After the Storm: A Kate Burkholder Novel

CHAPTER 23

 

Since adulthood, I’ve considered myself an enlightened woman. I keep myself informed about issues that are important to me, including my health. That said, I’d rather stick my hand in a running garbage disposal than go to the doctor. Aside from a few trips to the ER for minor injuries sustained in the course of my job, I’ve managed to avoid that particular displeasure. But with my pregnancy looming large, it’s no longer just about me, so when Skid and I arrive back at the station, I make the call and set the appointment for tomorrow at noon.

 

I’m packing my laptop into its case, about to call it a day, when my phone buzzes. I glance down to see POMERENE HOSPITAL blink on the display and I hit SPEAKER. “Burkholder.”

 

“Hi, Chief. It’s Doctor Megason over at Pomerene. I thought you’d want to know.… Jeramy Kline died about an hour ago.”

 

Surprise takes a swipe at me. “What was the cause of death?”

 

“That’s the thing, Chief. I don’t know. He went into respiratory failure, so we put him on a ventilator. He suffered with uncontrolled gastric bleeding. We couldn’t get him stabilized. Heart began to fail. He coded twice this morning. This afternoon, he coded again and we couldn’t get him back.”

 

“You ran a tox screen?”

 

“It came back negative. No drugs. No alcohol.”

 

“Healthy middle-aged men don’t fall ill and die without cause,” I tell him.

 

“Rarely.”

 

“Doc Coblentz is going to want an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death,” I tell him. “So do I.”

 

“I figured that would be the case, so I went ahead and notified him.” He pauses. “Kate, we may run into some resistance from the family. When I notified the deceased’s next of kin, his wife, Abigail, wanted to take him home immediately.”

 

In the state of Ohio, the coroner doesn’t need permission from the deceased’s next of kin before performing an autopsy in order to determine cause of death. “I’ll talk to her,” I say.

 

“As you can imagine, she’s pretty broken up.”

 

“Is there someone there with her?”

 

“Nice Amish family arrived just a few minutes ago to take her home.”

 

“Good.” But my mind is already plowing through all the murky possibilities of what might have led to the untimely demise of Jeramy Kline. “Doctor Megason, if you had to take a guess on what killed him, what would you say?”

 

“I hate to speculate on something like that. But if I had to, I’d venture to say he came into contact with some kind of toxin. Something he ingested, more than likely. A pesticide perhaps. Whatever the case, it was very lethal. Jeramy Kline didn’t stand a chance.”

 

We chat for a few more minutes, then I thank him and end the call. The timing of Kline’s death bothers me. He’d been a person of interest in the Leroy Nolt case. I’d connected the two men through Abigail Kaufman. Is it coincidence that he fell ill and died less than a week after the discovery of Leroy Nolt’s remains? Or did someone want him dead and make it happen? If that’s the case, what’s the motive? Did Kline know something about Nolt’s death? Was someone afraid he’d talk to the police? Or am I looking at this all wrong?

 

I pick up the phone and call Doc Coblentz. “I thought I might be hearing from you,” he begins without preamble.

 

“Doc, I need to know the cause and manner of death of Jeramy Kline.”

 

“You and me both. I’ve cleared my schedule and plan to perform the autopsy day after tomorrow.”

 

I’d been hoping he could do it sooner, but I’ve learned not to push. “Doc, is there some type of comprehensive tox screen you can run?”

 

“Are you looking for something specific?”

 

“Not really. But Doc Megason thinks Kline may have come into contact with some kind of toxin.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Since Kline was a farmer, I thought we could check for pesticides. Or any farming-related poison that may have been absorbed, ingested, or inhaled.” I think about Jeramy Kline’s being Amish, their predilection for folk remedies, and add, “Is there a tox you can run that will isolate a toxin that’s plant in origin?”

 

“I can send samples of tissues, blood, and urine for a poison screen.” He pauses. “There are many toxins that don’t show up if we’re not looking for it. It would be tremendously helpful if you could be a little more specific.”

 

“I wish I could,” I tell him. “If you could just run everything you can think of.”

 

“I’ll do my best.”

 

“In the interim, I’ll talk to Abigail Kline and see if she can shed some light on the matter.”

 

“Kate, there’s one more thing: I performed the autopsy on the infant child Lucy Kester this morning, and I found some irregularities you need to know about.”

 

Linda Castillo's books