The Family Tree Murders by Laura Hern

Author:Laura Hern [Hern, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781617522086
Publisher: Laura Hern
Published: 2019-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

As Lainey walked into the room, she noticed that the walls were concrete blocks and the ceiling was unfinished. The rust-colored metal support beams showed the metal sheeting roof between them.

Lainey found herself saying to Paul, “This is like a commercial warehouse.”

Paul smiled. “Yes, it basically is.”

As she looked around the room, she noticed metal shelving racks framed one side of the area. Each rack had four large shelves. Some shelves had grey or black body bags on them.

Paul must have seen the confusion on Lainey’s face. He touched her arm.

“If this bothers you, we can talk in my office.”

Lainey shook her head no. Her mouth was suddenly very dry.

He motioned for her to walk over to the middle section of the room.

“The racks are where bodies are put when they arrive. Each bag is clearly marked with several identification tags and authorization forms are checked,” Paul began.

“There are many forms to sign and procedures to follow with which the state requires our compliance. We treat each body with respect. Either another funeral director or I read the reports and then prepare the body as requested.”

“What do you mean by prepare the body?”

“We must remove any objects such as pace makers, metal objects, or IV lines that might explode inside the retort when heated. There have been accidents where explosions inside retorts or during the process of removing the remains have killed workers.”

Lainey nodded, but her gaze was fixed on a wall directly in front of her. The wall had two large steel door openings that were each 6 feet wide and at least 5 feet tall. The doors were centered between the floor and the top of the wall. Bricks surrounded each door. It reminded Lainey of outdoor patio ovens.

Paul continued. “You are looking at the retorts or ovens. These are where the cremation process takes place. We are not standing close to either retort, but can you feel heat coming from them?”

“Yes, from the one of the right,” Lainey answered.

“The retorts heat to 2,000 degrees as required by state law. The one on the right is in the cooling down period,” Paul explained. “When the retort is being used, the heat radiating from inside makes it impossible to get too close.”

Lainey walked toward her left. “And what is that area?”

“Once the required cool down time has passed, the door is opened carefully, and the container holding the remains slides out. There is a door, if you will, under each container. That is opened and the remains are sifted through the screen into the sterile bag.”

Lainey said sheepishly, “You mean the ashes of the person?”

“Well, yes, most of them.” Paul answered. “There are larger things, pieces of bone, fillings and such, that are not completely cremated during the process. These are removed through a second, larger door at the end of the body container. There are strict rules for disposing of these items as well. They are put in a pulverizer-type machine then discarded.”

“Discarded?” Lainey looked at Paul.

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