a hundred times. Maybe I should try that vaping thing before I drop dead from a heart attack or stroke.”
“Vapes have nicotine, too,” Blum pointed out. “And in my experience that just makes it harder. And it’s hard enough as it is,” she added in a sympathetic tone.
“No other murders, though?” interjected Pine. “In all that time?”
“No, there have been. But you said out of the ordinary. What we’ve had down here, it’s almost always one guy shooting or bludgeoning or stabbing another guy. Over drugs, cash, or a gal. We haven’t had any posed victims wearing old wedding veils, at least that I’m aware of. The killer was pretty straightforward in those other cases. Not like here.” He dropped his smoke and tapped it out with the heel of his shoe. “So, no trace, no prints, and no witnesses other than you and the old woman.”
“What happens now?” asked Pine.
“Coroner will report his findings to the medical examiner’s office. They’ll request a postmortem. Because of the circumstances it’ll be granted, of course.”
“Where will they do it?”
“There’s a regional pathology lab in Macon. The body will go there.”
“Let me know when they’re going to do the post,” said Pine. “I’d like to be there.”
He gave her a thoughtful look before glancing over at the forensic team coming and going. “The techs don’t seem to be finding much.”
“I think this perp was careful and knew what to do and what to avoid doing.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s not his first rodeo.”
“So you’re really here just visiting?” Wallis said, looking at her pointedly once more.
“Maybe we can have a talk about it later.”
He nodded, started to reach for another smoke, and then looked at Blum. “You think cold turkey is the best?”
She smiled encouragingly. “It can be done. I speak from experience. The first few days will be rough. Chew gum and keep busy.”
He nodded and walked back over to the screen.
Blum looked at Pine. “This is an unexpected development.”
“I’ve come to believe that in my life the unexpected is the norm. How was dinner?”
“Not nearly as exciting as this.”
“Was the place crowded?”
“Pretty full, yes. Why?”
Pine didn’t answer her.
Later, they watched as the body of the woman was placed in a black, zippered bag and carried away on a gurney to a waiting vehicle.
“An engagement ring and wedding band,” said Pine.
“Right.”
“So where’s the husband? Because nine times out of ten they’re the killer.”
“Makes me comforted I’m single,” replied Blum.
“Me too,” agreed Pine.
Chapter 12
ANOTHER POSTMORTEM IN ANOTHER MORGUE.
Pine hated them, yet they were an absolutely essential tool for her line of work. But she was also disturbed that she had grown so desensitized to the carving up of another human being that she could watch it happen without really feeling anything at all except professional curiosity.
I can’t let it get personal because then I can’t do my job. But how do I remain human in the process?
It was the next day, and the body of the dead woman lay on the metal exam table. The examiner was a woman in her fifties with a no-nonsense look to her. She was big boned and broad shouldered, but with a delicate touch as she had spent the last two hours slicing and dicing the victim, while Pine and Wallis had watched.
The light overhead was powerful and invasive. A microphone was suspended on a cord from the ceiling for the medical examiner to record her findings as she had progressed through the autopsy. Pine had hung on every word.
The organs had been removed, examined, weighed, and measured, and then replaced neatly in the chest cavity. The scalp had been pulled down and the skull Stryker-sawed open; the brain was taken out and the same exam was done to it. The familiar sutured Y-incision in the chest caused the deceased to look like something out of a horror film. And there was horror in all of it, as her life had been violently taken away.
Now Pine stood next to Wallis, who had on a suit that was just as baggy as the one from the night before. But his shirt wasn’t as wrinkled, and his tie was straighter.
“Anything jump out?” he asked.
“Death by asphyxiation, clearly,” said the ME.
“Any defensive wounds, trace under the nails?” asked Pine. “I did a cursory exam at the crime scene but found none.”
The ME shook her head. “I struck out on that, too.” She looked down at the body. “I did find some things of interest.”
“Like what?” asked Wallis.
“Like she’s had at least one child.” She