. Hoover had told him to mesh with Tolson's investigation  where practical but  that his reports were  to  go  directly  to  DC. This particular  case irritated Hoover so much he even issued a Bureau sedan so Felt's wife could proceed to  DC as  they originally  planned, knowing this would  smooth over  any  resentment  Felt had  over  being diverted on this side  trip. That was uncharacteristic  of the Director. More typically, Hoover deliberately imposed hardships on his agents in the field to "toughen them  up" without regard to what it might do to their marriages.

For his part Tolson appeared pleased by  Felt's can-do attitude and that he didn't need to be reminded of his preferred term for the Special Projects  section. Unaware of Felt's  conversation with the Director he suspected Sullivan was instrumental there.

Sheriff Roddy introduced  Dr. Wahkan to the  federals. A man donning scrubs was introduced in turn as as  Dr. Ian Trochmann, part of Tolson's  DECON project. He said he was  preparing to perform the autopsy  all over again for the federal  side of the house.

"There's not going to be much of the girl left after that," said Dr. Wahkan, in a vain attempt to call the whole thing off.