Page 59 of Justice for Samara

Anand was in his doorway almost instantly. “This came for you. He said to make sure you got it immediately.”

“Thanks, Chadha.” In the upper left-hand corner of the envelope was a printed address, the one for the medical examiner. It briefly passed through his mind to wait until Carter got there, but he couldn’t. He had to know.

The report was pretty thorough. There had been enough DNA to use for a comparison, but they had nothing to compare it to, although it did confirm that it was a female. The remains were so damaged that dental records weren’t even of any use. They’d also managed to run some testing on the marrow, so he went down the list.

There were no illicit drugs of any kind in the victim’s system. No prescription medications either. He’d never realized how much they could tell about a person by testing their marrow, but there were a lot of things. Finally, he got to the bottom where all of the testing levels were explained, and he shook his head.

Most values indicate this individual was not under the influence of any type of mind-altering drug at the time of death. Note the HCG levels, which indicate a high probability that the victim was pregnant.

Michael sat down hard in his chair and closed his eyes. Whoever she was, she was indeed pregnant. He’d been afraid of that ever since he found the test in the trash, and that made for a motive if Stadler wasn’t pleased. Then he flipped to the very last page where he knew he’d find what he was looking for.

There was a drawing of a person there, the outline with minimal details in both front and back views. Numerous lines pointed to various things on the skeleton, such as a previously broken ankle and a plate in the woman’s arm, probably from a car accident, based on the area of the break. But several were truly of interest. One was labeledGSW1and another wasGSW2. He dropped his eyes straight to the bottom of the report.

GSW1 nick on rib #4, left side of ribcage body in intercostal space between 4th and 5th levels consistent with .45 caliber projectile. Trajectory indicates it passed from that position through the left scapula, most likely passing through the heart muscle.

GSW2 through the left scapula consistent with a .45 caliber projectile, secondary to GSW1.

FINDING:

PRIMARY COD: GSW causing cardiac failure, with fire damage to body postmortem.

Just as they’d thought. Whoever she was, she’d been shot.

It was time. Michael did a little digging and found out where she worked on the army base. When he finally found the right department, a voice answered, “Pre-op, Annette speaking.”

“Annette, this is Trigg County Chief Deputy Michael Edwards. I understand that you have an employee there by the name of GlennaStadler.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could I speak with her, please?”

“Could you hold just a moment, sir?”

“Sure.”

Cheesy hold music played, and then a voice said, “This is JaniceMoore. I’m the nursing supervisor on this unit. May I help you?”

“Yes, ma’am, I’m Trigg County Chief Deputy Michael Edwards. I understand that you have an employee there named GlennaStadler?”

“Is there something wrong?”

“This is just a welfare check, ma’am.”

There was silence for a few seconds, and he was sure he heard a door close. The other end of the phone was much quieter when the woman said, “I’m so glad you called. I’m a little worried.”

There was no doubt in his mind what she was going to say next. “About Mrs.Stadler?”

“Yes, sir. She hasn’t been to work since Saturday night. We’ve called, but we haven’t gotten an answer.”

“Did you try reaching her family?”

“The only emergency number we have is for her husband, and he hasn’t returned our calls.”

“Are you calling her cell?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you give me that number, please?”

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