“I agree,” says the man standing by Hurley. “Clearly we’ve been drawn together under some less-than-ideal circumstances. Let’s try to do the best we can with it and honor the dignity of our respective parents, shall we?”
Like the woman I assume is his sister, this guy’s voice is luscious: mellifluous, rich, and a bit sultry. There is also the faintest hint of an underlying British accent, suggesting he spent some time there. Between the voice and his demeanor, he manages to gain control of the room, at least for the moment. All eyes are on him. Mine are on him, up and down him, and all around him. Two can play at this infatuation game and this guy is worth a goggle or three.
As if sensing my ogling he turns and looks at me, making me blush.
“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” he says, walking toward me with one hand extended. “I’m Aaron Heinrich.”
“Mattie Winston, Deputy Coroner,” I return, taking his hand. We exchange a brief shake, but as I’m about to let go he tightens his grip ever so slightly and smiles at me. “You’re far too pretty to be doing this kind of work,” he says. Coming from anyone else it would have sounded stupid and sleazy but he manages to make it sound sexy and flattering. I blush deeper and say a silent prayer of thanks to Barbara.
“I’m . . . um . . . not sure one’s looks . . . um . . . matter with this job,” I stammer. “But thank you.” From the corner of my eye I can see Hurley scowling at us.
“Well, Mattie Winston,” Aaron goes on. “Perhaps you can lend a voice of sanity to our proceedings here today. As you may have guessed, we are the Heinrich and Conklin families.” He gestures toward the Barbie twins and says, “These are my sisters, Katrina and Grace, and this gentleman over here”—he shifts his attention to my left and nods at Sailor Boy—“is my brother, Easton.”
Sailor Boy winks at me. I nod politely toward the twin Barbies but make no effort to approach them since Aaron still has a warm but firm grasp on my hand.
“These other two people,” Aaron continues, “are our stepsiblings, Sarah and Tom.”
Both stepsiblings look mad enough to spit fire and I fear that neither of them will be easy to deal with. I’ve already seen Sarah attack one of the Barbies with her purse, and if it wasn’t for the cop standing between Easton and Tom, I’m pretty sure Easton would be out cold by now.
The Heinrich sibs are a little harder to gauge. Easton has a clueless look about him that makes me think he’s the youngest and easiest going. The twins, however, are a toss-up. The sister named Grace, who ironically is the one showing the least of it at the moment, looks like she wants to kill someone. Based on the way she is glaring at Sarah, I’m guessing she’s visualizing a big bull’s-eye on the other woman’s forehead.
Katrina, on the other hand, has the same calm, refined expression her brother Aaron has. Her face reveals nothing and I’m at a loss to gauge how difficult or easy it will be to work with her.
With introductions out of the way, Aaron turns his attention back to me and says, “It’s a sad thing that brings all of us here today. I understand you have found the bodies of our father and his wife, Bitsy.”
“Based on evidence we found with the bodies, it does appear that way,” I tell him. “But I’m not sure if their identities have been confirmed yet.” I look over at Izzy, who is standing behind Cass’s desk. He looks like he wants to run and hide somewhere, but to his credit he takes a step closer. After swallowing so hard that his Adam’s apple looks like the weight on one of those strong man things at the carnival, he introduces himself and volleys this first question.
“I’m Dr. Rybarceski, the medical examiner. I performed autopsies on the victims we found and can tell you that the bodies have been identified as those of Gerald and Bitsy Heinrich.”
“Can you tell us how they died?” Aaron asks.
“It appears they both died of injuries sustained in the motor vehicle crash. That’s only a preliminary finding, however, as we still have some test results we are waiting on.”
“Were they killed instantly?” Katrina asks. Sarah shoots her an evil look that impresses me. That stare could melt icebergs.
“It doesn’t appear so,” Izzy says carefully. “There was evidence to suggest they both survived the initial crash, but I can’t be sure how long at this point.”
The evil stepsiblings all exchange pointed looks and then Grace fires away with another question. “Can you tell which of them died first?”
Izzy takes a deep breath before answering. “Perhaps we can once we analyze all the evidence a bit more. But at this point I can’t answer that question.”
“Well, when can you?” Grace asks, sounding impatient. “We need to know.”
“It will probably take a few days at least,” Izzy says. “Maybe longer. We need to analyze certain fluids and examine, um, the insect activity.”
If anyone has any concerns that the idea of bugs munching on the dead bodies of their parents would bother anyone in this group, we are quickly enlightened.
“Well, get on it then,” Grace says irritably, and the others all nod. “Do whatever you need to do with what you’ve got and get us an answer.”
Izzy looks like he wants to snap back at the woman but to his credit he manages to maintain his composure. “May I ask why this information is so important to you?” he asks.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Grace says, rolling her eyes and placing her perfectly manicured hands on her hips. Aaron holds one hand up to shush her and smiles at Izzy.
“It seems there are some issues with the wills,” he explains. “As you may or may not know, Bitsy wasn’t my father’s first wife. I think he knew some of us didn’t approve of her or their arrangement so when he married her he changed his will. Now it says that if he dies before Bitsy, she inherits the bulk of his money. But if Bitsy precedes him in death, the money goes to us, Gerald’s children.
“Bitsy had a will as well, and it states that her entire estate will go to her children, Sarah and Tom.” He gestures toward the two-some as he says their names, then sighs heavily. “There are millions of dollars at stake here,” he says, turning his gaze on me. “And where that money goes will be determined by who died first. If Bitsy survived the crash longer than my father did, then she inherits his money and it all goes to Sarah and Tom. But if my father survived longer, it goes to us. You see our dilemma here?” He bestows that charming smile of his on me again and I find myself smiling back before I know what hit me. To add to my delight, Hurley sees it and his scowl deepens.
Izzy says, “I can’t promise you that we’ll be able to distinguish the times of death with the degree of accuracy you need. Often the best we can do is narrow it down to a chunk of hours.”
Sarah is the one to roll her eyes this time and she stomps her foot in anger. “Goddamned spoiled rich brats!” she mutters. “You don’t need the money. The trust fund your father set up already gives each of you an annual income that’s greater than most people will see in a lifetime. You’re just being greedy.”
Katrina glares at Sarah and grits her teeth. Grace says, “It’s not your money to begin with, you stupid bitch. Your mother was nothing but a cheap gold-digging whore who bewitched my father so she could get her hands on his money.”
“My mother is not a whore!” Sarah screams.
“You’re right,” Grace says, smiling smugly and catching Sarah off guard. “At least not anymore. All she is now is worm food.”
“Fuck you!” Sarah screams. She launches herself at Grace, grabbing a chunk of that dyed-perfect hair. Katrina jumps to her sister’s defense, which forces Tom to abandon Easton and join the fray to assist his outnumbered sister. Easton watches for a second, shrugs, and then joins the melee.