Chapter Nine

Coroner’s office

It had been a rough morning. Three separate autopsies where nothing added up were starting to get under Kristy’s skin. While she usually enjoyed the feeling of cracking an odd cause of death, the pressure from above to get these solved was beyond ridiculous and she was minutes away from tearing someone’s head off over the stress. Who really cared what killed these low-life street peddlers of drugs? A knock at the door distracted her from her musings. “It’s open” she called.

“Hey boss, sorry to interrupt but Detectives Daniels and Trevor are here to see you, and they have a body with them. They refused to tell me anything, just said that this one took priority over anything.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, she replied, “Thanks Frank. Sorry if I’ve been a little waspish lately, the pressure of these cases are starting to get to me and it looks like one more just got added to the pile. I’m hereby drafting you as my assistant on these cases, solely for your writing skills. If I tried anything right now I would lose a penmanship contest with a chicken. Grab your lab coat and let’s go.”

Could that be a glint of pride in Frank’s eye? No, Kristy just couldn’t believe that. She was just too drained to believe it. Nevertheless, Frank followed quietly behind her as she made her way to the detectives. “Detective Daniels, Detective Trevor, how kind of you to drop by and see me. Sadly, I don’t have any extra information on those previous bodies you sent my way. From the covered sheet on the autopsy table that wasn’t there when I left for lunch, I can only assume you have more work for me?”

Looking at Frank, Trevor asked, “Is she always this snarky in the afternoon?” Not waiting for an answer he went on, “Yeah, we got a special case for you today Kristy. I know we have been pushing rather hard recently, but I think you will understand with this case. Anyway, before we start we need both of you guys to agree to keep the press in the dark about this. Agreed?”

While Frank nodded, Kristy retorted, “Trevor, it is always the position of this office to keep the press in the dark. Only the police release details of a death, and anyone on my staff caught breaking this rule do not stay on my staff for long. So, the suspense is killing me. Who do we have under curtain number one?”

Trevor pulled back the sheet to stunned silence. Eyes open in agony and lips blue, Leo Dorinson’s glazed eyes stared back at the mute coroner.

“Please don’t tell me that’s Leo Dorinson. Seriously Trevor, if you guys just dropped the lawyer for the Malias family into my autopsy room with no warning, when someone is making a concerted effort to undermine them, you may never make it off my shit list.”

“Sorry Kristy, but you know how it goes. You get the extraordinary cases, and this one has extraordinary written all over it. Besides, you are the best of the best and we need whatever help you can give us on this one. Do you want what we know before or after you start your exam?”

“Give it to me now I guess.” She responded with a sigh.

“Apparently earlier this afternoon Leo and his four bodyguards were eating at Gloria’s Diner. Halfway through their meal, Leo slams his fists on the table and starts turning an alarming shade of red. Whatever happened, he spilled half his drink down the front of his shirt and started flailing about without making any noise. One of the guards tried pounding on his back to help him cough something up, but nothing helped. Less than three minutes later, he was dead.”

“What a brutal way to go” Frank muttered, still having not taken his eyes off the corpse.

“Indeed. Trevor, it sounds like something got lodged in an airway. Was he drinking or just taken a bite when this happened?”

“Drinking apparently, hence the spilled water down the front of the shirt. If you are thinking poison, I highly doubt it. Everyone was sharing a pitcher of water, and one of the bodyguards always checks the glass for any residue before allowing any liquids to be added. Any ice they have is in the pitcher itself, so they can’t be the poisoned vehicle. We have the name of the cook and waitress, and the food is being sent off to the lab for testing.”

“Hmmm, well you saw where I was going with that question. Ok Frank, you ready? Let’s get started then. Based on the description from witnesses, and the blue around the lips, I’m calling cause of death asphyxiation.” Hovering her hands just above the throat, all the blood drained from her face. “Frank, I need you to check for metals. This just doesn’t make sense.”

Stepping forward, Frank dropped his notebook on a nearby tray table and hovered his hands above the throat like his boss had. “No, I don’t sense anything at all. Sorry, why do you ask? This is another one of those weird deaths, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Whatever obstructed his throat basically shredded both the esophagus and trachea. He bled, but not enough to be fatal. Something is strange though, the blood is too thin.”

“What do you mean by too thin?” Trevor inquired.

“Ever had a glass of iced tea that you left unattended too long, then accidentally drank it? While it might still look like tea, it most definitely doesn’t taste like it anymore. Same thing here, the blood almost seems like it has been watered down. How big are the ice cubes used by the diner?”

“Rectangular with a curve to the back side. Nothing out of the ordinary. Do you really think an ice cube would be able to block both though?”

“No, it wouldn’t. Besides, you say that he never made any sound right? That means total obstruction of the airway. The ice cubes you described wouldn’t be able to do that. If there was even just a little bit of leeway, he would have been able to wheeze enough to warn people what was wrong. Total obstruction means no air out, so he wouldn’t make any sound at all. The question is, how do you get ice to completely block his trachea?”

The two detectives shared a significant look. “How indeed?”