“I’m about to become a doctor, and I can’t imagine either what could have caused her to have a heart attack. Her heart was literally and figuratively one of her best features in lots of ways. What about an autopsy? Did anyone think of that? I mean, if the doctors don’t know what happened to their patient, they usually want to know, and that’s a good indication for an autopsy.”

Kashmira was surprised at such a suggestion, but so was Jennifer. Up until the moment Jennifer had said it, she’d not considered an autopsy, nor did she even know she wanted one. She’d said it more for Kashmira’s sake, and probably because Kashmira and maybe even the hospital were trying to bully her into making a decision. Autopsy, cremation, and even embalming were violent events, and Jennifer hated to think she was somehow responsible, no matter how irrational such a feeling was. But there was also a new thought as well: How similar was Herbert Benfatti’s death to Maria’s, and could both have been prevented?

“The police or a magistrate are the only people in India that can ask for an autopsy, not the doctor.”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m certainly not joking.”

“That’s like asking for collusion between the police and the magistrates, if you ask me. What about learning something from my grandmother’s passing, something that could keep another, future patient alive? I mean, after all, you had a pretty similar death again last night. If they knew what had caused my grandmother’s heart attack, could Mr. Benfatti’s heart attack possibly have been prevented and the man saved?”

“I don’t know anything about a Mr. Benfatti,” Kashmira responded, almost too quickly. “What I know is that we have a body in this cooler, which has been in there too long and has to be removed. Our experience is that families claim bodies immediately, so we have to reach a resolution now. As you can plainly see, the body cannot stay in here. It’s simply not meant for bodies, and the body has been in here since Monday night.”

“That is your problem,” Jennifer said. “I’m shocked your hospital doesn’t have better mortuary facilities. I just got here to India after flying for almost twenty-four hours, and I’m just learning the details. My difficulty is that I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I’m going to go back to my hotel and sleep for a few hours before I make my decision. I’m also going to visit my embassy and talk to them about logistics. I know you feel confident what they are going to say, but I don’t, and I like to hear such things from the horse’s mouth.”

“The horse’s mouth?” Kashmira questioned.