Page 83 of To Die For

“They were all clean, Travis, sorry.”

He thanked her and clicked off. It seemed the girl on the train also sweated the small details pretty well.

He finished his meal and was thinking about turning in when his phone buzzed again. He didn’t recognize the number but answered it anyway.

“Agent Devine?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Dr. Deborah Coburn. I performed the autopsies on the Odoms.”

Devine forgot all about sleep. He had assumed he would never hear from her. But then he recalled being told that she was a circuit medical examiner. So Ricketts might not be her hometown. And maybe she wasn’t on Danny Glass’s payroll.

“Yes, Dr. Coburn. Idoneed to speak with you. Where are you now? I’m in downtown Seattle.”

“I’m actually in the Seattle area. There’s a conference here on forensic pathology starting tomorrow. I know it’s late, but can you meet with me now? I’m… well, I’m scared.”

“Where do you want to meet?”

She gave him the address of where she was staying.

“I’m on my way.”

CHAPTER

38

IT TOOK DEVINE ABOUT TWENTYminutes to reach the house. He drove east on Interstate 90, over Lake Washington and through Mercer Island, and then turned north toward Bellevue. The house was a fairly new two-story with a white brick front and a two-car front-load garage situated all by itself in a cul-de-sac in a wooded area. A fine mist had formed on the way over that might, at some point, turn to rain, or sleet.

There were lights on in the house, and a gray Lexus coupe with Washington plates was parked in the driveway.

He knocked on the front door and a woman’s voice said fearfully, “Who is it?”

“Dr. Coburn? It’s Travis Devine.”

“Hold up your credentials to the door camera.”

Devine glanced around, saw the door cam, and showed his badge and ID card.

The door opened, revealing Coburn, who was petite with silver hair cut short; she looked to be around fifty. She wore a cream-colored pantsuit with a navy blue blouse open at the collar. A gold chain with a crucifix was around her neck.

“Agent Devine, please come in,” she said in a trembling voice.

Coburn closed the door, locking it. She led him quickly into the dining room, where a black doctor’s bag perched on a chair and a sleek brown leather briefcase was open on the table. There were papers scattered next to it, along with several manila file folders.

“Nice place,” said Devine.

“I don’t live here. My home is in Spokane. That’s the reasonI’m one of the medical examiners for that part of the state. A friend who’s out of town let me use her home while I’m attending the conference in Seattle. It’s a forensic science smorgasbord.” She smiled faintly. “But it actually feels good to catch up with colleagues and the technology is changing so fast.”

“You said you were scared?” prompted Devine. “Does this have to do with the autopsies you performed?”

Coburn motioned him to a seat while she sat down across from him.

She said, “I’m still awaiting tox screens on Dwayne and Alice Odom, and those can take a while. Without that I could make no definitive cause-of-death determination. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something weird is going on.”

Devine said, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. Your reports list accidental drug overdose as the preliminary COD for both, and they also said you found indications of prolonged substance abuse in both their bodies.”

She looked stunned. “I didn’t find any signs of a drug overdose, or that the Odoms were addicted to drugs.” She looked at him, dread on her features. “Do you have the reports with you?”

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