Tess Gerritsen - Vanish

It did not stop the flood of questions.

“How can anyone make a mistake like this?”

“Do we know the woman’s name yet?”

“We’re told that Weymouth Fire Department made the determination of death. Can you name names?”

Maura said, “You’ll have to talk to their spokesperson. I can’t answer for them.”

Now a woman spoke up. “You have to admit, Dr. Isles, that this is a clear case of incompetence on someone’s part.”

Maura recognized that voice. She turned and saw a blond woman who’d pushed her way to the front of the pack. “You’re that reporter from channel six.”

“Zoe Fossey.” The woman started to smile, gratified to be recognized, but the look Maura gave her instantly froze that smile to stone.

“You misquoted me,” said Maura. “I never said I blamed the fire department or the state police.”

“Someone must be at fault. If not them, then who? Are you responsible, Dr. Isles?”

“Absolutely not.”

“A woman was zipped into a body bag, still alive. She was trapped in the morgue refrigerator for eight hours. And it’s nobody’s fault?” Fossey paused. “Don’t you think someone should lose their job over this? Say, that state police investigator?”

“You’re certainly quick to assign blame.”

“That mistake could have killed a woman.”

“But it didn’t.”

“Isn’t this a pretty basic error?” Fossey laughed. “I mean, how hard can it be to tell that someone’s not dead?”

“Harder than you’d think,” Maura shot back.

“So you’re defending them.”

“I gave you my statement. I can’t comment on the actions of anyone else.”

“Dr. Isles?” It was the man from the Boston Tribune again. “You said that determining death isn’t necessarily easy. I know there’ve been similar mistakes made in other morgues around the country. Could you educate us as to why it’s sometimes difficult?” He spoke with quiet respect. Not a challenge, but a thoughtful question that deserved an answer.

She regarded the man for a moment. Saw intelligent eyes and windblown hair and a trim beard that made her think of a youthful college professor. Those dark good looks would surely inspire countless coed crushes. “What’s your name?” she said.

“Peter Lukas. I write a weekly column for the Tribune. ”

“I’ll talk to you, Mr. Lukas. And only you. Come inside.”

“Wait,” Fossey protested. “Some of us have been waiting around out here a lot longer.”

Maura shot her a withering look. “In this case, Ms. Fossey, it’s not the early bird that gets the worm. It’s the polite one.” She turned and walked into the building, the Tribune reporter right behind her.

Her secretary, Louise, was on the phone. Clapping her hand over the receiver, she whispered to Maura, a little desperately: “It doesn’t stop ringing. What do I tell them?”

Maura laid a copy of her statement on Louise’s desk. “Fax them this.”

“That’s all you want me to do?”

“Head off any calls from the press. I’ve agreed to talk to Mr. Lukas here, but no one else. No more interviews.”

Louise’s expression, as she regarded the reporter, was only too easy to read. I see you chose a good-looking one.

“We won’t be long,” said Maura. She ushered Lukas into her office and closed the door. Pointed him to the chair.

“Thank you for talking to me,” he said.

“You were the only one out there who didn’t irritate me.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not irritating.”

That got a small smile out of her. “This is purely a self-defense strategy,” she said. “Maybe if I talk to you, you’ll become everyone else’s go-to guy. They’ll leave me alone and harass you.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. They’ll still be chasing you.”

“There are so many bigger stories you could be writing about, Mr. Lukas. More important stories. Why this one?”

“Because this one strikes us on a visceral level. It addresses our worst fears. How many of us are terrified of being given up for dead when we aren’t? Of being accidentally buried alive? Which, incidentally, has happened a few times in the past.”

She nodded. “There have been some historically documented cases. But those were prior to the days of embalming.”

“And waking up in morgues? That’s not merely historical. I found out there’ve been several cases in recent years.”

She hesitated. “It’s happened.”

“More often than the public realizes.” He pulled out a notebook and flipped it open. “In 1984, there was a case in New York. A man’s lying on the autopsy table. The pathologist picks up the scalpel and is about to make the first incision when the corpse wakes up and grabs the doctor by the throat. The doctor keels over, dead of a heart attack.” Lukas glanced up. “You’ve heard of that case?”

“You’re focusing on the most sensationalistic example.”

“But it’s true. Isn’t it?”

She sighed. “Yes. I know of that particular case.”

He flipped to another page in his notebook. “ Springfield, Ohio, 1989. A woman in a nursing home is declared dead and transferred to a funeral home. She’s lying on the table, and the mortician is about to embalm her. Then the corpse starts talking.”

“You seem quite familiar with this subject.”

“Because it’s fascinating.” He riffled through the pages in his notebook. “Last night, I looked up case after case. A little girl in South Dakota who woke up in her open casket. A man in Des Moines whose chest was actually cut open. Only then does the pathologist suddenly realize the heart is still beating. ” Lukas looked at her. “These aren’t urban legends. These are documented cases, and there are a number of them.”

“Look, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, because clearly it has. Corpses have woken up in morgues. Old graves have been dug up, and they’ve found claw marks inside the coffin lids. People are so terrified of the possibility that some casket makers sell coffins equipped with emergency transmitters to call for help. Just in case you’re buried alive.”

“How reassuring.”

“So yes, it can happen. I’m sure you’ve heard the theory about Jesus. That the resurrection of Christ wasn’t a true resurrection. It was merely a case of premature burial.”

“Why is it so hard to determine that someone is dead? Shouldn’t it be obvious?”

“Sometimes it isn’t. People who are chilled, through exposure or drowning in cold water, can look very dead. Our Jane Doe was found in cold water. And there are certain drugs that can mask vital signs and make it hard to see respirations or detect a pulse.”

“Romeo and Juliet. The potion that Juliet drank to make her look dead.”

“Yes. I don’t know what the potion was, but that scenario was not impossible.”

“Which drugs can do it?”

“Barbiturates, for example. They can depress your respiration and make it hard to tell that a subject is breathing.”

“That’s what turned up in Jane Doe’s toxicology screen, isn’t it? Phenobarbital.”

She frowned. “Where did you hear that?”

“Sources. It’s true, isn’t it?”

“No comment.”

“Does she have a psychiatric history? Why would she take an overdose of phenobarb?”

“We don’t even know the woman’s name, much less her psychiatric history.”

He studied her for a moment, his gaze too penetrating for comfort. This interview is a mistake, she thought. Moments ago, Peter Lukas had impressed her as polite and serious, the type of journalist who would approach this story with respect. But the direction of his questioning made her uneasy. He had walked into this meeting fully prepared and well versed in the very details that she least wanted to dwell on; the very details that would rivet the public’s attention.