Red Ochre Falls (12 page)

CHAPTER 12

Garrett walked in with lunch. Good thing I didn’t scream out loud or
try to jump up on the desk. I smiled, made a mental note to ask for more obit
work and got ready for lunch.

We laid out our
sandwiches and split a bag of chips. Garrett told me it was some kind of tuna
with peppers and I turned up my nose. There was no way I was going to eat it,
except I was really hungry, and I didn’t want to insult the guy who provided
the meal. So, I picked up one of the triangles bursting with tuna, mayo and
peppers, and nibbled on the end. It was surprisingly good.

While we ate,
Garrett told me about his history with the pathologist we were meeting at the
Coroner’s office.

“I met Tess in
college. We both wanted to work in medicine. But we’d been raised around family
businesses. The expectation was for us to follow our parents’
footsteps—I’d become a Funeral Director, and Tess was supposed to become
a Pharmacist. Only Tess had other ideas.” He paused to take a bite.

“What happened?”

“Tess and her
family had a falling out when she informed them of her interest in Forensics.
Her father planned to have her take over a small chain of independent
pharmacies when he retired, and if she went into Forensics, she couldn’t take
over and he couldn’t retire on schedule. He got mad. Apparently, mad enough he
stopped funding school.”

Garrett had a
faraway look in his eyes for a moment. “We were dating at the time, so I
offered to let her move in with me while she sorted out her family issues.
Things got serious. Then Tess took a job to help pay for school. The problem
was her employer was a mobster. I asked her to quit. Tess insisted it was
legal, and refused.”

Whoever the mob guy
was, and whatever work he had Tess doing must have been pretty bad if Garrett
insisted she stop. They broke up over it. I could tell she meant a lot to him,
and the way things ended was rough. This meeting could get messy.

We talked it over.
Since we didn’t want their past to cause problems, we decided to take this
approach: Garrett would explain that I brought Chloe’s case to him, and I’d
explain the reasons I did. We’d ask questions about the exam Tess performed as
politely as possible. If I had trouble, Garrett could back me up and diffuse
Tess, if needed. He didn’t think she’d react as badly to me asking questions as
a concerned friend, as she might react if he came out and accused her of
missing something important. We agreed to the strategy then cleaned up our
sandwich wrappers and drinks before we left.

The atmosphere was
so dense sweat beaded up on my skin as soon as we walked outside. Thankfully,
Garrett’s Maserati was right outside. He opened my door and let me in before he
walked around and got in the driver’s seat. He was polite and sweet as well as
handsome, and I liked that he opened doors for me.

The new car smell,
and the rumble of the engine followed by the blast of A/C made me want to stay
there all day. Sitting next to Garrett didn’t hurt either. His strong hands
steered through turns and I watched his sharp facial expressions when one guy tried
to cut us off. All of it changed as we came to a stop outside the Coroner’s
Office. He looked glum.

Our plan to finesse
information out of Tess better work. The sooner we got out of here, the better.

We checked in at
the front and were issued Visitor IDs. We swiped the badges under a red scanner
until the light turned green, and we were cleared. I followed Garrett through a
turnstile and down a corridor. He looked at me and tried to smile as we
approached the conference room. I smiled back and hoped for the best.

Garrett knocked,
even though the door was open. A woman in her thirties sat behind a desk eyeing
a monitor. She finished typing something, clicked the screen and turned her
attention to us. When she stood I noticed she was a couple inches taller than
me, with tan skin and striking brown eyes. She wore a grey power suit, which
looked mostly business-like. But I wondered about the revealing blouse and
black stilettos. Her rich, warm perfume floated near us. The twisted up hair,
dangling earrings and expensive manicure looked out of place at the morgue. Was
this all a seductive show for Garrett? She extended her hand and let it linger
in his. “It’s been a while, Garrett.” She looked perfect.

“Sure has.” He
responded with quick words and one firm shake before he broke free.

“And this is?” She
turned and looked me over.

“Mattie.” I shook
her hand.

“Hello, Mattie. You
can call me Tess. Would you like to see our research library?”

“Maybe another
time.” We needed to get to the point and get out.

“I like to offer it
as a courtesy, although not many people take me up on it. Usually it’s limited
to students interested in forensics. Anyway, we’ve got some remodeling projects
going on, so there’s not a whole lot you can see.” She signaled us to sit. “Garrett
tells me you are looking into a friend’s death. I’m sorry for your loss. How
can I help?”

It was weird to be
in the room with both of them, knowing personal details about their
relationship. It was also awkward because Garrett had already asked Tess about
Chloe, but he wasn’t satisfied with the answers he got, so we were here to
investigate. He sat stiffly and stayed quiet while we discussed Chloe.

“I wonder if you
can help us answer some questions about the way she died.” I used my polite
voice.

“I’ll do my best,”
Tess said, and offered a genuine smile. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit
more about your friend?" She appeared sympathetic to my case even though I
was a stranger. Perhaps, she was doing this as a favor for an old flame, or she
could have had other reasons, it didn’t matter. This was our chance to find out
more about the way Chloe was killed.

“Well, she lived in
the area for several years. We went to school together and she just started her
law career.”

Tess leaned forward
and I got a closer look at her face.
 
Her complexion looked nearly perfect—uniformly tan, slight blush
on the cheeks, and deep red lips. Either she was gifted with good looks, or she
worked very hard to look polished for our meeting. I could see how Garrett
could have been attracted to her. I studied the woman he’d once loved, took a
heavy breath, and explained Chloe’s situation.

“When my friend was
found,” I did my best to sound informational, “there was a bottle of
prescription pills near her. Her mother told me it was a recent script written
to treat anxiety. As far as I know, someone at the scene had my friend
transported here, so the cause of death could be determined. She was examined,
and her death was ruled a suicide.”

I noticed a change
in her expression when I made the last statement. It was slight, but easy for
me to spot since I was analyzing her so closely. I’m sure Tess had seen a few
cases like this before, but I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking
about right then. She paused before she spoke.

“When I spoke with
Garrett,” she glanced at him when she said his name. “I told him I conducted
the examination on your friend. I noted she was young and healthy. By our
accounts, the evidence indicated your friend ingested a number of pills and
died as a result.”

I needed to know
more. “I understand, but what about—”

“What about the
bruises?” Garrett broke his silence.

“They looked old,
and the police noted she’d been in an altercation with her boyfriend a week
prior.” Tess sounded pretty sure.

“
Ex
-boyfriend,”
I added.

“What about the
scratches? And what about the needle mark? Why weren’t they noted in her file,
Tess?” Garrett asked the questions I hoped we wouldn’t have to ask.

“Listed in my notes,
but they didn’t make the final report,” Tess answered.

“Why not?”

“Because they
weren’t direct contributors to her death.”

“But why did you
choose to leave them out of the report?” Garrett sounded upset.

“Look, obviously
the girl was into something more. Drugs are more common for people in
high-stress jobs.”

“Drugs?” I asked in
disbelief.

“The needle mark on
the neck is typical in addicts who want to hide their drug use.”

“But, Chloe didn’t
use drugs. She had nothing to hide,” I insisted.

“The police report
indicated Chloe was an abuser. She had prescriptions for several anti-anxiety
and depression meds over the past couple years. The needle mark may have been
her new way to get high, but the facts were clear—she overdosed on the
pills.

“The facts?” My
anger flared. “Chloe wasn’t a druggie, and there is no way she did this to
herself. No way!”

“Looks like you
left out some facts,” Garrett told Tess. “It seems to be a regular occurrence
with you these days.”

“This has nothing
to do with my past mistakes, Garrett.” Tess fidgeted. She was definitely
uncomfortable. “Besides, I told you over the phone it was a cut and dry case.
The report Detective Marlucci gave me backs it up.”

Tess got beet red,
like she was upset or said something she didn’t mean. She immediately fired
back at me. “Your friend, Chloe, took enough pills to put down a horse, I
didn’t think it was necessary to smear the girl’s reputation any further.”

It must have been
what Garrett wanted to hear because he softened. “I just thought you might have
gotten caught up in something.”

“Chloe had her
problems, but she would not have given up like this. You have to believe me!” I
pleaded with Tess, but I really wanted Garrett to believe me and help me find
the truth.

“Garrett,” Tess
ignored me and reached for his hand. “I’m past it, now. Ruggiano was a long
time ago. Please don’t hold it against me any more.” She squeezed his hand and
he let her.

Garrett stood, so
we all stood. He walked over to her and took her hands in his again.

“I’m sorry, Tess.”
Garrett said it like he’d hurt his best friend, or lover. I wanted to barf. In
fact, I contemplated launching my partially digested tuna all over the both of
them. Why was he apologizing anyway? She was the one accusing my dead friend of
being a drug user, which was insane.

“I understand. We
had a great time together, but we didn’t exactly end on the best of terms.” It
was clear she was using their past against him.

This was why I
came—why he wanted me to be here. I did the best I could to keep it
together and press her for more information.

“We appreciate your
discretion Tess,” I said in my most annoyed voice laced with sweetness, “but in
the interest of truth, it would really help us if you shared your notes.”
Garrett told me at lunch this was what he really needed to get out of this
meeting. I guess he knew exactly what he was doing by bringing me here.

“I’d love to, but I
can’t share them at this time. Perhaps, I can run them by your office Garrett?”
She batted her eyes and started to stroke his hands.

No. Way. No way!
Give us the exam notes now, or else! I wanted to yell at her, but I took a
breath instead, because I was about to lose it.

“Of course, Tess,”
Garrett said all syrupy, like he liked her. “I’ll be back in the office next
week. Stop by and I can show you the new equipment.” Was he talking about his
equipment, because it sure sounded like it? Did he just give her his 1000-watt
smile? What was happening?

Confusion and rage
shook me, so I walked out. Just like the time I left college. I kept going and
didn’t look back, even as Garrett called to me. He only tried twice, so I
figured he wasn’t really trying. Anyway, he must have gone back inside to ask
Tess to marry him, or whatever, because I made it all the way to the turnstile
and there was no sign of him.

I gave my badge to
the guard, walked out the front door, and called a cab.

The cab smelled
like stale smoke and a bunch of strange things I didn’t want to think about,
but at least it was a ride. I noticed the driver’s card and a couple photos of
his kids posted up front. The cabbie, his name was Harry, asked me to repeat
the address a couple times—he seemed a little anxious by the whole
Coroner to funeral home drop-off, but money is money, and he drove me anyway.

Harry the cabbie
tried to ask me about stuff. I gave short answers until he got the message to
leave me alone. I stared out the window wondering why I let things get to me so
easily. Tess and Garrett had lived together, and I wasn’t dating him, so I had
no right to get upset over their closeness. Except, I really wanted to have
something with him, and we needed to find out what happened to Chloe. Their
reunion was interfering with us finding answers.

Call me an amateur,
but I had no idea what to do next. The investigation wasn’t going well, and my
hasty exit would make the next conversation with Garrett awkward.

Oh well, nothing I
could do to change it now. I needed to get back to the apartment and figure
things out. An old blue truck almost crashed into us, but the cabbie made it
back to the parlor in good time. I paid the fare and tipped the guy a few
bucks. No sense taking my bad day out on Harry.