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I am rendered speechless by another flashback. This one of me being asked this very question about James, the night he went missing.
My answer is the same. “No.”
Perez shifts his focus to Lavi. “How about you? Any heated conversations?”
“No,” she says.
I’m not sure I believe her. It’s obvious she and Meredith didn’t get along. Regardless, what’s done is done. So, does it really matter why?
“So, neither of you triggered it,” Perez says. “Has anyone else been in the house?”
“Oh.” I blink. “Yes. My housekeeper, Mariana.”
“Wow, Mariana Sanchez? She still works for you guys?”
“Yes.”
“Was she here today?”
“Yes, actually. I can check her sign-in log, but she was here during her normal hours, which are from nine to five-ish.”
“Did she mention anything that might have triggered Meredith?”
He asks this to both Lavi and me, and we both shake our heads.
“Do you have Mariana’s number and address?” he asks. “I’d like to give her a call, get her thoughts on this.”
“Of course.”
Perez jots down the information as I read from my phone.
Our attention is pulled to another stranger entering my home unannounced.
“That’s the medical examiner,” Perez says.
“The medical examiner?”
Perez nods. “It’s procedure. The ME is the only one who can officially determine cause of death.”
“It was an overdose suicide,” I say.
“Appears that way, yes, but again, we have protocols in place to ensure nothing is missed. For example, if she overdosed, was it accidental or intentional? It might not be suicide at all—the tox report will confirm that. Anyway, I’m going to chat with him,” Perez says. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Wait, so, what’s the process here?” I ask. “I mean, doesn’t someone need to call, I don’t know, her next of kin or something?”
“As far as I know, Meredith was unmarried and she never had kids, right?”
“Right. No kids, I mean. I don’t know about the single part.”
I realize then that I truly don’t know if Meredith was single or not. She could have been bedding half of Rock Hill, for all I know. I could be one of many. The thought makes my stomach roll.
Perez nods. “We’ll see who she listed on her medical records, but the process from here is: the ME will conduct his initial investigation here in the house. Pending those results, we’ll bag up the body and take it to the morgue. There, he’ll run a toxicology scan on her, and if he feels like there needs to be an autopsy too, he’ll do that.” Perez shrugs. “Once the death certificate is completed, then it’s up to whoever is listed as her contact on her medical records to deal with the funeral.”
Why do I have a feeling that person is me?
I take a deep breath and nod.
“Any more questions at the moment?”
