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I’ll do it.” But identifying her sounded next to impossible.
    He gave Ally the address in case they got separated, then slid out of her car and got into a Volvo parked at the other end of the lot. Her heart pounded against her rib cage all the way downtown, where she parked her car next to his in front of the coroner’s office.
    Luckey’s eyes searched hers with concern after she got out. “Are you sure you’re all right doing this?”
    â€œPositive. During the years I helped my mother gather statistics, we always felt so helpless. But today I’m going to be doing something useful. You don’t know what a good feeling that is.”
    â€œActually I do ,” he said in his deep, attractive voice.
    Of course he did, and she admired him for it.
    Luckey accompanied her inside and introduced her to the coroner. “Dr. Duncan is the Chinese expert I needed for this case. Could we see inside the evidence box again?”
    Dr. Wolff told them to go into his private office while he retrieved it. It wasn’t long before he returned with a box of plastic gloves and another, larger box.
    After they’d both donned their gloves, Luckey took off the lid of the evidence box and gently removed the garment. As he handed it to her, she saw the hole made in the back. “When you’re ready to tell me anything and everything you can about the dress, I’ll record you.”
    After studying the writing on the inside, she laid it out on the table and nodded to him. “This is a cheongsam, actually the term for a man’s mandarin-style robe. Over the years it became the name of a body-hugging, one-piece women’s dress that features a frog, which is a knob of intricately knotted strings. It has two big openings at either side of the hems for convenient movement, and it is often buttoned on the right side, but not always.
    â€œThe cheongsam comes in various styles based on differences in the shapes of the collar, the length of the openings, hem and the width of the sleeves. The embroidery might show a peony, a lotus flower, a dragon or fish.”
    Ally darted him a glance. “ This garment is made of very expensive embroidered silk with fine gold threading, and belongs to a woman from a highborn family. The design depicts a lotus, which symbolizes purity.”
    Luckey eyed her intently. “Do you think that aspect is significant?”
    â€œIt could be.” She smoothed the material between her fingers. “A fabric like this in pale pink is normally worn by a slim young woman, because it wouldn’t look as good on a heavier woman. The hem is knee length. The short, tight sleeve indicates this female has slender arms. See this collar? It’s midsize because the woman wearing this has a shorter neck. A taller woman would wear a higher collar.”
    â€œAmazing,” Luckey murmured.
    â€œThe hem is midlength. Notice that the slits are just high enough to allow leg movement, indicating modesty. The dress is formfitting to reveal beautiful posture and feminine curves, and exude an air of elegance and grace.” Ally stopped talking and looked up at him. “That’s all the information I can think of.”
    He shook his head and turned off the recorder. “You sound like a forensics expert. I’m in awe of your knowledge. Do you have any idea where this cheongsam would have been purchased?”
    â€œIt was probably made by a seamstress for the family. If the embroidery is in the Xiang style, then it might have been bought at a high-end silk merchant in Jiangyong County or Yongzhou City itself.”
    Luckey got up from the table. “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later he returned with the coroner, who’d brought another box with him.
    â€œI’ve asked him to let you look at the clothes of the Indonesian woman.” He undid the lid and pulled out an embroidered blouse. “Can you tell me