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She wasn’t surprised to see the woman already waiting inside, looking around and wringing her hands.
‘Hey, you still sure you want to do this?’ Kim asked, gently touching Charlotte on the arm.
‘Of course. I have to know for sure.’
Kim opened her mouth but realised that no amount of reassurance was going to trump the proof of her own eyes.
She started walking, and Charlotte fell into step beside her.
‘Have you seen a dead person before?’
She nodded. ‘My grandpa. He died of the same thing my mum has now.’
‘Ella told me. I’m sorry.’
‘It’s coming on fast. She struggles to tie her shoelaces, but she can do the daily newspaper crossword in ten minutes. I’ve lost so much time with her.’
Kim had no words of comfort to offer. The actions of one man had torn this family apart, and precious time had been lost. There was nothing she could do about that, but she could offer some comfort and resolution to this woman now.
‘Through here,’ Kim said, opening the service doors into a corridor that would eventually lead them to the morgue.
Keats’s initial response had been a flat no, until she’d explained the circumstances. He’d relented and given her a time so he could cover the viewing himself on his lunchbreak.
She pressed the call point, and Jimmy appeared from nowhere to let them in.
He nodded to them both as they passed.
‘Anteroom,’ Jimmy said as a visible shudder passed through Charlotte.
Her gaze darted around the cold, sterile space. Seeing it through her eyes as though for the first time, Kim could understand the involuntary physical reaction. There was no balance. Everything was about death.
Again, Kim wondered if this had been such a good idea.
‘I…I’m fine,’ Charlotte said, as though reading her thoughts.
Kim pushed open the doors to Keats’s preparation room. The space was no warmer or more welcoming than the actual morgue, but there were fewer terrifying tools of his trade on show.
The body of Terence Birch lay on a gurney, covered with a simple white sheet.
Charlotte faltered for a second, and Kim had to remind herself that although this wasn’t a grieving relative or spouse, there was a great deal of emotion attached to this moment.
‘Ready?’ she asked, touching Charlotte lightly on the elbow.
She nodded.
Keats peeled back the sheet down to the neck.
Charlotte gasped and then wobbled. Kim steadied her but said nothing as a multitude of emotions passed over her face.
The room was silent as Charlotte stared at the body as though waiting for movement or answers.
‘Okay, please get me out of here,’ she whispered.
Kim nodded her thanks to Keats as she guided Charlotte through the door and out of the morgue.
Neither of them spoke until they were back in the main section of the hospital.
‘Can I sit?’ Charlotte asked with a voice full of tears.
