Out of Body

Chapter 5

“Give me a minute here, please,” Archer said, buying time while he decided what to say next.

He unfolded the piece of paper that had been delivered earlier.

Most medical examiners would have picked up the phone. Not Blades. He preferred using other methods so that he didn’t have to answer questions until he was ready.

Archer, Blades’s fax started.

Get over to the morgue in the morning. Make it 8:30. Still got a lot to do.

Preliminary:

Shirley Cooper.

White female.

Age: 28.

No water in lungs. (This means victim was dead when she was put in the water.)

“Thanks for the education, Dr. Death,” Archer said under his breath. Immediately, he looked from Gray to the crazy lady fate had visited on him. They both watched him expectantly.

He returned to Blades’s cryptic note:

Extensive damage could be consistent with alligator attack postmortem. Looking for further substantiation.

Provisional cause of death:

Crude removal of larynx.

Extensive blood loss.

Shock.

“Oh, my God,” he said, and was tempted to reach for the Bong vodka again. The beast who murdered her had cut out her voice.