The Hidden

Diego had been silent when she’d told him that she wanted Brett to take her to the morgue. For a moment she’d been afraid he would use his authority as lead agent and forbid her to go.

But while she was certain he wasn’t happy about it, he hadn’t protested. He’d warned them that Charles Barton had disappeared despite police surveillance, and that the man’s own wife had admitted to being unaware of his whereabouts during the time of the Parkers’ murders. But, he’d pointed out, whether Charles Barton was a victim or the killer, someone was still out there. She needed to be careful at all times.

Brett assured him that they would be careful. And then he, Lara and Scarlet had set the alarm, locked up and headed out.

Scarlett was impressed with Dr. Fuller when she met him. He was young and bright and enthusiastic. He was also curious that Brett wanted Scarlet to see Candace and Larry Parker’s bodies, but given that she was in the company of a federal agent, he didn’t object to letting her in.

She realized that for some reason she’d expected the medical examiner to be older, matter-of-fact if not actively chilly, and definitely a bit strange.

Instead, Dr. Robert Fuller seemed like a regular guy. A regular guy whose job involved corpses on a daily basis.

“Have they found that murder weapon yet?” Fuller asked Brett.

“You mean the 1849 Colt pocket percussion revolver,” Scarlet said. His look of surprise prompted her to continue. “I’m the curator of the historical museum at the Conway Ranch. And just such a weapon disappeared from our collection.”

“So I’m right!” Fuller said, pleased.

“Yes.”

“Hot damn,” he said. “I do historical reenactments, so if you’re ever interested, let me know. We have several events coming up.” Then he blushed, as if realizing that he was digressing, and said, “Well, come with me. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are shelved at the moment. Lieutenant Gray hasn’t released the bodies yet, since the investigation is still open.”

They accompanied him down a hallway to what looked like a safety deposit vault with very large boxes. He checked the notepad he pulled from his pocket, escorted her over to one drawer and opened it.

Candace Parker lay there, a sheet covering her so that only the top of the Y incision made at the autopsy was visible.

Scarlet wondered how people ever said that the dead looked as if they were asleep. They didn’t look as if they were asleep, because sleep implied life and color and breath. The dead had none of those things, and no one with eyes would ever mistake them for anything but the corpses they were.

She stared at Brett in surprise when he set a hand gently on Candace’s shoulder. He looked at her and nodded toward the body, a clear suggestion that she do the same. She carefully avoided glancing at Fuller, who must have been thinking they were all crazy.

She touched Candace but felt nothing. Nothing at all except for an inanimate coldness, as if she was touching a rock in winter. Nothing more.

“Are you guys mediums or something?” Fuller asked.

“Me?” Scarlet asked, turning to face him. “No, not at all.”

Fuller looked at Brett. “It’s fine with me if you are, just so you know. Whatever works for you, go with it. Okay, let’s go see Mr. Parker.”

He rechecked his pad, but Larry Parker turned out to be in a shiny silver drawer right next to his wife’s. Fuller pulled it open.

Larry Parker had been about forty, graying a little and balding. In death his chin had sunk into his chest, and the top of his Y incision was visible, as well.

Scarlet thought he’d had a nice face; he had a lot of laugh lines.

He, too, was cold, and she wondered why she’d even wondered if it might be otherwise as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at his kindly face, vaguely listening to Brett and Lara talking with Fuller in the background about recent developments in the case.

She didn’t realize she was still touching him until...

His eyes suddenly flew open, and he sat up and grabbed her arm. When he spoke, his voice had the same sound of dry, rustling leaves as Nathan’s.