Page 25 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

What was perfectly routine for this family would’ve been unthinkable for hers, Sam thought, but hey, different strokes for different folks. When they arrived at HQ, Sam drove around to the morgue entrance and parked. “I want to prepare you before we go in. The body we found had suffered some decomposition. She’d been bound and gagged with duct tape, and we believe she’d been there for a couple of days by the time she was discovered.”

“Christ have mercy,” he whispered.

Sam made a call to let Lindsey know she was bringing Mr. Tappen in.

“We’re ready,” Lindsey said.

Sam shut off the car, got out and waited for him to walk around the car.

He hesitated. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“I’m sorry to ask it of you, but we need to know for sure who our victim is.”

After taking a deep breath of frigid air, he released it and nodded for her to lead the way inside. They stepped into the cold, antiseptic-smelling morgue, where Dr. Lindsey McNamara greeted them. Sam was glad her friend was there to walk Mr. Tappen through the dreadful process of identifying his wife.

Sam introduced him to Lindsey, whose green eyes were full of the compassion she gave to all the victims who landed in her morgue and their families.

“If you’d follow me, we can get this over with,” Lindsey said.

Sam brought up the rear as they walked into the exam room where the body had been laid out on a table and covered by a sheet.

“Are you ready?” Lindsey asked him.

“I… I guess so.”

When Lindsey drew the sheet back from her face, Sam noticed the duct tape had been removed from the woman’s mouth, but some of the sticky residue remained on her face.

Tappen’s knees buckled, and Sam moved quickly to grab him before he could fall to the floor. His anguished wail confirmed the woman’s identity.

“Pammy! Oh my God. Who could’ve done this to her? Everyone loved her!”

With the shock still fresh, Sam knew this wasn’t the time to grill him about every aspect of his wife’s life, but who knew how much time they’d already lost while she was dead inside a parked car? “Mr. Tappen, is there someone I could call for you? A friend or family member?”

He covered his mouth with his hand as tears ran down his face, his gaze fixed on the decomposing face of his wife. “My, uh… My kids. I should call my kids.”

“I’d like to be with you when you inform them of their mother’s death.”

“Uh, sure. That’s fine, I guess.” He glanced at her, looking shocked and confused. “How do we do this? My daughter is away at school.”

“Can you text your sons and ask them to come here after practice?”

“Y-yes, I can do that.” He withdrew the phone from his pocket with a shaking hand and sent the text. “My older son is asking why. What do I tell him?”

“Say you’ll explain when they get here.”

He sent the text. “They should be here in about fifteen minutes. What about my daughter in college?”

“We’ll call her after we talk to the boys.” Sam dreaded those conversations, even though they were a necessary part of any homicide investigation. Watching the reactions of the people closest to a victim while hearing that he or she had been murdered could be informative.

Lindsey handed him her business card. “I’ll be performing an autopsy before we release her to the funeral home of your choosing. You can call me at your convenience to let me know which one you’d like to use.”

Tappen took the card and put it in his pocket. “Thank you.” After another long look at his late wife, he said, “Are we done in here?”

“Yes,” Sam said. “Right this way.” She led him out of the morgue and through the corridors that led to the pit where her detectives worked. The pit that was a beehive of activity during the day was now dark and quiet. They went into the conference room. Sam turned on the lights. “Can I get you a water or anything?”

“A water would be good, thanks.”

“I’ll get that for you, but I’d ask you not to contact anyone until I’m back in the room.”