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MINKA
A gentle knock on my glass door, then a throat clearing, brings my eyes away from the tox reports about the dead Paul McGregor, and onto the young doctor holding a twelve-inch stack of paperwork to his chest.
Doctor James Kirk can’t be more than twenty-two years old—maybe twenty-three at a stretch. He’s tall and skinny, with a mop of curly hair, and black-rimmed glasses that help correct a lazy left eye. His lips are thin, and his Adam’s apple is so large in his narrow neck, it looks uncomfortable. Beneath his white lab coat, he always wears dress pants and a button-up shirt, almost as though perpetually prepared for a business meeting.
“Doctor Kirk.” I sit back in my chair and blink a few times to clear my vision of numbers and data from a bright computer screen. The clock on the wall, when I glance that way, tells me it’s only four-thirty, which means, “You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until five.”
Hesitantly, perhaps a little shakily, he enters my office and lets the door swing closed so the nosy Aubree, who sits at her desk on the other side of the glass wall, scowls when she’s shut out of the conversation she was so hopeful to listen in on.
“I finish at five,” James murmurs. “I, uh, my workday ends at five, Doctor Mayet, unless I’m on-call or actively working a crime scene.”
I wait as he comes to the other side of my desk and cautiously sits in the single visitor chair that remains in my new office. Studying him and his nervous nature, I wonder just how much Drew Kernicke influenced him in his role as medical examiner.
Is he lazy too? Or is this salvageable?
“I appreciate your diligence at clocking in and out of work, Doctor Kirk, but do you realize the dead do not die only between the hours of nine and five?”
“I know.” Again, he clears his throat. “But discoursing about case files is not an emergency, Chief Mayet, so I believe such discussions should be held during standard business hours.”
“‘Doctor Mayet is fine.” I sit back and link my fingers. “I wonder what you think of my performance as the chief medical examiner so far.”
“Oh, well I—”
“I’d like to know.” My face stings, and remembrance of his friend’s slap burns my cheek as I wait for his eyes.
Though he continues to drop my gaze and focus on the files in his lap.
“It interests me to know what my staff thinks,” I press. “Not because I seek popularity points, but because I want to make certain we’reallgiving our best to the dead. We cannot be at our most productive if there are undercurrents I don’t know about. So,” I wave a hand in his direction, “I welcome your input. If your commentary remains professional and credible, your job is not at risk.”
“Well, Doctor Kernicke thinks—”
“No.” Gratified, I sit forward and rest my elbows on the desk. “I’m not asking for Doctor Kernicke’s thoughts. I’m asking for yours.”
“Well…”
Surprise surprise, the boy hardly knows how to think without Kernicke tickling his balls.
“Doctor Kernicke said—”
“Nope.” Reaching across the desk, I snag the files he clutches, and set them down in front of me. “Tell meyourexperience with me. Your firsthand experience.”
“I don’t…” He shakes his head and visibly quivers as I open the topmost file and glance at the notes.
Sheree Lane was a woman in her thirties. Hit and run. Pronounced dead on scene. Nothing suspicious but for the fact she died because of someone else’s negligence.
“I don’t have any firsthand experience with you, Doctor Mayet. I’ve never—”
“Worked with me?” I insert with a sly grin. “So you have a lot of opinions and pre-conceived notions, but we’ve yet to work together. Right?”
“Doctor Kernicke—”
“Has officially worn out his welcome. If I hear you refer to him again as though he is someone to emulate inside this building, your jobwillbe on the line. Now let’s talk about these cases. What’s up with Ms. Lane?”
“Hit and run,” he answers immediately. “The police have made an arrest already.”
“Great. Why do you and Kernicke still have her case open?” I flip to the next page. Then the next after that. “Why has Drew approved extensive drug analysis on a case that’s already been solved?”
“He wanted to make sure she wasn’t under the influence of—”
