Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [292]
“Is that the direction Manx is going?”
“I have no idea. Take a look at the muscle tissue here and here.” He pointed to the layers he had cut through.
Maggie only glanced at the area. She was wondering if the medical examiner realized that what he said regarding Mr. Endicott would be caught on tape. But what if he was right? Maybe Stucky hadn’t taken Rachel Endicott. Perhaps her husband did have something to do with her disappearance, although it seemed much too easy. Suddenly she realized Dr. Holmes was staring at her over the bifocals that had slipped down to the tip of his nose.
“I’m sorry, what was it you were looking at?”
He pointed again, and immediately she could see that there was hemorrhage in the muscle tissue. She leaned against the counter behind her and felt the anger swelling up inside her again.
“If there’s this much hemorrhage in the muscle tissue it has to mean—”
“Yes, I know,” she stopped him. “It means she was still alive when he started cutting her.”
He nodded and returned to his task, quickly and expertly tying string to each of the arteries as he cut, leaving generous lengths for the local mortician who would later use these same arteries when he or she injected the embalming fluids. Then with both hands, Dr. Holmes carefully scooped out the woman’s heart and set it on the scale. “Heart looks to be in good condition,” he said for the recorder. “Weight is 8.3 ounces.”
While he dunked the organ in a container of formaldehyde, Maggie forced herself to take a closer look at the incision Stucky had made. Now that she could look into the body cavity, she could follow the path. His precision continued to amaze her. He had extracted the woman’s uterus and ovaries as though it had been a surgical procedure. On the counter at the other end of the room lay his handiwork, still enclosed in the plastic take-out container that the truck driver had had the misfortune of picking up.
Dr. Holmes looked at what had drawn her attention. On his way back from the sink, he brought the container with him and set it on the table with their instruments. He flipped open the lid and began examining the contents.
The intercom on the wall buzzed, and Maggie jumped.
“It’s probably Detective Rosen. He said he’d stop by if they found anything.” He headed for the door, removing his gloves.
“Wait, are you sure?” She couldn’t believe he’d open the door without checking first. “It’s pretty late, isn’t it?”
“Yep, it sure is,” he said, stopping and looking at her over his shoulder. “But in case you didn’t notice earlier, I think Rosen has developed a crush on you.”
“Excuse me?”
“No, I didn’t think you noticed.” He smiled but didn’t wait to explain, instead turning the dead bolt without hesitation or caution.
Maggie’s fingers dug into her gown, groping to get at her holster and her gun, but Dr. Holmes was already opening the door.
“Evening, Sam.”
“Hey, Doc.” Detective Rosen’s eyes found Maggie without even noticing the corpse. He held up a couple of evidence bags with what looked like dirt in them. “Agent O’Dell, I think we found something kinda interesting.”
After Dr. Holmes’s comment, she wondered if Sam had really discovered something at the scene or if he would try to pass off dirt as evidence in order to justify his stop. She was being ridiculous. Maybe Greg had been right about that, too. She didn’t trust anyone.
He handed her one of the Ziploc bags over the table. This time he glanced down at the body. It didn’t seem to bother him. She guessed that Detective Rosen had seen his share of autopsies, which meant he hadn’t always belonged to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department.
She took and inspected the bag of dirt and immediately recognized it. She held the bag up to the light. Yes, there were bits of silver and yellow that sparkled under the bright fluorescent.
“Where did you find this?”
“On the side of the trash bin closest to