your own accuser and you recant your confession …” He shrugged. “It’s like a dog chasing its tail.”
Sara felt stupid for not making this connection hours ago. She had been the county medical examiner for almost fifteen years. The police didn’t necessarily need a cause of death to hold someone for suspicion of murder, but they needed the official finding that a murder had been committed before an arrest warrant was issued.
Will said, “They had plenty of reason to hold Braham without the murder charge: assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, assault on a police officer during the course of duty, assault during the course of arrest, evading arrest, trespassing. These are serious felonies. They could hold him on any combination for the next year and no one would complain.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t grasp the logic. “I’ll need to get their reports.”
Sara turned around to the back seat and retrieved the copies she’d made. “I’ll have to wait for the drugstore to open in the morning so I can print the photographs.”
Will marveled at her access as he flipped through the pages. “Wow. All right.” He skimmed the pages as he talked. “I know you’re convinced Tommy didn’t kill this girl, but it’s my job to prove it one way or another.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to …” Sara let her voice trail off. She
had
meant to influence him. That was the point of them being here. “You’re right. I know you have to be impartial.”
“I just need you to be prepared, Dr. Linton. If I find out Tommy did it, or can’t find solid proof that he didn’t, no one is going to care how he was treated in jail. They’re going to think your Detective Adams saved them a lot of their tax dollars by avoiding a trial.”
Sara felt her heart sink. He was right. She had seen people in this town make assumptions before that weren’t necessarily rooted in fact. They didn’t embrace nuance.
He gave her an alternate scenario. “On the other hand, if Tommy didn’t kill this girl, then there’s a murderer out there who’s either very lucky or very clever.”
Again, Sara hadn’t let herself think this far. She had been so concerned with Lena’s involvement that it hadn’t occurred to her that Tommy’s innocence would point to another killer.
Will asked, “What else did you find out?”
“According to Frank, both he and Lena saw marks on Spooner’s wrists that indicated she was tied up.”
Will made a skeptical noise. “That’s really hard to tell when a body’s been in the water that long.”
Sara did not revel in her feelings of vindication. “There’s a stab wound, or what they think is a stab wound, in her neck.”
“Is it possible that it was self-inflicted?”
“I haven’t seen it, but I can’t imagine anyone would kill themselves with a stab to the back of the neck. And there would’ve been a lot of blood, especially if her carotid was hit. We’re talking highvelocity, up and back, like a hose turned on full blast. I would guess you’d find anywhere from four to five pints of blood at the scene.”
“What about Spooner’s suicide note?”
“ ‘I want it over,’ ” Sara recalled.
“That’s strange.” He closed the folder. “Is the local coroner any good?”
“Dan Brock. He’s a funeral director, not a doctor.”
“I’ll take that as a no.” Will stared at her. “If I transfer Spooner and Braham up to Atlanta, we lose another day.”
She was already a step ahead of him. “I talked to Brock. He’s happy to let me do the autopsies, but we’ll have to start after eleven so we don’t disturb anyone. He’s got a funeral tomorrow morning. He’s supposed to call me later with the exact time so we can coordinate the procedures.”
“Autopsies are done at the funeral home?”
She indicated the hospital. “We used to do them here, but the state cut funding and they couldn’t stay open.”
“Same story, different town.” He looked at
Sara felt stupid for not making this connection hours ago. She had been the county medical examiner for almost fifteen years. The police didn’t necessarily need a cause of death to hold someone for suspicion of murder, but they needed the official finding that a murder had been committed before an arrest warrant was issued.
Will said, “They had plenty of reason to hold Braham without the murder charge: assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, assault on a police officer during the course of duty, assault during the course of arrest, evading arrest, trespassing. These are serious felonies. They could hold him on any combination for the next year and no one would complain.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t grasp the logic. “I’ll need to get their reports.”
Sara turned around to the back seat and retrieved the copies she’d made. “I’ll have to wait for the drugstore to open in the morning so I can print the photographs.”
Will marveled at her access as he flipped through the pages. “Wow. All right.” He skimmed the pages as he talked. “I know you’re convinced Tommy didn’t kill this girl, but it’s my job to prove it one way or another.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to …” Sara let her voice trail off. She
had
meant to influence him. That was the point of them being here. “You’re right. I know you have to be impartial.”
“I just need you to be prepared, Dr. Linton. If I find out Tommy did it, or can’t find solid proof that he didn’t, no one is going to care how he was treated in jail. They’re going to think your Detective Adams saved them a lot of their tax dollars by avoiding a trial.”
Sara felt her heart sink. He was right. She had seen people in this town make assumptions before that weren’t necessarily rooted in fact. They didn’t embrace nuance.
He gave her an alternate scenario. “On the other hand, if Tommy didn’t kill this girl, then there’s a murderer out there who’s either very lucky or very clever.”
Again, Sara hadn’t let herself think this far. She had been so concerned with Lena’s involvement that it hadn’t occurred to her that Tommy’s innocence would point to another killer.
Will asked, “What else did you find out?”
“According to Frank, both he and Lena saw marks on Spooner’s wrists that indicated she was tied up.”
Will made a skeptical noise. “That’s really hard to tell when a body’s been in the water that long.”
Sara did not revel in her feelings of vindication. “There’s a stab wound, or what they think is a stab wound, in her neck.”
“Is it possible that it was self-inflicted?”
“I haven’t seen it, but I can’t imagine anyone would kill themselves with a stab to the back of the neck. And there would’ve been a lot of blood, especially if her carotid was hit. We’re talking highvelocity, up and back, like a hose turned on full blast. I would guess you’d find anywhere from four to five pints of blood at the scene.”
“What about Spooner’s suicide note?”
“ ‘I want it over,’ ” Sara recalled.
“That’s strange.” He closed the folder. “Is the local coroner any good?”
“Dan Brock. He’s a funeral director, not a doctor.”
“I’ll take that as a no.” Will stared at her. “If I transfer Spooner and Braham up to Atlanta, we lose another day.”
She was already a step ahead of him. “I talked to Brock. He’s happy to let me do the autopsies, but we’ll have to start after eleven so we don’t disturb anyone. He’s got a funeral tomorrow morning. He’s supposed to call me later with the exact time so we can coordinate the procedures.”
“Autopsies are done at the funeral home?”
She indicated the hospital. “We used to do them here, but the state cut funding and they couldn’t stay open.”
“Same story, different town.” He looked at
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