The Dying Breath (15 page)
Authors: Alane Ferguson
“Uh-huh. Especially when the body is in putrefaction.” Cameryn forced her thoughts to turn away from the smell and concentrate instead on what remained. This was what told the story.
She could see his mind in what he left behind.
Something told her the answer was there for the taking, if only she could see it. She leaned closer, the clinical side of her mind firing up as she studied the coiled gray hair that rested like metal filings against the tray. She took in the long lobes of his ears and the white hair matted thick on his chest, the huge stitches that reached to his navel, the paper white look of his skin. Livor mortis had settled into his hip area, which made the flesh appear a deep rose. His abdomen, though, had turned a mossy green, and green streaks that formed along the veins snaked up into his shoulders and chest.
She could see his mind in what he left behind.
Something told her the answer was there for the taking, if only she could see it. She leaned closer, the clinical side of her mind firing up as she studied the coiled gray hair that rested like metal filings against the tray. She took in the long lobes of his ears and the white hair matted thick on his chest, the huge stitches that reached to his navel, the paper white look of his skin. Livor mortis had settled into his hip area, which made the flesh appear a deep rose. His abdomen, though, had turned a mossy green, and green streaks that formed along the veins snaked up into his shoulders and chest.
“That greenish color comes from what we called marbleization,” Dr. Moore explained. “Ben calls it ‘Shrek green.’ You see the blisters along his skin?”
Cameryn nodded.
“Those contain serous fluid. It’s all part of the fermentation process. His leather clothes kept him together, which, in its way, was helpful. Fortunately he did not enter the black stage of putrefaction. In the black stage the body cavity actually ruptures. Tomorrow we’ll put him into the freezer.”
If he was testing her to see if she would fold, it did no good. She forced herself to lower her hand from her mouth. “Can I see his legs?”
“Be my guest.” Grabbing the sheet from the ankles, he pulled it up. Cameryn peered at Leather Ed’s shins, then his feet. There was mottling here, with white circles that looked like popcorn against deep purple, green, and blue, but there was nothing unusual. His hair was finer around his ankles, sparse. Concentrating hard, she began at the head and worked her way to the feet, then back to the head again, bending close to examine the bones of his fingers, pulling back to get an overview of his remains. What was she missing? Kyle was egging her on, she knew it. He’d left pieces for her. He wanted her to find something. But what?
“You want me to roll him over, or will the photographs suffice?” Dr. Moore asked, tapping the file against his thigh. “I can tell you there’s nothing on his back except more livor and some skin slippage. What’s your pleasure?”
“The photographs will be fine,” she said, disappointed that she’d found nothing, but eager to get away from the odor. “Let’s go.”
With an expert motion, Dr. Moore unfurled the sheet so that it settled down against Leather Ed, adjusting it at the head and tugging it around his feet. Cameryn marveled that the doctor didn’t wear gloves. There was no way she wanted to touch what remained of that body with her own bare skin.
“I suggest we adjourn to the histology lab. I’d like to show you microscopic pieces of his lung, and then show you lung samples from Safer and Stein. Perhaps we could go to Toxicology and see if the results are complete. Really, Miss Mahoney, there’s nothing here.”
“Where are his clothes? And the book he was holding? I’d like to get a look at that book.”
Dr. Moore escorted her back into the autopsy suite, saying, “I’ve got everything bagged in the cooler, but they won’t stay here. Since Silverton’s too small to have refrigerated storage, the items will be sent out to CBI tomorrow. That evidence is not my concern. A medical examiner looks only to the body. As to the rest, well, I’m afraid that’s not my department.”
“You’re right,” said a voice. “It’s mine.”
Cameryn’s heart leapt when she saw Justin’s tall, lanky frame standing by the large metal sinks. His face looked wary, as though he wasn’t sure what to expect from her.
“You came!” she cried. “I wasn’t sure you would when I left you that message. How did you get here so fast?”
“Because I’ve been tailing you. I’m the law, remember?” His lips curled more on one side in the way that she loved. “Listen, Cammie, I know we didn’t leave on the best of terms, and that was my fault. But even if you hate me I’m going to keep you safe.”
“Don’t be stupid. I don’t hate you.”
“Well, that’s something, anyway.” His eyes shifted to Dr. Moore. “So, was your luck any better than mine? Did you convince her?”
“I’m sorry, Deputy. She’s a very obstinate girl. Woman,” Moore added, correcting himself.
“Yeah,” Justin said, “there’s a lot of that going around. Stubbornness, I mean.”
There was a pause. The large clock on the wall made little clicking sounds, louder than Cameryn would ever have imagined. Words that she wanted to say were jammed up in her throat, and Dr. Moore was still there, a silent witness.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Dr. Moore directed his words to Justin. “I called Sheriff Jacobs earlier today. Did the sheriff tell you what I found in Leather Ed’s lungs?”
“I got the memo. O’Neil killed them all. Why do you think I followed Cameryn down here?”
Moore nodded, satisfied. “You should know that I showed Miss Mahoney everything. In the end I felt it . . . important . . . for her to understand O’Neil’s mind. It goes against protocol, but there it is.”
“I’m glad you did.” Justin was saying the words to Dr. Moore but all the while looking at Cameryn. “I think I’ve underestimated her. Maybe we all have.”
Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to get the words out. “The minute I found out, the person I wanted to call was you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
He was looking at her, low-lidded, and neither one of them said a word. Dr. Moore shifted uncomfortably.
“Well, I am getting a sense that I should leave you two alone.” He cleared his throat as he stood waiting for one of them to say something in reply, but the pause turned awkward when neither she nor Justin corrected him; Dr. Moore was right, Cameryn did want him to leave. She stayed where she was, rooted to the floor, her nerves on high alert as she looked into Justin’s bottomless eyes. Justin stared back from twenty feet away.
“Okay, then.” Dr. Moore set the file on one of the desks. “Here is the information you left me, Deputy. I’ll be in the histology lab. I trust you two won’t be long.”
“Not too long,” Justin said. He never took his eyes off of Cameryn as Dr. Moore moved quietly out the door. She could hear it click behind him and after that only her breathing. Energy buzzed inside her, heating her skin, but she stood frozen. Justin was the one who moved first. He began to walk toward her, closing the gap, and she found herself moving as well. “Justin, I’m sorry,” she said, her words coming in fits and starts. “I know I’ve got a temper. I guess it’s the Irish in me and I really shouldn’t have—”
“No, I’m the one,” he said, cutting her off. “I should never have tried to convince you like that. You’re right. And you’re old enough—I should never have said that—”
“Believe it or not, now I’m glad you talked to Dr. Moore—”
“You are?”
“Yes!”
“Then I’m forgiven.” His eyes grew soft in appeal. “I
am
forgiven, aren’t I?”
am
forgiven, aren’t I?”
“Am
I
?” she asked.
I
?” she asked.
She stopped, only inches away from him now. They were smiling at each other, and she noticed once again that he had beautiful teeth, white as pearls in his suntanned face. He took her hands and pressed his thumbs into her palms. “What would you think if I kissed you in the middle of a morgue?”
“It sounds kind of twisted. And kind of good.”
“That’s exactly what I thought.” He leaned in closer, but Cameryn pulled back, amazed. “You know what? Lyric was right. We had our very first fight.”
“It wasn’t so bad. And you know what they say about making up.” His grin was faunlike, his eyebrows arched. And then he was kissing her, and she didn’t think of all the people who had been dissected in this room or of the instruments, shiny and sharp, that were tucked away behind cupboard doors. This was a place where people’s insides were revealed. It was almost poetic that in this unlikeliest of spaces she had opened herself to him, not just physically, but by giving him a bit of her soul. She could feel it, the letting go as she kissed him back. Life in the place of death, made sweeter still because this feeling had withstood the heat of angry words.
Draping her arms around his neck, she stood on the tips of her toes, pushing into him hard, kissing him in a way she didn’t know she could. For a moment he broke free, surprised and, she could tell, pleased.
“Wow,” he said. Cupping her face in his hands, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’ll never say you’re too young again.” His voice was husky, low. “If I’d known this would happen I would have bossed you around sooner.”
“Don’t even think about it!”
“Man, this making-up thing is good.” His lips pressed into hers again and then moved along the edge of her jaw, barely touching her skin. Her mind whirled, and for a moment she forgot why she had called him here.
Focus,
she told herself, before she allowed herself one more dizzying kiss.
Focus,
she told herself, before she allowed herself one more dizzying kiss.
Pulling back, she gasped for air. “Okay, wait. I mean, I have to think and I can’t do it when you’re doing that.”
He ran a finger down the column of her throat. “Thinking is overrated.”
“Stop!” Although she was laughing, she shoved him away with the tips of her fingers. He didn’t budge.
“I’m serious, Justin. I called you because I need your help. I need you to help me on the O’Neil case.”
“Let’s leave him out of this for now,” he answered. The smile went out of his eyes, like a blown-out candle.
“No,
listen to me
. Kyle said, ‘You can see my mind in what I left behind.’ Justin, there’s something I’m missing. I feel it.” Her hands rested on his shoulders, which stiffened beneath her touch. “Kyle’s trying to send me a message that I can’t see, and it’s maddening. And when I was with Dr. Moore, I kept thinking about how we all have our jobs. I mean, each of us completes just one piece of the puzzle. I do bodies, you do crime scenes, we all have our little component so that our small cogs turn the great big wheel. But on Leather Ed’s case you’ve had to keep things from me.”
listen to me
. Kyle said, ‘You can see my mind in what I left behind.’ Justin, there’s something I’m missing. I feel it.” Her hands rested on his shoulders, which stiffened beneath her touch. “Kyle’s trying to send me a message that I can’t see, and it’s maddening. And when I was with Dr. Moore, I kept thinking about how we all have our jobs. I mean, each of us completes just one piece of the puzzle. I do bodies, you do crime scenes, we all have our little component so that our small cogs turn the great big wheel. But on Leather Ed’s case you’ve had to keep things from me.”
“That’s because you’re part of the case. If I give you access to the files I’m breaking the law.”
“I know, but what if we—you and I—forget all that? What if we pool our resources? Share everything we’ve got? Dr. Moore thought my knowing was important. He already bent the rules, so I think you can, too.”
“So you’re saying two wrongs make a right?” The resistance was fading. She could feel him soften as he thought about this. She looked into his eyes and could almost see his mind click and whir as he turned the words over in his mind, but she could tell he had not yet committed to the idea. “Cammie, if this came out in a trial, it could hurt the case. I could lose my job.”
“But I promise I won’t tell a soul. I want you to show me the pictures in the file and tell me everything you found out about Leather Ed. And then we’ll go to the histology and toxicology labs and we’ll look over those files together. What if we stopped fighting and started sharing? Justin, I think we could catch him. Then we’d have more time together.”
“Now you’re not playing fair.” He said this sternly, but his expression had resolved itself into amusement.
“I never said I did.”
She waited, watching his face shift as he decided. He nodded, then took a slow step back. “I propose a compromise. Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day.”
“Yeah. It is,” she answered, confused. “So what’s the compromise?”
“If I do this, I want to pick up where we’re leaving off right now. You’re asking me to . . . redirect my energies. I’ll say yes if you guarantee we’ll be together tomorrow. Do we have a deal?”
“Deal,” she said, and hugged him, feeling the muscles knot beneath his shirt. She quickly stepped back again, determined not to allow herself to get too distracted. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s get down to business. The case of Ed Staskiewicz as documented by the Silverton sheriff’s office. Show me everything you’ve got.”
Chapter Twelve
THE HISTOLOGY LAB
was a strange mix of a room—both cluttered and clean. The cupboards had glass panels, and behind them Cameryn could see an array of bottles, while every inch of the counter space seemed to hold some piece of equipment or plastic file holders lined in a neat row. A single spider plant let down vines in the corner, the pot secured in a macramé holder knotted with wooden beads. White lab coats had been draped over the backs of office chairs; Dr. Moore sat in one chair, Cameryn’s father in the other. Ben, who was perched on a tall stool, gave Cameryn a thumbs-up as she stepped inside.
was a strange mix of a room—both cluttered and clean. The cupboards had glass panels, and behind them Cameryn could see an array of bottles, while every inch of the counter space seemed to hold some piece of equipment or plastic file holders lined in a neat row. A single spider plant let down vines in the corner, the pot secured in a macramé holder knotted with wooden beads. White lab coats had been draped over the backs of office chairs; Dr. Moore sat in one chair, Cameryn’s father in the other. Ben, who was perched on a tall stool, gave Cameryn a thumbs-up as she stepped inside.
“Well, you took your sweet time,” her father said. His voice had a rumble to it, like the sound of a distant train.
“Sorry. We were . . . talking,” Cameryn replied. She could feel her face flush as Justin moved close to her.
Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Hello, Justin.”
Cameryn was surprised to see him reach out his hand toward Justin. Justin took it and pumped it twice. She couldn’t help but think he looked sheepish as he said, “Hello, Mr. Mahoney.”
“I will bow to the inevitable,” her father replied. “Please, call me Patrick. Dr. Moore brought me up to speed on the tie-in with Leather Ed. This changes things,” he said, his voice grim. “Kyle O’Neil is out of his mind. His insanity means he’s bound to make a mistake. That’s something for our side.”
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