Fear Nothing (Detective D.D. Warren #7) - Lisa Gardner Page 0,37

honor and faithfulness, which can be equally relevant.”

D.D. nodded, then cleared her throat, unsure of where to begin. Coakley granted her an encouraging smile. She had a feeling he was accustomed to uncomfortable guests and awkward questions. It still didn’t help.

She started with the basics, establishing that Coakley and Ashton was a third-generation firm, with Daniel serving as both the funeral director and head embalmer. Turned out, embalmers had to attend mortuary school as well as complete a yearlong apprenticeship before earning their license. Good to know.

The business also included three full-time and five part-time employees who assisted with administrative duties, funeral preparations, might even fill in as pallbearers, that sort of thing. That grabbed D.D.’s attention.

“And these other staff members, how do you know them?” she asked, leaning forward. “What’s bringing them to the job?”

Coakley smiled wryly. “You mean, why would they want to work at a funeral home?”

D.D. remained unabashed. “Exactly.”

“My part-timers are older, retired community members. Many are at a phase of their lives where they’ve had a lot of experience with funerals, and I think easing the process for others appeals to them. They’re mostly older men, interestingly enough. And I have to say, the majority of our families find their presence comforting.”

“And the rest of your staff?”

“I have a secretary who has been with me for decades. I think she’d be the first to say when she showed up for the job interview, she was taken aback about working in a funeral home. But as she put it, answering a phone is answering a phone. Besides, the backroom embalming duties aside, we aren’t so different than any other business. We maintain company cars, we manage a company office.” He gestured around them. “We make payroll, we pay taxes. It’s a business, and most of my employees probably work for me for the same reason they would work anywhere else. It’s a good job, I treat them well and they feel valued.”

D.D. nodded, understanding his point, even if she didn’t completely agree. Coakley could say his company was a business like any other, and yet he dealt with death every single day. Most companies couldn’t say that. Many people wouldn’t be comfortable with that.

“Maybe you could walk me through the process,” D.D. said. “You get a call. A person has died. Then what?”

“The deceased is transported to our facility.”

“How?”

“A variety of means. We’re qualified to pick up remains at local hospitals. Or there are professional mortuary service companies who specialize in transport, especially over long distances. For example, the funeral may be in Boston but the deceased passed away in Florida. So the body must be transported from there to here, which is out of our driving range.”

D.D. made a note. Mortuary service companies. More people, employees comfortable with spending hours at a time in the company of a corpse. Maybe some of which even took the job precisely for that reason? “Then what?”

“I would meet with the family, determine their wishes for the funeral. Open casket, closed casket, cremation. Their choices, of course, impact the next significant step, the embalming process.”

“How do you prepare the body?” D.D. couldn’t help herself; she leaned forward, all ears and morbid curiosity.

Daniel Coakley smiled, but fainter this time. Clearly, he’d been asked the question before. No doubt at numerous cocktail parties by people who were equal parts fascinated and horrified.

“Essentially, the embalming process involves the transfusion of blood with embalming fluid. Several small incisions are made in major arteries. Then a formaldehyde solution is injected into the veins, pushing the blood out while replacing it with embalming fluid.”

“Do you prepare the body before you start the embalming process?” D.D. asked. “Say, wash it?”

“No. Embalming can be rather messy. Personally, I wait till the end. Then I bathe the entire body.”

“Are there any special cleaning solutions you favor? Trade products?” She was thinking of the clean crime scenes again. The almost impossibly clean bedrooms.

Coakley shrugged. “I use a basic antibacterial soap. Doesn’t harm the tissue, while being mild enough to use on your bare hands.”

D.D. made another quick notation. Antibacterial soap, such as traces of which the ME had found on the first victim’s torso. “And afterward?” she pressed. “I imagine the room must also be cleaned?”

“The process takes place on a stainless steel embalming table, very similar to what medical examiners use for autopsies. It includes its own drain, of course. Afterward, we hose down the stainless steel surface, then disinfect with bleach. It’s not that involved, which is