The Dead of Jerusalem Ridge by Jean Rabe

Author:Jean Rabe [Rabe, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781732526723
Publisher: Boone Street Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

11 a.m. Tuesday

Dr. Annie Neufeld started the autopsy nearly two hours late, a first for her. Basil had been told that she usually liked to start as early as possible, often before the scheduled time, and was sometimes finished before a sheriff’s deputy arrived to watch.

“Car trouble, sorry. I finally gave up on the thing. Ford … Fix Or Repair Daily. Or is that Found On the Road Dead? Gave up on it and had to take Bebe’s Toyota, after I drove her to work. She had a court case today she couldn’t miss, and then I had to stop and get gas, put air in the back tires. Called and got them to hold this room for me.” Annie put on her mask and began, her voice now muffled. “I’m going to have to get a new car. Or maybe a little SUV. I’ll start shopping after I’m done with Mr. Hagee. Not a Ford this time. Anything but a Ford. I think I’ll get something red.”

“I thought she’d retired, your wife,” Oren said.

“She had,” Annie returned. “But Bebe got bored and unretired. She closed her practice half a dozen months ago, but then she ran out of hobbies. Instead of reopening her office, she’s gone into partnership with Harlan Cook.”

Basil saw Oren cringe. Basil had never spoken with Cook, but he’d heard around the office that the man had a reputation for being an ambulance chaser and for getting drunk drivers off. Harlan Crook was the department’s nickname for that lawyer.

“Harlan. Really?” Oren scratched his forehead and walked to the counter, stuck his fingers in the Vicks VapoRub jar and smeared some under his nose. Basil had been around a lot of dead bodies. Chris’ wasn’t horrible yet; he’d forego the Vicks. There were enough antiseptic odors in the room to mask it.

Annie made a clucking sound, muted by her mask. “Harlan’s not that bad, Oren, and he’s great at finding snags in arrest reports for drunks. It’s his specialty. My Bebe will help him stay on the right path. Besides, I suspect the partnership won’t last all that long. Bebe’ll figure out something else to do. Retirement? Not her thing though, probably never.”

“Not mine either,” Oren said softly.

Annie laughed. “Your birthday’s Thursday, right? Sixty-six?”

Oren nodded.

Basil made a mental note of that. He’d have to come up something appropriate, maybe a gift certificate to that place with the excellent breakfast buffet.

“Well, your wife’s going to hit you up with the retirement card again.”

“I know.”

“And she’ll—”

“Don’t want to talk about it, Annie.”

The coroner fell silent and went to work.

Basil noticed Chris’ clothes on the counter, bagged and ready to be sent to the state lab for testing. He’d requested the testing because he knew this was a murder investigation. He padded over and picked up the bag with the Route 66 t-shirt. He saw the blood spots.

“You say murder.” Oren had come up behind him, so quiet Basil started.

“Yeah. Hell, yeah, it’s murder. Dr. Neufeld will confirm that in a little while.

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