The Second Mouse - Archer Mayor [51]
“So I heard.”
“It was a big emotional deal. Medwed was close friends with the Morgenthaus—that’s why he was doing the autopsy, in fact, as a favor to Mr. Morgenthau, which probably wasn’t appropriate. And then to find this out. Medwed just stood there for a while, staring down at the body, shaking his head and muttering to himself.”
“He’d just lost his own wife, hadn’t he?”
“Yes,” Bedell answered. “And been diagnosed with cancer. Loss was pretty much all he was thinking about in those days.”
“Including losing his job,” Joe said softly.
Susan raised her eyebrows. “Yes, that was the crux of the whole thing later. At the time, when we were both together in the autopsy room, he swore me to secrecy—said that Judy’s death was bad enough, but that news of her being pregnant would put the last nail in her husband’s coffin.”
“He was ill, too?” Joe asked.
Susan laughed. “No, but you have to consider Medwed’s state of mind. He could be very sentimental. Anyhow, whatever his reasons, that was the end of Mrs. Morgenthau’s pregnancy, at least officially.”
“But it got out,” Joe reminded her.
“Well, that was just stupid. I was going to type up the report from his taped narrative. It wasn’t really one of my jobs. I just did it now and then, to fill in for the secretary when she was out or on vacation. After I’d finished, though—avoiding all mention of the pregnancy—I left the original tape to be destroyed. Incredibly stupid. I even offered to resign over it later, except Medwed wouldn’t hear of it, nor would Beverly.”
“What happened?” Joe was confused, having read the autopsy report just that day. The pregnancy was quite clearly stated.
“I had the following day off,” she admitted sadly. “Like I said, I didn’t often do the reports. The regular girl came in, found the original tape, typed it up all neat and tidy, and only then discovered my doctored transcription, which hadn’t been filed according to her own system. Now she had a decision to make, and she went with her own report as the more complete one. She never even asked around. Surely, she must have been curious. But she just filed it. I never could prove it, but I always wondered if she was paid off by someone. Anyhow, that’s when the heat got turned onto Medwed, and when Beverly stepped up to sign the report in his place. In those days the notes were just that—they didn’t reflect the actual physician until they’d been typed and formalized. Not even the secretary knew at that point.” She took a meditative sip of her coffee and added, “I never liked that woman.”
“And Medwed died a few months later?” Joe asked.
“Yes,” she said sadly. “After Beverly had landed a new job elsewhere—I don’t remember where now. That’s why I never told anyone. There was no point to it, except to get me fired. I never got over it, though, since I held myself responsible for the truth getting out. I felt so guilty for years.”
She suddenly brightened. “Which is why I’ll do whatever I can to help Beverly any way I can. Would you like that diary?”
“A copy would do, along with a sworn statement. You could mail it to me.”
“No, no,” she said, rising and heading back inside. “It won’t take me a second. I’ll do the statement whenever and with whomever, but take the journal now. You can mail it back. It’s not only got the day of that autopsy, but everything else, too. It’s a real smoking gun. And they can test it for when it was written and anything else they want, too, if it comes to that. Like I said, if I can help Beverly all these years later, maybe I’ll get to rest easier when my time comes.”
She vanished into the house and went upstairs. Joe finished his coffee and returned to the front hallway to await her, pleased with how things had turned out. With the diary in hand and Bedell’s testimony available if needed, Floyd Freeman back in Vermont would suddenly discover he had no ammunition against Hillstrom.
That was probably enough to get Hillstrom back in fighting trim, not to mention have her run those additional tests on Michelle Fisher. But knowing, as he did, about