“And I’ll be there to see you get it,” Laurie said. “Now, what about timing? How soon can we get there, presuming we’re coming? Do you have any idea?”

“I do,” Jennifer said. “Correct me if I’m wrong: It’s still Tuesday there.”

“It is. It’s a little before midnight.”

“If you leave tomorrow night, which is Wednesday, you will get here Thursday night late.”

“Do you think you can hold them off until we get there? We don’t want Granny cremated or embalmed if we are considering an autopsy.”

“I’ll certainly do my best. Hey, I’ll even come to the airport to pick you up.”

“We can discuss that when we know for certain we’ll be coming.”

“Laurie,” Jennifer said, just moments before the call was to be terminated, “can I ask you a personal question?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think any less of me that I’ve let all this undoubtedly superfluous stuff overwhelm the grief I feel for Maria? What I mean is that most people would be so overwhelmed by their emotions that they would be incapable of worrying about whether their loved one should be subject to an autopsy or not. Am I weird?”

“Absolutely, totally, one hundred percent no! It’s exactly the way I would have responded. Normal people love the person, not the body. The body is a mere receptacle guaranteed to wither and die. The fact that you loved your grandmother to the extent that you are sensitive to issues way beyond the details of dealing with funeral concerns, I believe, is a tribute.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so,” Laurie said. “As a medical examiner, I’ve seen a lot of bodies and the reactions of a lot of family members.”

A few minutes later, after an appropriate good-bye, Jennifer disconnected. Despite not being superstitious, she quietly thanked her lucky star that she’d even thought of calling Laurie Montgomery. She was thrilled Laurie might come, and the fact that Laurie was as willing as she was emphasized to Jennifer what a piece of dog crap her fair-weather friend Neil McCulgan had turned out to be. Jennifer literally crossed her fingers for a few moments and gestured with them in the air that Laurie and Jack would be given the time off.

“We are nearing your hotel,” the driver announced. “Am I to wait?”

The thought of asking him to wait hadn’t occurred to her, but since the health management company that killed her grandmother was paying, why not? After all, she had to go back to the hospital. “You can wait or you can come back to the hotel in a few hours. One way or the other, I’ll give you a call when I have to go back to the Queen Victoria Hospital.”

“Very well, madam,” the driver responded.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

OCTOBER 16, 2007
WEDNESDAY, 1:15 A.M.
NEW YORK, USA

Jack!” Laurie called. “Wake up!”