Land?”
Frank considered the theory. “Except they have a falling out or there’s
a double cross all along, and she gets the business end of some serious
lead?”
“It fits the facts, Seth.”
Frank shook his head. “From all accounts the deceased loved being Mrs.
Walter Sullivan. More than the money, if you know what I mean. She got
to rub shoulders, and probably other parts of her anatomy, with famous
people all over the world. Pretty heady for somebody who used to flip
burgers; at a Burger King.”
The ME stared at him. “You’re kidding?”
The detective smiled. “Eighty-year-old billionaires sometimes get
strange ideas. It’s like where does the eight-hundred-pound gorilla sit?
Anywhere he damn well pleases.”
The Medical Examiner grinned and shook his head. Billionaire? What
would he do with a billion dollars? He J
looked down at the ink blotter on his desk. Then he put out his
cigarette and looked back at the report, then at Frank.
He cleared his throat.
“I think the second slug was a semi- or full-metal jacket.”
Frank loosened his tie, put his elbows on the desk.
“Okay.
The Medical Examiner went on. “It blew through the right temporal bone
of the cranium and burst through the left pareital bone, leaving an exit
wound over twice the size of the entry.”
“So you’re saying definitely two guns.”
“Not unless the guy was chambering different types of ammo in the same
gun.” He looked keenly at the detective.
“That doesn’t seem to surprise you, Seth.”
“It would have an hour ago. It doesn’t now.”
“So we probably have two perps.”
“Two perps with two guns. And a lady how big?”
The Medical Examiner didn’t need to refer to his notes.
“Sixty-two inches tall, one hundred and five pounds.”
“So a little woman and two probable male perps with heavy-caliber
hardware who try to strangle her., beat her up and then both open fire
on her, killing her.”
The Medical Examiner rubbed at his chin. The facts were more than a
little puzzling.
Frank glanced at the report. “You’re sure the strangulation marks and
beating came before death?”
The Medical Examiner looked offended. “Positive. Pretty mess, isn’t it?”
Frank flipped through the report, making notes as he went. “You could
say that. No attempted rape. Nothing like that?”
The Medical Examiner didn’t answer.
Finally Frank looked up at him, took off his glasses, put them down on
the desk and leaned back, sipping the black coffee he had been offered
earlier.
“The report doesn’t say anything about a sexual assault,” he reminded
his friend.
The Medical Examiner finally stiffed. “The report’s correct. There was
no sexual assault. No trace of seminal fluid, no evidence of
penetration, no overt bruising. All that leads me to conclude,
officially, that no sexual assault occurred.”
“So? You’re not satisfied with that conclusion?” Frank looked at him
expectantly.
The Medical Examiner took a sip of coffee, stretched out his long arms
until he felt a comforting pop deep within the confines of his aging
body and then leaned forward.
“Your wife ever go in for a gynecological exam?”
“Sure, doesn’t every woman?”
“You’d be surprised,” the Medical Examiner replied dryly, then
continued. “Thing is, you go in for an exam, no matter how good the
oh-gyn is, there’s usually some slight swelling and small abrasions in
the genitalia. It’s the nature of the beast. To be thorough, you have to
get in there and dig around.”
Frank put down his coffee, shifted in his chair. “So what are you
saying, she had her gynecologist visit her in the middle of the night
right before she got popped?”
“The indications were slight, very slight, but they were there.” The
Medical Examiner paused, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve been
thinking about it ever since I handed in the protocol. Understand, it
could be nothing. She could have done it herself, you understand what
I’m saying? To each their own. But from the looks of it, I don’t think
it was self-inflicted. I think somebody examined her shortly after her
death. Maybe two hours after, maybe earlier.”
“Checked her for what? To see if something had happened?” Frank did not
try to hide his incredulity.