Examining the Dead Got Me Branded a Cheater Chapter 05

Examining the Dead Got Me Branded a Cheater Chapter 05

Obviously, the task force had everyone at the department on edge. A serial killer targeting young women was more than enough to rattle the city.

With the task force bearing down, the department was probably in a full-blown panic.

Claire’s shriek drilled into my ear. “Evan! Stop playing dead and get on a plane now!”

I held the phone away and said, “First, we’re divorced, so you don’t get to boss me around. Second, I already quit the force. I’m just a civilian now. The department’s mess isn’t my problem.

“Far as I can tell, you’re the ones asking me for help. When you need a favor, you drop the attitude.”

Claire paused, then I heard her slam the phone in fury. “Evan! Drop the attitude! You think the department can’t run without you? I couldn’t care less if you come back. Rot out there for all I care! I’m never begging you!”

I cut the line, sank into the lounger, eyes on the shoreline, a grin tugging at my lips. They really couldn’t crack the case without me.

Barely two days later, Claire, who’d sworn the department didn’t need me, showed up in Aravelia. Even Harry swallowed his pride. The moment he saw me, he started laying it on thick.

“Evan, let’s put the past behind us. This is when the department needs you to step up. Don’t be stubborn. I already booked your flight. Let’s go.”

Claire glared at me, then muttered grudgingly, “Come on, Evan. I’ve already come here with my pride in my pocket. Just come with us.”

I left them hanging and went to the local station instead. I kept them on ice for three days.

The task force had Harry so strung out that he couldn’t sleep. He practically camped outside my hotel, swearing up and down he’d reinstate me if I returned.

Claire broke down, owned her mistake, and begged me to go back.

The news was reporting seven serial-murder cases back home, three added in barely two weeks. I knew it was time to return.

I turned to Claire and Harry. “I’m not rejoining the department for you. I’m doing it so the harm stops. Let’s go home.”

The task force had been waiting at the airport for a while. The moment they saw me, they didn’t press me about why I’d been gone so long. Guess they’d already heard what went down at the

station.

Their lead, Tyler Robinson, could hardly wait and started grilling me about the autopsy report on

the first victim as soon as we hit the road. I dropped the attitude and walked him through the full

report.

The serial killer left the most clues with the first victim. The victim’s family had originally agreed to an autopsy and repeatedly emphasized that the killer needed to be brought to justice.

I worked through the night on the report, but the next day, they showed up with relatives insisting on taking the body. They said they didn’t want anyone knowing what their daughter had gone through.

They burned the autopsy report and had the body cremated soon after. The report was never submitted, and I was the only person who remembered its content.

Tyler made a note of it and assigned me to perform autopsies on the three victims from the recent

case.

That was when Julian burst in and objected. “Professor Robinson, Evan isn’t even qualified to be a medical examiner. He was all over the news a month ago for inappropriate conduct with a decedent. If the family hears about it, they’ll come after the department!”