Page 13 of Hidden Hero

Pete looked at the list. “Damn, that was some haul that Fred Rudolph was carrying. And he wasn’t taking the meds that were prescribed to him. Where the hell did he get all those pills, and what was he doing with them? Selling them is the only answer.”

“Probably so.” Jeremy nodded. “But from what we know, he doesn’t fit the profile of someone collecting and selling drugs on the black market. I want to talk to his buddies and look at the past few who have died. I want to know if there is any connection.”

Brad said, “Get that info on the board as soon as you have it. Terry and Colt said the state police would add someone to this case if needed. They and Liam want to be kept updated.”

Terry Bunswick was their direct boss as the Captain for the ESDTF. Colt Hudson was the Sheriff of North Heron County, and Liam Sullivan was the Sheriff of Acawmacke County. The ESDTF covered both counties. Jeremy liked working for Terry, finding him a combination of fair and tough, both necessary in his job.

“There has got to be something that connects these deaths besides just being elderly and not taking their medication. We need to find the link,” Jeremy said.

“We can get the DEA to see if they’ll trace the pill numbers back to the pharmacy, but chances are, they have a backlog, and God only knows how long that will take,” Pete said.

“Is that something our intrepid medical examiner can do?” Brad asked.

“If that’s not her job, I hate to add more work to her,” Jeremy said, surprised that he thought of her workload.

“We could always ask. She can say no,” Mark tossed out.

“I wonder if we could go directly to our local pharmacies? If we get the prescription numbers from each pill from Cora, then we could at least find out if any of the drugstores on the shore were the ones who prescribed them.”

“Sounds good,” Pete said. He turned to Jeremy and asked, “Do you want to be the one to talk to her? Since it seems you’ve finally had a conversation with her when she didn’t want to tell you to get lost.”

The others chuckled as Jeremy flipped off his partner. Standing, he grinned as he headed out the door.

As he drove back to the hospital, Jeremy glanced at the time. It was almost noon, and he thought about stopping to grab some lunch to go. As soon as that idea settled into his mind, he wondered if bringing lunch to Cora would also be appropriate. He had no idea what her work schedule was like but assumed that showing up with food would be seen as a positive.

He pulled into a strip mall near the hospital for a quick stop at one of the sandwich shops. Once inside, he offered a chin lift to the young woman behind the counter, then looked up at the multitude of choices. It dawned on him that not knowing anything about Cora’s food likes, dislikes, or allergies—shit, this idea might not have been good.

The girl grinned at him, saying, “We’ve got chicken salad on special today. It’s really good. It’s made with fresh roasted chicken, and the cook seasoned it perfectly.”

His stomach growled, and he nodded. “Sold. I’ll take two of your chicken salad sandwich specials, a couple of bags of chips, and um... I guess a couple of sodas.” While she was fixing the sandwiches, a rueful chuckle slipped from his lips as he realized he not only had no idea what sandwich Cora might want to eat, but he didn’t know if she’d eat chips or drink soda. Shaking his head, he decided it didn’t matter. He could take it home if she refused his offerings. Glancing to the side, he spied the case of sweets.If I have to eat it all, I might as well add the dessert.“Throw a couple of cookies in there, too.”

Now, walking out with the bag of food and drinks, he jumped back into his vehicle and drove the short distance to the hospital. A different receptionist sat at the desk, and he went through the identification process to gain admission before heading down the hall to the morgue. Once there, he repeated their procedures for entering.

This time, he recognized Carl. “Dr. Wadsworth doesn’t know I’m coming, but she and I were going over the report from Mr. Rudolph this morning. I was hoping I could ask her a few more questions.” He held up the bag and said, “I even brought her an offering.”

Carl laughed and nodded. “That’s good ‘cause half the time she forgets to eat. She’s in the middle of an autopsy right now. A man passed out earlier in the ER and died before he even had a chance to get to the admissions desk. As a matter of practice, a cause of death needs to be determined so that the relatives will be satisfied that he didn’t die of any neglect here at the hospital.”

Jeremy nodded his understanding. “Do you know how much longer she’ll be?”

“Let me check.” Carl walked through another set of doors and, after a few minutes, came back. “She said she doesn’t have too much longer to completion. If you want to suit up, you can come into the room. She can answer your questions as she finishes.”

Jeremy perked up, glad to be able to present his request without further delay. Carl looked down at the bag and said, “You can’t have food in the autopsy room, but you can leave it here.”

Jeremy leveled him with a lifted brow glare.

Throwing his hand up in mock surrender, Carl laughed. “I promise I won’t touch it.”

Jeremy grinned and put the bag of food and drinks behind the desk. Then he followed Carl through the double doors, down a short hall, and through another set of doors.

“You can suit up here,” Carl said, handing him a paper gown, mask, and rubber gloves.

After donning the necessary protective gown, gloves, and cap, Jeremy entered the autopsy suite through the indicated door. His eyes immediately landed on Cora. She looked as he’d seen her before—hair covered neatly, a paper gown over her scrubs, and safety glasses perched over her regular frames. Her gaze lifted to meet his, but he couldn’t read her expression with the eyewear obscuring her face.

His attention was quickly drawn to the body on the table. He hesitated, unsure of where to stand or what to do. He’d seen photographs of autopsies before, but the reality of it was something else entirely. His gaze caught on the Y-shaped incision running down the deceased’s chest and the rib spreader holding the cavity open. He watched as Cora placed an organ back inside the body with deliberate care.

She looked up, blinking as he took a step closer. Not being able to see her whole face felt like a disadvantage. As an investigator, Jeremy relied on reading people’s expressions and gathering insights from the small tells. Now, he wished he could see all of hers.

Her eyes narrowed slightly before she dipped her chin and greeted him dryly. “Detective Pickett. This must be my lucky day.”

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