The Heart of Lies, Mystery with a Romantic Twist (Paradise Valley Mystery Series Book 2) by Debra Burroughs

Author:Debra Burroughs [Burroughs, Debra]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: A Paradise Valley Mystery - Book 2
Publisher: Lake House Books
Published: 2013-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

After lunch, Colin received a phone call from Ernie, asking him to meet down at the county coroner’s office. The medical examiner had some news and Ernie said he figured Colin might want to hear it. Colin didn’t ask if Emily could come, but he knew she’d be miffed if he failed to take her with him.

Ernie seemed a little surprised to see Emily when they showed up, but he put on a smile, hiked up his pants by the belt, and offered his hand. “It’s good to see you again, Emily. I wish it was under happier circumstances.”

“Good to see you, too, Ernie.”

“Doc’s expecting us, so let’s not keep him waiting.” Ernie ushered them into the autopsy room.

“Dr. Walters, you know Colin Andrews,” Ernie introduced.

The doctor was an older man with a thick head of snow-white hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His hunched back was evident under his standard white medical coat that he wore over his street clothes.

Colin politely extended his hand, but the doctor had latex gloves on and raised his hands to show him.

“And this is Emily Parker. She’s a private investigator working on this case for the suspect who’s been arrested, Josh Sullivan.”

“Ms. Parker,” the doctor said as he nodded in her direction.

“What do you have for us, Doc?” Ernie asked.

The medical examiner walked over to the sheet-covered body lying on the examination table. “As you know, my initial observation stated that the victim had been beaten to death—” Dr. Walters pulled the sheet back to expose Lucas Wakefield’s head.

“But he wasn’t?” Emily interrupted, averting her eyes.

“Now hold on, ma’am, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” the old doctor warned. “He was beaten pretty badly, but when I examined him more fully, I found that he had actually been hit in the upper rear quadrant of his head with some sort of sharp jagged object.”

“A jagged object?” Ernie questioned, scratching his head. “Like what?”

“I can’t say for sure. We’ll have to figure that one out.” He took a couple of steps over to the computer on his desk. “I made a digital mold of the wound. Here, let me bring it up on the screen.” Dr. Walters hit a few keys on the keyboard and turned his computer screen toward the others. “Have you any idea what would make a deep gaping wound like that?”

The screen showed a digital outline in 3-D of an object approximately four inches wide with several rough, pointy areas about three inches high.

“Maybe a big rock or something hard that broke and left a jagged edge?” Colin suggested.

“Perhaps,” Doc Walters replied with a nod.

“Could he have hit his head on the corner of his desk when he fell?” Ernie asked.

“Not likely. It would need to be more uneven, more jagged,” the doctor answered. “It could be the size of what’s on the screen, or that mold may be the tip of a larger implement.”

“Emily? What do you think?” Colin glanced at her, but she remained silent. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.

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