Page 32 of 1000 of You
“He was inconstant pain, poor man. He’s been pretty much bedridden for the past threemonths.”
“What abouthis wife?”
“Oh, hisillness took a huge toll on her, as well. She tried to remain upbeat, hopingthat he’d be cured somehow, but they both knew he didn’t have long for thisworld.”
“Would yousay Denise Wesner was depressed because of the constant care her husband wasrequiring?”
“Depressed?Sheriff, are you married?”
“Yes.”
“Havekids?”
“Yes. A boyand a girl.”
“If yourwife or one of your children came down with a fatal, debilitating disease, andyou were forced to watch them slowly die in agony, wouldn’t you be depressed?”
Mandelcouldn’t disagree. He caught sight of his deputy signaling for him again.“Well, thank you for your input, Dr.Mitnard. I’llhave Dr. Sizemore mail you a copy of the autopsy reports when he’s done.”
“Thank you,Sheriff. I’ll be on the lookout for it.”
Hanging upthe phone, Mandel strode into the bedroom where the coroner had laid out Mrs.Wesner next to her husband. “Well? What’s the preliminary cause of death?”
“It appearsthat Mrs. Wesner put her husband out of his misery, then took her own life.”
“So, a murdersuicide.”
Sizemorecast his eyes up at the man. “It looks that way, yes.” But there was somethingin the man’s tone that made him pause.
“Is theremore?”
Sizemorestraightened, then pointed to the elderly couple. “I think there’s more to thisthan what can be seen on the surface.”
Mandelcrossed his arms over his chest. “Explain.”
“I don’tbelieve this was a typical murder suicide.”
“You’rethinking it was a mercy killing.”
The coronerdidn’t appear surprised by his remark, and nodded. “I’d heard David Wesner hadcancer. I’m thinking she ended his life to end his suffering, then took her ownbecause she couldn’t live without him.”
“I spokewith Mr. Wesner’s doctor. He told me the man had been diagnosed with anaggressive form of cancer, and was in a lot of pain.”
“Maybe shekilled him because she couldn’t take having to watch him suffer anymore, thentook her own life out of guilt,” Deputy Halliday suggested.
Sizemoregave a little shrug. “Maybe. We may never know for sure. He could have begged herto end his life. But what Icantellyou is that, when she killed him, she did it in a way where he wouldn’t sufferat her hands.” He pointed to a spot on the man’s chest. “She slid that knifedirectly into his heart, as clean and precise as any surgeon, then did the sameto herself. Call me crazy, but that tells me she knew exactly what she wasdoing.”
“As preciseas any surgeon?” Mandel repeated. “Kind of hard to believe a seventy-year-oldwoman would have that kind of skill.”
“Maybe Mrs.Wesner had a secret talent we didn’t know anything about,” Sizemore speculated.
Through theopen bedroom windows they heard the sound of another car pulling up. Hallidaypeeked outside. “There’s the meat wagon. I’ll show ‘emin.”
Mandelwatched the man leave before continuing. “Then I’m going to assume there was nofoul play here. That this was, in your words, a mercy killing.”
“I canalmost guarantee that’s going to be my final finding,” Sizemore confirmed.
“All right.I’ll take your cue and mark this case closed. Thank you much, Arnold.” He castone last look at the couple, and he was struck by something. “You know, I don’tthink I’ve ever seen a body, much less two, where both victims were smilingafter their deaths.”
