Julia rolled her eyes and Gavin sensed a smoldering battle between these two. Jesus, he wished Julia was in charge of this case. Gavin glanced to his right at the lifeless body of Samantha Ritcher who lay not more than twenty feet from what remained of her sister. The Y-incision on Samantha wasn’t closed yet and the skin gaped, exposing a body cavity devoid of organs. Those were placed on a specimen table awaiting tissue samples.

“When is the autopsy on Samantha Ritcher going to be finished?” Gavin asked. Though Samantha was a drug addict and there should be no surprise to see her on a steel slab at such an early age, he couldn’t ignore the bizarre coincidence that she was sharing occupancy at the county morgue with her murdered sister.

Blythe said, “I’ve completed her autopsy. I’m just waiting for the preliminary lab reports before I decide if additional tissue samples are needed or not. Cause and manner of death will be ruled after that.”

“I want you to call me as soon as it’s done,” Gavin said.

“I’ll do that but she can’t possibly be connected to your case,” Blythe replied confidently. “This is completely different from the other two. I have no doubt the manner of death will be accidental.”

Gavin tried hard to control his mounting irritation. It was so like Blythe to be headstrong like this. So into his own preconceived theories and so unwilling to let them go that he screws up, makes wrong conclusions. Blythe had caused problems with several other cases, though they were Blythe’s errors, it was Gavin who was made to look incompetent. He was in no hurry to go down that route again. This case was far too important to make even the slightest mistake with. “We can’t afford to make any hasty claims. This case is far too high profile for that. Any wrong moves and we’re all going to face a firing squad,” Gavin said.

Blythe’s face reddened angrily after hasty claims and Gavin knew he’d stepped over a line. He didn’t care though. As far as he was concerned the circumstances surrounding these remains only complicated things. It didn’t simplify them. “I don’t want to rule anything out. And you shouldn’t either, Phil.” Gavin tried to maintain his composure, but his nerves were raw. “Samantha Ritcher is lying dead in the morgue at the same time as her sister. Ask yourself why.”