Page 121 of Girl Between
“Why two bodies?” Dana asked.
“Maybe we’re getting close,” LaSalle guessed. “Spooked ‘em into upping the body count ‘cause we’re closing in?”
George shook his head. “We haven’t executed warrants or named suspects yet.”
“Could we have a leak?” asked Dana.
As if on cue, Dr. Landry ducked the crime scene tape and ambled over, his watery eyes wide with horror.
George caught Dana’s eye. “Well, I guess you’re gonna get what you wished for,” he said under his breath.
Hurt sliced through Dana at the accusation. She tried to stutter her objection, but George was already striding away from her. He caught Landry’s attention with a wave before directing the shell-shocked physician away from the crowd.
Dana set her jaw as she charged after them.
George could think what he wanted. She’d be damned if she didn’t learn from her mistakes.
105
George hated puttingLandry in this position, but the job came first.
“I-I don’t understand?” Landry stammered. His breath came in short gasps as he struggled to maintain composure. “What’s this have to do with those women?” he asked, pointing to the bodies splayed atop the graves.
George spoke like he was trying not to spook a stray dog. “We’re not sure it does, Doc. But we’ve got to explore everything this case kicks up.”
Dana stood silently at George’s side, her gaze fixed on Landry as he readjusted his glasses and looked again at the files George pulled up on his tablet. They were the ME reports she’d identified as the earliest victims tied to the case. The ones with his signature on them.
“These are your signatures, correct?” George asked again, flipping through the reports.
“Well, yes. I was the medical examiner at the time.”
“What about these?” George asked, pointing to the initials of the EMS team on record. “Do you remember who they were?”
“Yes, of course. Levi Monroe. And …” He scratched his head for a moment. “Fontera? I think his first name was Luis, maybe.”
“Another question that’s been raised is why no autopsies were performed on these bodies?” George pressed.
“Well, it was a long time ago. I can’t say particularly why without going back over my notes.”
“They’re all right here,” Dana said, tapping the tablet Dr. Landry was holding.
George didn’t hide his annoyance when he glared at her. He’d agreed to question Landry, but he wanted to be clear, it would be done on his terms. “We can go back to your office to look at these if you’d be more comfortable.”
“No, no. That’s alright,” Landry assured them. “I’m here to help.” He looked at the files, flipping slowly through each page. After a few minutes he handed the tablet back to George, shaking his head sadly. “I wish I had a better answer for you, but from what I can tell, there wasn’t a particularly glaring reason I didn’t perform an autopsy.”
George frowned. “But it’s protocol when COD is unknown, correct?”
“It is,” said Landry. “All I can say is that when you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, you just know when a body’s got nothing left to tell ya.” He pointed to the tablet. “Those poor folks had been through enough without me dissecting them. Plus, this was right after Katrina. You remember what that was like. By the time some of these bodies made it to me the decomp was so bad …” He shook his head. “Any number of things could account for the missing organs. Rodents, alligators, even cats or dogs if they got hungry enough.” Landry looked at George, his expression full of remorse. “I’m sorry. I know I should’ve done more, been more thorough. There’s no excuse for it.”
George clamped a hand on Landry’s shoulder. “You did more than most, Doc. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that.”
Landry nodded, but the damage was done. The man looked like he’d aged ten years as he stared down at his feet, lost in his own guilt and misery.
“Thank you,” George said, trying to ease his suffering. “If I think of anything else, I’ll reach out.”
“What about these girls?” Landry asked, alert again. “I want to help. Have you ID’d them?”
George shook his head. “Not yet.”
