CHAPTER ONE

Lance stepped back from the autopsy table and nodded to Kyle who was assisting him. "You able to finish?"

"Yeah, I'll get him back in the drawer. What's next?" Kyle asked.

Lance rolled his shoulders. It was only around ten in the morning, but he already felt as if he'd put in a full day. "I'm supposed to sit in on interviews with Sam. Go ahead and have a long lunch. We'll be at least a couple of hours."

"Bet you'll be happy when we finally get someone to work the front desk and you can have Carrie back." Kyle focused on the body as he spoke.

"I don't mind working with you, but it will be nice to have Carrie assisting again instead of having to work the front desk. We shouldn't be using our intern as an assistant. Brayden's here to train as an examiner, not hand us tools and prep things. He's been great stepping in where needed, but he's not learning the way he needs to by assisting us." Lance watched as Kyle worked.

"Hopefully, we'll hire someone in the next day or two." Kyle held up crossed gloved fingers. "Someone who won't quit two weeks later."

Lance agreed. They'd hired a young woman several weeks ago to replace their old receptionist and she'd been amazing. Took to the job like she'd been doing it her whole life and handled the families of the deceased gently. Then after two weeks, she'd called in and quit without giving a reason or any notice. That put Carrie back to working at the front desk and had Sam and Lance starting the interview process again. Luckily, they had several applicants from the first round they could interview. "Enjoy your lunch. We'll get to the next autopsy once I'm done with Sam."

"Actually, you won't be doing interviews," Carrie said from the doorway.

Lance jumped at the unexpected voice. He took a deep breath as he tried to relax. It had been almost two months since the morgue had been taken hostage, but he still struggled at times to feel safe at work. They had plans to make the building more secure, but funding was an issue. Sam was doing his best to get things underway, but he could only do so much on his own without the mayor and city council approving his plans. He turned to look at Carrie. "I won't?"

"Nope, we just got a call for a pick up. Since Sam has to be here for the interviews, you get to do the dirty work today." Carrie gave him a sympathetic look.

Lance sighed. He hated going out to pick up bodies. He didn't like having to deal with upset families or crowds gathered around watching from a distance. It was part of his job, and he did it when it was needed, but he usually let Sam go out when it was possible. He didn't have a choice in this, so he nodded. "Do we know anything?"

Carrie glanced down at the paper in her hand. "Address is in a residential neighborhood. That's about all I can tell you."

"Let me wash. Then I'll head out. You coming with, Kyle, or do I grab Brayden?" Lance glanced back at him.

"Take Brayden. He needs the training in body pick ups. I'll finish here and either take lunch or find something else to work on." Kyle smiled. "Have fun."

"Thanks." Lance's voice was full of sarcasm as he walked over and took the paper from Carrie. Nothing about picking up bodies was fun. Though, maybe with his ability to see ghosts, it might be different. It wasn't often he saw the ghosts of the deceased when working, but it happened. Not that he'd be able to speak to the ghost or let on one was there. Very few people knew of his ability, and he planned on keeping it that way.

"I'll let Brayden know he's with you. He's been helping me out front." Carrie wandered off.

Lance set the paper down before moving to the sink. He quickly took off his surgical gown before washing his hands and arms. Hopefully this wouldn't take long. He'd been looking forward to sitting in on interviews. It was shocking to see what kind of people applied to be a receptionist for the Medical Examiner's Office. They'd hired several people, but for one reason or another, they just hadn't worked out.

Lance hurried to his office, grabbing his cell phone from the drawer, then headed back to the front office to get the keys to the van. He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall over the main desk and was thankful that it was early in the day, and he wouldn't have to deal with a ton of traffic.

"Want me to drive?" Brayden held up the van keys from where he leaned against a filing cabinet.

"Sure, if you want. I'm hoping it's a quick in and out and we won't be long. I'd like to make it back for some of the other interviews if I can." Lance glanced over at Carrie. "See if Sam wants Kyle to sit in so he doesn't have to go through them alone."

"Or he can watch the desk and I can sit in." Carrie grinned. "See you two in a bit." She waved as she headed back down the hall.

"Let's do this." Lance led the way down the hallway to the garage where they kept the vans. He settled into the passenger seat. "Looks like that nicer area of town just west of the golf course." He punched the address into the GPS as Brayden hit the button to lift the large garage doors.

"Do you ever hear about how the person died before going?" Brayden asked.

"Sometimes, but I prefer not knowing. I can go in without any preconceived notions. There are times when the police will give us info, but mostly if we need to bring special equipment. After all, we're the ones who are supposed to give the cause of death, not the police. But they'll sometimes let us know if it's a shooting or if the body has been there for a while." Lance watched as they pulled onto the road. "I'm going to let you take lead on this and I'll assist. It's good training. I know you've gone out with Sam on calls. You let me know what you're comfortable with."

Brayden nodded. "I'm pretty comfortable with things now. The first few times I went out, I struggled. I felt like everyone was watching me, just waiting for me to mess up."

"I still feel that way half the time. That's why I don't go out on many of these. I hate watching the family cry or witnesses freaking out. I had one family member try to demand I give her answers on site. She didn't want me to take the body until I told her what caused the death. We had to have the police restrain her so we could get the body in the van and get out of there," Lance said.

"Well, if you guys do hire me once my internship is done, I'll go out on calls, so you don't have to. I don't mind them." Brayden turned off the main road.

"Deal." Lance stared out the windows, wondering about the market value of the homes in this area. They were much larger than his house. He couldn't imagine living somewhere like this. He barely used the room he had now. Maybe if he had a huge family, but he didn't. It was just Angus and him. Well, there were two ghosts and a dog, but they didn't take up much room.

Lance grinned, thinking about the ghosts he shared his home with. He'd met them over the last year, and they'd become like family to him. They spent most of their time in his backyard.

"What are you grinning about?" Brayden asked.

"What? Oh, nothing really. Was just thinking about how nice it is to be living with Angus finally."

"Has he found a renter for his home yet?"

Lance shook his head. "Not yet. He's had a few college kids interested, but he doesn't want it to end up being a party house. Angus said the boys were hungover when they came to look at the place and talked about how nice his yard would be for parties. Not the best conversation to have with your landlord standing right there."

Brayden laughed. "Right? Besides, college kids would be leaving in a few years. I'd think you'd want someone more long-term."

"He just wants someone that won't trash the place." Lance glanced at Brayden. "How are things going with Christine?"

"Great. We went down to Galveston after we got off work on Friday and spent the weekend there. We didn't get home until around nine last night."

"Sounds like things are going well for you and Christine." Lance was glad to hear that. Christine was a good friend and local pediatrician who, like him, could see ghosts and speak to the dead. Lance was pretty sure that Christine hadn't told Brayden about her ability yet, and that was okay. Lance hadn't told him either. It was something personal that wasn't easy to share with others. He understood Christine's fear of others knowing.

"She's amazing. We have a lot of fun together. I'm going to take her to meet my parents Saturday. It's my mom's birthday and we're having a small party and barbecue. I figure it's laid back enough that Christine won't feel too uncomfortable." Brayden slowed the van as they neared the address. "Mom's a little worried about me dating an older woman, but I've assured her it's not that big a deal."

"Christine is what, five years older?" Lance asked.

"Eight, but seriously, it doesn't seem like it. I like that she's got more experience than me, especially in the medical field. She's so smart. It's the first time I've dated someone that I don't have to change the terminology when I talk so she can understand what I'm saying. I was telling her about that case we had last week. The one where that guy died after poisoning himself accidently, and she was fascinated by the case. Do you know how nice it is to be able to talk about medical things and bodies and not have her disgusted or confused when I use medical words?"

Lance laughed. "Yeah, I get that. Angus might not understand the terminology, but he doesn't mind the talk about the dead. I try not to get too detailed, but he's sat in on enough autopsies that he knows what I do."

"A few too many police cars for this to be a simple home death," Brayden commented as he parked down the street from the house they were being called to. At least five squad cars and several detective cars were parked along the area.

Lance reached for the bag he needed and nodded. "Angus is here. That means it's a possible homicide. That's his car across the street. I've got our stuff. Let's see what have."

They walked in silence to the front door, pausing to check in with the officer who was at the door, then again to put covers over their shoes. Once inside, Lance took in the scene. To the left was a living room where Detective Amy Burns and Detective Angus Young sat with what appeared to be two very upset adults. One man and woman, probably husband and wife.

"This way." An officer Lance didn't know gestured for them to follow him.

Lance wished he'd had a minute to talk to Angus, but that could wait. Nothing he would tell him would change what Lance and Brayden had to do now. It was best to go in knowing nothing.

He followed the officer down a long hallway to a bedroom. The room was empty except for the body of a young woman lying on the floor with a belt around her neck. Lance quickly looked around, searching the room. The girl was on her back on the carpeted floor, near the closet. There were no chairs, stools, or other items around her, and no ropes or items from the ceiling to have hung from. Even from a few feet away, Lance could see the bruising on the girl's neck telling him she'd probably either strangled herself or someone had done it to her. He opened the bag he carried and pulled out a pair of gloves before handing Brayden the bag. "Go ahead and get started. I need to find out if someone has already taken photos of the scene."

"I'll do that." A young woman stood in the doorway with a camera in hand. "Sorry, I was hoping to get here before you."

Lance smiled at her. "It's okay. We can work around each other. "We'll let you get some of the body before we do anything." He stepped aside, allowing her into the room.

"So young. Can't be more than fifteen or sixteen," Brayden whispered.

Lance looked at the body of the girl. She was young. Maybe five-foot-four with shoulder length brown hair. He could tell by the coloring of her skin without even having to touch her that she'd been dead for several hours. She wore a pair of sleep shorts and a peach tank top. Her feet were bare.

Extending his search beyond the body, he saw her bed was unmade, the lamp on the nightstand beside it on. The window to the room was closed, but the full-length curtains were open.

"She wouldn't be strong enough to strangle herself with the belt, would she?" Brayden asked.

"Maybe, but unlikely. The belt doesn't appear to be notched closed around her neck. It's loose. We'll know more when we examine her. At this point, anything is possible." Lance didn't like the feeling he got. It took a lot of anger to strangle another person to death. It wasn't an easy death.

"Go ahead. I'm just going to get some pictures around the room, but you can examine the body." The forensic photographer smiled at them.

"Thanks." Brayden moved in to kneel beside the body.

"Lance," Detective Young called from the doorway.

"Hey." Lance smiled as he saw Angus standing there. He wanted to greet him with a kiss but fought back the urge, needing to stay professional. "What do we know?"

"Not a lot. Elizabeth Bradly, age seventeen. Her parents thought she'd already left for work this morning. She works at a bakery down the street. She was scheduled to be there at six this morning. When she didn't show, the owner, who is friends with Mrs. Bradly called to check on her. Mrs. Bradly came to see if Liz had overslept and found her like this." Angus stared past Lance to where Brayden was examining the body. "Her mother thought she'd left and walked to work like she usually does. Father left for work around seven-thirty and rushed back home when his wife called him about this. No one else lives in the house. There is a sister, but she's going to school in Houston."

Lance wanted to ask a ton of questions, but not one of them would help on his side of the investigation. His curiosity could wait until Angus got home tonight and they could talk openly without everyone around. "Too young."

Angus nodded and braced a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Do you think you'll get to her today?"

Lance thought about his schedule. "The best I can give you is a maybe. I'll do my best to get to her today, but for sure tomorrow." He could work late if he could get someone to stay and assist him, but even then, he couldn't promise he'd have time today.

"Thanks." Angus leaned in closer. "Any ghost?"

Lance shook his head. "Nothing, sorry." He'd also hoped the girl might have stuck around after death, but so far, he'd seen no sign that she had. "I'll let you know if I see anything, but it's not likely."

"Never is when we need it to be." Angus sighed. "I'll call you later. I'll probably be late getting home."

"Me too, if I can get someone to stay and assist me." Lance didn't stay late often, but there were times it couldn't be avoided. If Angus needed this autopsy done, he'd do what he could to make sure it happened today.

Brayden stood. "I estimate the time of death to be between one or two this morning."

"Last time the parents saw her was around eleven when they went to bed." Angus leaned against the doorframe.

The woman with the camera looked over at them. "I have dirt on the floor beneath the window. Not a lot, but just wanted to make you aware of it." She'd already set a yellow number marker down in the area.

"Window is unlocked, so if someone came in, they could have come that way." Brayden shrugged.

"Let's get her back to the morgue. Hopefully, we can find more answers once we get a look at her neck." Lance turned to Angus and whispered, "I love you."

Angus smiled and seemed to relax at the words. "Love you too." He gave Lance's shoulder a squeeze, then turned and headed back down the hallway.

"I'll go get the cart. Angus will keep the family distracted while we get her out." Lance hurried back out to the van, grabbing the gurney and a new body bag. He was already dreading the autopsy. Asphyxiation cases were hard. There were layers of neck tissue to peel back and inspect. It would be a good learning case for Brayden.

Lance had learned a long time ago not to come to conclusions too early, but everything he'd seen so far and heard from Angus made him think this was a homicide. That left him wondering what a seventeen-year-old could do to make someone so angry? Was it her boyfriend? A family member? It had to be someone she knew. He'd seen no sign of sexual abuse, but again, he couldn't confirm that without examining the body.

As he wheeled the gurney into the bedroom to get the body, he wondered how Sam was doing with interviews back at the morgue. If they could just hire someone, he'd have his assistant back in a few days. Something in his gut told him he was in for a long week. It was only Monday morning, and he was already busy. It was probably for the best. He knew Angus well enough to know if this was a murder, he'd put in extra hours as well. Sitting home alone wasn't fun. He might as well be at work too.