As she washed up and watched Regina craft beautiful stitches to close the Y-incision, Sam decided there and then to bring all the blood and tissue samples she’d taken back to D.C. for analysis. She didn’t trust anyone in Lynchburg, not now.
Used to sending samples out for analysis, Regina produced a small cooler that housed everything perfectly. She didn’t raise an eyebrow when Sam said, “I’ll drop these directly at the lab so you don’t have to make a special trip.”
“Should we go ahead with the cremation now?”
“If you have the room, why don’t you hold on to him for another day? I’ll call you tomorrow and release the body.”
“Sure thing, Dr. Owens. Thank you, so much, for allowing me to assist. It was fascinating watching you work.”
“You have a great touch. Remember the trick I showed you about how to cut the lung tissue so you can always identify it if you need to revisit your samples.”
“Triangles for upper, squares for lower. Got it.”
“If you do decide to go to med school for pathology, let me know. I’d be delighted to write a recommendation. I’m teaching at Georgetown now, so if you need a hand, don’t hesitate.”
Regina smiled widely. “Thank you so much. Do you have a card? So I can keep in touch?”
Sam gave her one of her new Georgetown University cards, then excused herself, went back upstairs into the grand foyer and called Fletcher. He answered, sounding slightly out of breath.
“Where are you? I’m finished, and waiting for you on the porch. We need to talk.”
“We had a looky-loo hanging around. Davidson and I chased him. Guy got away, he’s fast as a greyhound, but I got a good look at him. Five-eight, Caucasian, blondish hair, red-and-white baseball cap. Lock the doors and I’ll be back in five minutes.”
Sam didn’t hesitate. She wasn’t in the mood to take chances. She went inside, threw the bolt and realized how ridiculous her actions were. The place was huge, with multiple entrances. She rang the bell, and after a few moments, Regina appeared.
“Dr. Owens, you’re still here. Is everything okay?”
“Is this the only entrance?”
“No, there are the back doors to the veranda and the garages downstairs, of course, where we do intake. Why?”
“Detective Fletcher and Detective Davidson are chasing a suspect. They want us safely inside with all the doors locked.”
Regina responded immediately. “Follow me. The veranda doors are kept bolted, but the garage door is always open during business hours.”
They hustled down the stairs. Sam’s hand was beginning to go numb from carrying the weight of the cooler. She wasn’t about to let it go, though. They passed the autopsy suite and the embalming room, and entered a long hallway that led to darkness. Sam followed Regina closely lest she get lost in the labyrinth. After a minute, they stepped into a cavernous space Sam recognized from her own facility in Nashville. There were two industrial garage doors side by side, and a decent-sized body cooler.
As they entered the room, the lights went on with a hum. Sam relaxed a bit. The overheads were on motion sensors. No one was in here.
Regina slapped the button and the large doors began to drop. There was an entrance door between the two; she hurried over to it and threw the dead bolt.
“There,” she said with a grim smile. “We’re all secure.”
Sam patted her on the back. “You seem like you’ve done this before.”
“Oh, we have to run drills all the time. And up in Richmond, well, they don’t mess around. We’re expected to know the emergency precautions for any situation. Now, since you’re stuck here for a bit, would you like a cup of tea or coffee? Or something stronger?”
“Tea would be fabulous.”
They started back toward the stairs, down the long, dark hallway. As they turned the corner, Sam saw the door to the autopsy suite was open. Regina noticed it at the same time, and flattened back against the wall, an arm held out in front of Sam in protection. They stared at each other, both listening. Sam could have sworn she heard a noise coming from the autopsy suite.
She pointed to the suite and Regina shook her head, admonishing her to stay put. But Sam knew they had to check, see what was happening. She edged forward, slowly, one step at a time. There, she heard the noise again. It was quiet, barely audible keening. Grief. A breathy little sob.
What in the world?
She stepped firmer now, and miscalculated a corner. The cooler clanged against the wall, and there was a flash of movement. Someone burst from the room, ran into them both. Sam was shoved against the wall and knocked down, Regina collapsed beside her. Footsteps rang out as the person rushed away. Sam recovered quickly, ran down the hall after him. She turned the corner into the garage just in time to see a red-and-white baseball cap disappear out the door.
Chapter
15
SAM RAN TO the door and carefully ducked her head outside, but all she saw was an expanse of green lawn and a curving asphalt drive. Whoever had just been in the autopsy suite was gone.