Page 34 of Hidden Hero

She scooted her chair back and clipped, “Suit up.”

He grinned, and she shook her head with a rueful understanding. It was hard to explain to someone not in the field, but investigating the human body and searching for indications of how they lived and died was what they had studied for, trained for, and worked for.

“Janice, get the body prepped. We’ll begin now.”

An hour later, she had removed organs, examined the entire body, given tissue for Janice to prepare slides, and run lab tests. As she examined his heart, it was obvious to her that the ventricles and septum were enlarged and thick with scarred tissue.

Cora dictated her findings as she completed the autopsy. It allowed her to work hands-free and gave her assistants instructions. “The septum has bulged into the left ventricle and partially blocked the blood flow to the body. The left ventricle is smaller and stiff.” She looked at David, her intern, and then handed the organ to him. “Can you feel that?”

“Yes,” he acknowledged, his eyes never leaving his task.

“You will also note the fluid buildup in the lungs. That’s because hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can also affect how the mitral valve works, increasing ventricular pressure. This can cause fluid to build up in the lungs.”

David looked at the large computer screen mounted on a rolling cart nearby. “His family doctor didn’t note any abnormal heart rhythms.”

“True, therefore the patient wasn’t referred for any in-depth cardiology tests,” Cora said while nodding.

“So…” David said slowly as though weighing his words. “His death could be entirely natural based on the information we have.”

She didn’t respond but held his gaze with an impassive expression, wanting to see what he would conclude.

He licked his bottom lip and added, “But the sister’s concerns cannot be dismissed, and we don’t have the toxicology report. That would give us the information needed to see if the HCM was the cause of death or something that hastened the process.”

A smile graced her lips even though no one would see it behind her surgical mask. “That’s right. In a case like this, the simplest answer may not be correct. The labs will give us what we need.”

She detected a sigh of relief escaping his lips from how his mask puffed slightly, and her smile widened. She loved having an intern or resident who felt the tickle of suspicion and the desire to investigate thoroughly.

After they completed the postmortem, she stepped back and snapped her gloves off. Jerking her mask down, she inhaled deeply. The cold air in the mortuary was welcome after breathing through the mask. She moved to see her dictated recordings already printed for her to review.

“What about the family?” Carl asked. “They’ve called down several times.”

“Have security send them down. Separately. I want to speak to the sister first.”

“Will do.” Carl moved away to place the call while Cora shed her PPE suit and pulled on her white lab coat. She went to the ladies’ room, returned, and sipped her now-cold coffee. When Carl gave her a nod, she went down the hall to the conference room.

Entering the room, Cora noticed the woman sitting at the table didn’t appear nervous. Instead, her red-rimmed eyes held a hard glint. She steadily held Cora’s gaze. “I’m Dr. Wadsworth, the medical examiner, and this meeting is being recorded?—”

“Did you do an autopsy?”

“And you are…?”

The woman tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “Debra. Debra Marshall. I’m Roy’s sister.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. Marshall. And, yes, I performed the postmortem.”

“Oh, thank God,” Debra said, a long exhalation releasing from her lungs.

“I understand that Mr. Parker’s wife and you disagreed on the situation surrounding his death.”

“She’s all religious, claiming God just took Roy when it was his time. Now, I’m religious, too, mind you. But I don’t… I just… something isn’t right. He wasn’t on medication for his heart and felt great. He decided not to retire from farming and wanted to keep working the farm that’s been in the family. His wife, Sharon, was livid. She kept saying he was ruining their chance to take the money from selling and finally live without having to scrimp and save all the time.”

“And he had no physical complaints at the time?”

“Nope. Said he felt strong as a horse. He even brought their preacher over to pray about the situation since his Sharon was pouting somethin’ fierce. I thought he looked ill about a week ago, but Sharon just said that God was reminding Roy that he wasn’t taking his health seriously. Since then, he’s felt poorly.”

“And you suspect something caused his ill health besides normal conditions?”

Debra’s lips pinched together momentarily, and then her shoulders slumped as her whole body seemed to curl inward. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Maybe I’ve watched too many damn cop shows. Or maybe Sharon has gone from a good friend of mine many years ago… someone I loved being with my brother, to a person I hardly know. When I talk to her about her bitchy moods, she claims it’s just menopause.” She rubbed her hand over her face, swiping at the tears running down her cheeks. “Maybe it is. Maybe I’m the crazy one.”

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