Val had thought that she had a good investment when she’d bought it last spring, after moving back home from Clearwater, Florida. She’d assumed she would eventually be able to pay someone to fix the house up. But this was yet to happen. She had never imagined she’d go so long without getting some type of work. If she didn’t get this job, the bank would take the house soon. The number of foreclosure notices sitting on her kitchen counter said it all. In the shape it was in, the bank wasn’t getting a gem. But they’d be getting her house. Her home. She dropped the clapboard and headed towards the garage, ignoring the two gutters also hanging loose.

Traffic was light for the late-morning commute and she drove down the highway quickly, heading east towards the city of Buffalo, New York, to the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office; the county morgue. The position was described as a medico-legal death scene investigator, something she’d never even heard of before. From what Val learned through an internet search, the death scene investigator assists the medical examiner by investigating the nature of any suspicious, or violent death, and determines if any additional investigation is needed. Usually there are no formal educational requirements, unless stated otherwise—thank God there were none in this case—but some knowledge of medicine and law was highly recommended. This ad did say they were looking for someone with “a medical and/or legal background,” though the specifications were a bit vague.

Val knew she could be stretching it a bit with her qualifications but hoped her dental training was close enough to claim a medical background. More importantly, the ad said nothing about needing experience. Lack of experience in any field outside of dentistry had been a curse so far. She’d spent the last year applying for various positions, but was always either underqualified or overqualified. Even the local grocery store chain wouldn’t hire her as a manager, well not without a degree in business management. Nor would they take her as a grocery checker. “You’re a doctor. We can’t hire you for that job,” they said, as if they were doing her a favor. All of her interviews had gone the same way.

Val had never thought her life would come down to this. But who does? No one sees the end until it’s too late. Promise can be very deceptive. A pied piper for the unsuspecting. She gripped the steering wheel tight and put on her turn signal. The exit leading to the hospital that housed the medical examiner’s office was coming up.