“You won’t believe this, but she knew the patient personally,” Jack said. “That was what keyed off her orgy of profanity. She was mad the person got hit by a train and died because she was supposed to help her. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a worse case of self-centered lack of empathy in my life.”
“I can tell you that she’s not been concerned about my feelings,” Chet said. “I’ve been victimized by her profanity, too. I mean, I’m not as bothered by profanity as you are, but in my case it was specifically directed at me.”
“Did you really ask her to have a drink sometime?” Jack said. “You should have your head examined. Especially in this day and age and you essentially being her boss. What were you thinking?”
“Hey, I wasn’t thinking,” Chet confessed. “I’d just met her, she said she was single, and there was something vaguely appealing about her before she opened her foul mouth.”
“You must be more desperate than I realized,” Jack said. “She’s the last person you should have a drink with, so in some ways maybe she did you a favor. Anyway, Laurie asked me to help you with her, God knows why, with my short fuse. So how can I help?”
“You’re already helping, bro,” Chet said. “You’ve kept her entertained two days in a row. I owe you.” Chet glanced around Jack and watched Aria for a beat as she was examining the heart. “Are you letting her do the case like Laurie did?”
“I am,” Jack said. “I hadn’t necessarily planned it, but after what Laurie said yesterday, I thought it might be best for everyone. She’s got good hands, and she’s definitely savvy.”
“I’m running out of people to ask to let her assist,” Chet said. “She pretty much turns everybody off.”
“I’ve got another case that I know of after this one,” Jack said. “Why don’t you let her stay with me. I’ll offer her that case, too. At least that will let you get through today. And who knows, if she continues to act like she has during this case, I can tolerate her.”
“You got her,” Chet said. “Have fun!”
“Yeah, sure,” Jack said. He turned away and walked back to where she was working on the heart. He could tell she was nearly finished.
“I’m surprised, but this is a normal heart,” Aria said when she became aware of Jack’s presence. She stepped to the side so Jack could take a look at the opened organ. “There are absolutely no signs of any heart disease or congenital abnormalities like I expected. Of course, we can’t rule out a channelopathy, but if she had a channelopathy, chances are there would have been a history of cardiac rhythm problems. The MLI report says there was none, so we’re back to square one.”
“I’m surprised, too,” Jack said as he picked up the heart and quickly glanced at its interior and at the coronary vessels. A moment later he put the organ back on the cutting board. “I agree. The heart’s clean. I would have put money on some anatomical cardiac abnormality. I guess we’ll have to wait for Toxicology to provide us with some answers, or Molecular Biology concerning the possibility of a channelopathy. We are certainly going to need to get her entire hospital record for this latest Bellevue admission and any other hospitalization she’s had while growing up in Missouri. Meanwhile, why don’t you go ahead and finish this case?”
The rest of the autopsy proceeded rapidly as there was no pathology to speak of except for the skull portion, where it was important to expose the fracture lines. As soon as Aria was finished, she stripped off her double-layered gloves, tossed them onto the cadaver, and started for the door. Jack, who was finishing a diagram of Madison’s external injuries, had been planning on making sure that she didn’t do a repeat of her disappearing act like she’d done the previous day, but she again took him by surprise.
“Hey!” Jack called out. “Dr. Nichols! Hold up.”
Still holding the diagram and the pencil he was using, Jack caught up with Aria, who had gotten halfway to the exit. “This is not how we MEs end autopsies here at the OCME,” he said. “It’s customary to help get the body off the table as well as organize the specimen jars, decontaminate them, and make sure they are all labeled properly.”
She went up on her tiptoes to see over Jack’s shoulder. She could see that Vinnie was guiding one of the gurneys next to the autopsy table. She looked at Jack. They were both still wearing plastic facial shields, and neither could really see the other’s expression. “I’m not an ME nor am I a mortuary technician,” Aria declared as if the issue wasn’t up for discussion. “And I’ve got something more important to do. I have to check my phone about getting information on the case I did with Dr. Montgomery.”
“You’re scheduled to be with me for the next autopsy,” Jack said. “I’m going to suggest you do that one, too, but I expect you to carry your own weight, which means helping out.”
“I’ll be back,” Aria said. “I appreciate you letting me actually do the case rather than having me just standing around sucking my thumb. And it is damn appropriate, considering in a month I’ll be in my last year as a pathology resident. But I’m not a mortuary technician, nor a janitor.”
“This isn’t an argument,” Jack said. “Vinnie needs some help because all the other mortuary technicians are busy, which you could see if you just looked around. And I have to go upstairs to see the chief in between cases.” Jack was dying to find out if Laurie had heard from her surgeon about when her surgery was to take place. He was afraid it was going to be as soon as tomorrow.
“That’s their problem, not mine,” Aria said dismissively. “I became a doctor so I didn’t have to do that kind of shit.” She turned around and recommenced heading for the door.
Once again Jack was dumbfounded, and before he gave any thoughtto the propriety of what he was about to do, he quickly caught up to her and grabbed her left arm just above the elbow, yanking her to a stop. Aria reacted with even more speed by twirling around and using a karate-like blow to free her arm. “Don’t you dare touch me,” she snarled, loud enough for most people in the pit to hear.
The background conversation and activity in the autopsy room suddenly stopped, and for the briefest moment there was a pregnant silence as people either turned their heads or raised their eyes to stare at the two people glaring at each other. But then Aria broke off and continued to the door, which she shoved open with an outstretched hand, like a football player stiff-arming an opponent.
In the next instant all the conversations and activities in the room resumed as if nothing had happened. Jack took a deep breath, realizing that he had his fists balled despite still holding the pencil and the now crumpled trauma diagram. With a twinge of embarrassment, he glanced around to see if anyone was still looking at him, but no one seemed to until he locked eyes with Chet, who immediately came over.
“What on earth was that about?” he asked in a forced whisper.
“I almost lost it again,” Jack said with a shake of his head. “She certainly knows how to push buttons. I was just trying to get her to help clean up and prepare for the next case.”
“Did she tell you to fuck off like she told me?” Chet questioned with a smirk.
Jack shot his former roommate a sharp glance. They had shared an office at the OCME for several years, back when they’d been first employed. “Don’t you start,” Jack warned, but then added a laugh. He knew that Chet was teasing him, and he knew he deserved it.
“Do you want to renege on having to put up with her for another case?” Chet asked. “I’m sure I could find someone. Maybe you deserve a rest.”
“No, I’ll do it,” Jack said. “I told Laurie I’d help with her, and I’ll see it through. It’s my cross to bear.”
