Not a Safe Place by Ty Hutchinson

Author:Ty Hutchinson [Hutchinson, Ty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

27

ABBY - BEFORE THE SHOOTING

The chief medical examiner’s office had recently relocated from the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street to a new, state-of-the-art building in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. It was a much farther drive, so it took me forty-five minutes.

Normally I would have balked at the drive, but I’ve known the medical examiner for years, and we get along well. It had been a while since we last worked together, and this would be a nice way to catch up.

As long as I’ve known him, Timothy Green has been the city’s top medical examiner, the best I’d ever worked with. I’ll admit, I didn’t get that impression when we first met. Physically, he’s not the picture one has in mind when they think of a medical examiner.

Green was the furthest thing from being a buttoned-up suit. Eclectic, jovial, soft-spoken, and good-natured were all words that I’d associate with him. I wouldn’t blink an eye if he came into work one day wearing a daisy tucked behind one of his ears.

I left my name at reception, sat, and waited for Green. He preferred to greet me in the waiting room and escort me back to the autopsy room. It would be no different this time around.

No sooner had I pulled out my phone to check my messages than Green appeared. He looked exactly how I remembered: messy brown hair, gold wire-framed spectacles balanced on his bony nose, and a lab coat two sizes too big for him.

“Abby, how are you?” he said softly. He approached me with arms open. Green was a hugger. Usually, I try to keep it business with him and offer my hand. We were almost the same height, so hugging made me feel like too much of our bodies were touching. But that day, I decided to give him a quick hug.

“I’m doing well. Thanks for asking. I trust you’re keeping busy?”

“You know what kind of hours I’ve been working?”

“Tell me.”

“Killer hours.” Green chuckled to himself. He loved making jokes involving anything related to death. They were corny rather than funny.

“Follow me,” he said as he spun around and led the way.

I followed him down the hall, engulfed in the aftermath of the patchouli oil he wore. He had smelled like that essential oil since the first day I met him. I even went on a coffee date with him. While he was an interesting man and made me laugh, there were no sparks on my side, so I kept it professional from then on.

Most everyone I knew liked Green, except for one person: Kang. He couldn’t stand the guy. And Green disliked Kang just as much. Jealousy from both men fueled the fire. Yes, there was a time early on in our partnership when Kang and I flirted with each other. Now we were two married people who weren’t officially married and didn’t have sex. It’s the only reason he suggested I go to the medical examiner alone. He did not want to see Green.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.