"Vivid Visual Image of the Day" Dept

From a story in the tree-killing version of the Houston Chronicle for a few days ago, in re the investigation into a farm suspected of having something to do with the big spinach E. coli outbreak:

"We do not have a smoking cow at this point," said Dr. Kevin Reilly...

Um...would finding a smoking cow actually help?

Upon rereading this: I initially had an image of a cow that had been nuked or something; but it occurs to me that a slightly different, yet equally vivid, image may also present itself -- especially if one imagines the smoking cow in a smoking jacket with a glass of good brandy.