Dead Doc On The Side of The Road
Lanie Parish finally arrives at the West Side Professional building. It has taken her over an hour just to get near the scene. She has had to use her credentials to pass thru several police and fire department barricades. This was a large fire in a multi story structure and they have several streets blocked around the building. When she finally arrives at Fire ground she places her badge around her neck and exits her vehicle. She then starts her search and tries to find the Arson investigator. One of the firefighters points her in the direction of the command post where the body of the victim was brought after he was removed from the building. She encounters another of the firefighters who tells her where she will find the lieutenant. He points toward a command van with an ambulance beside it.
Lanie steps up to the ambulance "I am looking for the arson investigator"
A man in his mid forties wearing a different uniform than the firefighters speaks up "I am Lt. Simon Wilkinson. Can I help you?"
"I am Dr. Lanie Parish with the medical examiner's office. I understand you have a suspicious death you need me to evaluate?"
"Yes, doctor. Thanks for coming out. He is in the ambulance. He climbs into the ambulance and indicates that Lanie should join him. We initially thought he was a smoke inhalation victim" The lieutenant unzips the body bag and points to the victim's left side "until we saw this"
The investigator points out what appears as a knife entry wound in the left side just under the arm. "It looks a little suspicious, so I thought it best to have you look a t it before we transport him."
Lanie has put on exam gloves and taken out her note pad. She inspects the area that the fire department considers suspicious. "This does look like a knife entry wound. It appears to be an upward thrust from just below the first rib. That would make the knife puncture the heart. If they used a long blade then death would have been almost instantaneous He probably would not have even known what happened. But to be positive, I will have to get him to the lab to be sure, but I think you are right however. This looks like a homicide"
Dr. Parish starts filling out the forms for the case and making notes on her initial observations "Do we have a name yet?"
"Yes, the victim was found inside his office up on the 4th floor. Room 416. He is a therapist" looking down at his own notes the arson investigator replies "Dr. Carter Burke. That is the name on the practice. We are trying to locate next of kin now. The Fire Marshall's office will do the notifications and continue the investigation. When we are finished I will forward my findings over to your office. Here is my card, please let me know when you have a preliminary autopsy."
Lanie is filling in the blanks on her paperwork "Will do lieutenant" Lanie takes the business card from the investigator. "Can you have the paramedics transport the body or do I need to get a wagon down here?"
"Please, can you have your office do the transportation? We need to free up the ambulance for calls"
Lanie picks up her phone and calls over to the ME's office and requests a coroner van to transport the victim back to her lab. The dispatcher tells Dr. Parish that the van will be there in about 30 minutes.
While she is waiting Lanie continues her review and note taking. She is sitting in the ambulance alone when a tall distinguished man steps up.
"Are you Dr. Parish?"
"Yes. Can I help you?"
The man is looking at the victim. "Is this Doctor Burke? I understand that he died in the fire" Pointing at the burned building
"That is the preliminary information I have. Why? Any who are you?"
"Sorry, Dr. Parish" He pulls out his ID and presents it to Lanie "my name is Simpson. FBI Special Agent Thomas Simpson. I am an agent in the local New York field office. I was sent over to protect records from Dr. Burke's office."
"Protect records? What do you mean protect records" Lanie is looking at the burned building "It doesn't look like there is much to protect. The building and any records that were inside are pretty much gone"
"Yes. It does look that way, but I must verify and secure anything that might be there"
"Well, Special Agent Simpson, I think you need to find the incident commander and tell him what you are in need of. I think you will find him over in the command Van" Lanie points in the direction of the fire department's command post
"Thank you doctor. Also can you give us a copy of your autopsy report?" The agent hands Lanie a business card
Lanie takes his card "Of course Agent Simpson. Now if you don't mind, my van is here to transport the body and I must get back to work"
"Yes. Of course"
Lanie gets out of the ambulance and walks over to the coroner van and speaks to the driver. "Hello Jim, the body is in the ambulance. See if you can have one of the fire fighters help you to transfer the body to our van then I will meet you back at the lab when I finish with the fire department"
The technician acknowledges the conversation with Dr. Parish and proceeds to move the body from the ambulance to the transport van
In the mean time Lanie has entered the command van and finds the arson investigator
"Lieutenant Wilkinson. Our van is here and my technician, Jim is transferring the body to the morgue. Here are my transfer orders for your records and I will be leaving. I will give you a prelim sometime tomorrow".
"Thank you doctor. By the way, what do you know about this FBI…uh Agent Simpson?"
"Nothing. I just met him a few minutes ago. Why?"
"He seems very much interested on getting into the building for some reason. I don't understand his insistence on snooping around the office of the late doctor. But letting him in is the call of the incident commander. I will stand by and see what the deputy chief lets him do. No one can enter the incident without one of us going in with him. The building has been declared unsafe until the engineers decide differently. He may just have to wait until a later date before he can go snooping around."
Lanie looks out the window toward the building "I am glad I don't have to go in there. So, good day lieutenant. Good to meet you and we'll talk tomorrow"
Lanie steps out to her car and gets in. She sees the coroner van pulling away and she follows as it heads downtown to the medical examiner's office.
It takes Dr. Parish 45 minutes to arrive back at the lab. When she gets to her office, the tech has already brought the body into the examination room. "Just put him here" Lanie exclaims as Jim rolls the gurney thru the door. She is pointing to the first table.
After he is placed on the table, Lanie and Jim both put on paper gowns to cover their street clothes.
"Jim, help me take the corpse out of the body bag and onto the table. I can get started with my report, but I am not going to do a complete today. I am just going to write up my initial observations. If you will take the clothes and bag them along with personal effects"
Lanie starts her paperwork while the tech removes the items from the pockets then tags and bags all the contents from the pockets. Lanie finishes her initial report then turns to the tech "Jim, if you will finish cataloging the personal items then put the body in the cooler, I will get started first thing in the morning on the autopsy"
"Sure thing doc. I'll see you Tuesday. I'm off tomorrow"
"OK Jim. See you Tuesday" as doctor Parish exits the lab
Jim is looking at the personal items and notices that the name in the wallet is spelled differently than the other paperwork. The intake sheet says Calvin Burke but the driver's license says Charles Bourke. He thinks it is just a clerical error and they can clear it up tomorrow. He bags all the items and then moves the corpse over to the vault and places the body into the cooler and closes the door. He returns to the table and places the personal items into bags and puts them into the box. Then bags the clothes and places them into the box and then places seals around evidence box lid.
He looks around the lab to make sure everything is in order, and just before he turns back to the door to turn off the lights is when he feels the sharp stick in his neck and everything goes black