Her Last Day (Jessie Cole #1)(76)
Melissa Erickson tossed a blue paper sheet over the corpse lying on the steel table, then pulled her face mask to her chin. “You wanted to talk about an autopsy concerning Vernon Doherty—is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Terrel Manderly, the coroner you asked about when you called, was my mentor.”
“I see.”
“I looked over the report, and I feel confident in saying that I knew Terrel well enough to tell you he would have included smoke inhalation as cause of death if it in any way contributed to Vernon Doherty’s passing.”
“But he didn’t list it,” Ben said. “What does that say to you?”
“Well, first I’d have to point out that the number one cause of death in any fire is smoke inhalation. Smoke is a mixture of heated particles and gas, which are often toxic. Once you breathe that in, there is no room for oxygen. Small particles are inhaled deep into the lungs. Vernon Doherty showed no signs of carbon monoxide in his blood, which tells me he was dead before the fire started.”
“What about bruising and lacerations on other parts of his body?”
“Hmm. Even if the outside of a body is charred, the inner organs are usually fine. If the skin splits, muscle can be exposed. But lacerations, unless deep, won’t usually be revealed. Broken bones, on the other hand, would show a pattern that would be distinguishable.”
It was quiet for a moment before she asked, “Is there something else?”
“This might be a strange question,” Ben said, “but bear with me. In your professional opinion, could Vernon Doherty have been dead before first impact?”
“Other than the driver’s blood alcohol level, there are no other indications of cause of death,” she said. “No heart attack or anything like that, if that’s what you’re alluding to?”
Ben shook his head. “Not exactly. Let’s pretend for a moment that someone else was driving. Hypothetical, of course.”
“Of course.”
“In that case, could Vernon Doherty have been dead for up to an hour or two before the crash occurred?”
She frowned. “It’s possible, but difficult to determine because of the time it took to pull the wreckage and get to Vernon’s body. Rigor mortis is normally the first thing noted by an ME. Rigor normally starts in the smaller muscles in the face and neck within hours of death and then lasts up to thirty hours or so.”
“And rigor mortis had set in,” Ben said.
“By the time his body was examined, yes.” She raised a brow. “Does that help?”
He nodded. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. You’ve been a big help.” She was knowledgeable and helpful, but unfortunately, he still wasn’t any closer to the truth about that night.
Jessie kept her eyes on the road as she thought about Arlo and the hopeless look she’d seen on his face at the police station. It bothered her to think she’d been so easily fooled.
She used Bluetooth to call Colin, letting him know she was headed to Woodland. There was no answer, so she left a message. After she hung up the phone, she thought about the image of the man in Zee’s sunglasses.
Had Zee become infatuated with Forrest Bloom and run away with him? Or perhaps he was taking advantage of Zee’s mental instability.
Intent on finding out, she got off on Exit 33, following the directions on her phone, which took her down a seemingly endless country road. She passed by an equestrian facility followed by a variety of crops, finally making a right onto a gravel driveway.
By the time she parked and shut off the engine, she realized that even if she headed home now, she wouldn’t be back before Olivia returned from school. She picked up the phone and left Olivia a message, letting her know she’d be home soon after Bella’s mom dropped her off.
In front of her was a faded blue farmhouse with peeling paint and a crumbling roof. She grabbed her pepper spray, climbed out, and slipped it into her back pocket.
The bottom of her shoes crunched against the pebbly rocks as she walked along, breathing in the scent of manure mixed with honeysuckle. Two wobbly wooden steps brought her to a wraparound porch. She knocked, waited, and then looked around before pressing her face next to the only sliver of glass not covered by the flowery-print curtains hanging inside. With her hands cupped around her eyes, she could see past a couple of worn couches. There was a round wooden table circled by four high-back chairs. The placed looked neat and well taken care of.
After knocking again, she walked over to one end of the porch, where she could see fields of tall grass dotted with trees. She walked back down the steps toward her car, plunked her hands on hips, and stood there for a moment. Zee, she thought. Where are you?
Looking over her shoulder at the house, she decided it would be crazy to leave without taking a better look around. With her mind made up, she turned around and followed the dirt path that led around the side of the house. Maybe someone was in the backyard. Surely Forrest Bloom would understand her concern once she explained that Zee was missing. Judging by how happy Zee had looked in the pictures, Forrest and Zee were friends, at the very least.
When she got to the backyard, she took another long look at her surroundings. The only movement was a horse in a distant field. About twenty feet away was a barn. It was wrong to trespass, but she’d come all this way, and she hated to leave knowing he might be nearby. “Hello!” she called out.