Page 81 of Sinful Palace

I scratched my head. “You’re a really good hacker, right?”

Connor snorted. “Of course I am. Why do you think the NSA hired me? They were afraid I was gonna hack them.”

“Do you think you could get into the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s system?”

“Uh… you mean the city morgue?”

“Yes.”

“I could probably swing it. Why?”

“I have to tell you something before I answer that, but you can’t tell anyone else. Got it?”

“You’re freaking me out, but okay,” he said slowly. “Shoot.”

I lowered my voice. “The president’s husband is dead.”

“Shit. What happened?”

“He was found in the river this morning. They’re saying he drowned himself.”

“Jesus. Really?”

“Yeah. It’ll be all over the news soon,” I replied. “Anyway, it doesn’t add up to me. They wouldn’t let the family see the body, and they’ve already cremated it.”

Connor was silent for a few beats. “I know that sounds weird, but it’s not actually that weird,” he said. “Have you ever seen a body that’s been in the water for ages?”

“No.”

“Trust me on this: don’t Google it. It’s fucked. They change color and get all bloated, and they’re basically unrecognizable if they’ve been in for long enough. Sometimes the flesh even sloughs right off. That shit can be traumatic for family members to see. Not to mention how hard it is for them to even identify the person by sight at that point,” he said. “I know this sounds morbid, but at that point, it’s no longer the man, woman or child they knew and loved. It barely even looks like a person at all.”

“I get that, but what if someone didn’t want the body to be recognized because it’s not actually Stephen Rhoades?”

“Huh? You mean you think he’s still alive and they switched him out or something?”

“No. I have pretty good reason to presume that he’s genuinely stone cold dead at this point. But I think he might’ve been murdered, and this drowning thing is just a cover-up.”

“Uh… what? Why?”

“Long story.” I clenched my jaw. “Anyway, I think they could’ve taken him to the morgue to cremate him so they could hide the evidence of what was really done to him, and they made sure there was another body for the official autopsy report and photos. A body that would be conveniently unrecognizable in case the family ever asks to see it. A drowned man, for instance.”

“That sounds pretty far-fetched, Logan,” Connor said. His voice had taken on a slow, reluctant tone.

“I know, but I have reason to believe it’s true. I’m not just making shit up.”

“Right. What exactly do you want me to do?”

“For now, I just want to know what the official autopsy report says.”

He clicked his tongue. “I suppose I can try. But it’ll take a while to get into their system, if it’s even possible.”

“If anyone can get in, it’s you.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he said with a soft chuckle.

He fell silent, and for the next few minutes, all I could hear on the other end of the line was the clatter of his keyboard. While I waited for him, I stepped out of the walk-in robe to check on Willow. She was still sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the wall.

I walked over and rubbed her back. She glanced up at me, eyes puffy and pink. “What are you doing?” she asked timidly, eyes darting to my cell phone.

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