“Rodents, probably,” Dr. Cornish answered as he bent down and snapped open his bag.
David shuddered. His mouth had gone dry at the thought of rodents gnawing on the body. Glancing at Angela, he could tell that she had taken this information in stride and was fascinated by the proceedings.
The first thing Dr. Cornish did was take a number of photos, including extreme close-ups. Then he donned rubber gloves and began removing the objects from the tomb, placing them in plastic evidence bags. When he got to the papers, everyone crowded around to look at them. Dr. Cornish made certain that no one touched them.
“They’re part of medical records from Bartlet Community Hospital,” David said.
“I’ll bet these stains are all blood,” Dr. Cornish said, pointing to large brown areas on the papers. He put all the papers into a plastic bag which he then sealed and labeled.
When all the objects had been removed, Dr. Cornish turned his attention to the body. The first thing he did was search the pockets. He immediately found the wallet with bills still inside. There were also a number of credit cards in Dennis Hodges’ name.
“Well, it wasn’t a robbery,” Robertson said.
Dr. Cornish then removed Hodges’ watch, which was still running. The time was correct.
“One of the battery manufacturers should use this for one of their zany commercials,” Robertson suggested. Morris laughed until he realized no one else was.
Dr. Cornish then pulled a body bag out of his satchel and asked Morris to give him a hand getting Hodges into it.
“What about bagging the hands?” Angela suggested.
Dr. Cornish thought for a moment, then nodded. “Good idea,” he said. He got paper bags from his kit and secured them over Hodges’ hands. That done, he and Morris got the body into the bag and zipped it closed.
Fifteen minutes later the Wilsons watched as the police cruiser and the medical examiner’s van turned around, descended their driveway, and disappeared into the night.
“Anyone hungry?” Angela asked.
Both Nikki and David groaned.
“I’m not either,” Angela admitted. “What a night.”
They adjourned to the family room where David stoked the fire and added wood. Nikki turned on the television. Angela sat down to read.
By eight o’clock all three decided they might eat something after all. Angela reheated the dinner she had made while David and Nikki set the table.
“Every family has a skeleton in the closet,” David said when they were midway through the meal. “Ours just happened to be in the cellar.”
“I don’t think that’s very funny,” Angela said.
Nikki said she didn’t get it, and Angela had to explain the figurative meaning. Once Nikki understood, she didn’t think it was funny either.
David was not pleased about the gruesome discovery in their basement. He was particularly concerned about the potential effect on Nikki. He’d hoped bringing a little humor to the situation might defuse the tension. But even he had to admit his joke fell flat.
After Nikki’s respiratory treatment, they all went to bed. Though not an antidote, sleep seemed to be the best alternative. Although Nikki and David were sleepy, Angela wasn’t, and as she lay in bed she became acutely aware of all the sounds the house made. She had never realized how noisy it was, particularly on a windy, rainy night. From deep in the basement she heard the oil burner kick on. There was even an intermittent, very low-pitched whine from wind coming down the master bedroom flue.
A sudden series of thumps made Angela jump, and she sat upright.
“What’s that?” Angela whispered nervously. She gave David a shove.
“What’s what?” David asked, only half awake.
Angela told him to listen. The thumping occurred again. “There,” Angela cried. “That banging.”
“That’s the shutters hitting against the house,” David said. “Goodness sake, calm down!”
Angela lay back against the pillow, but her eyes were wide open. She was even less sleepy than she was when she’d gotten into bed.
“I don’t like what has been happening around here,” Angela said.
David audibly groaned.
“Really,” Angela said. “I can’t believe so much has changed in so few days. I was worried this was going to happen.”