Tess readied the scalpel he would request in a few moments, after dictating his external findings on the decedent into the microphone attached to his scrub shirt. “No, I don’t think you ever did, Doctor.”
“Yup. My brother followed in Dad’s footsteps—he’swith the FBI in Dallas. Me? I took after our mother, sort of. She’s a research physician.”
It wasn’t often Hansen gave his assistant a glimpse into his private life. While the man talked about history, current events, books, movies, and everything else under the sun, except for politics and religion, he rarely discussed his background or his life outside the morgue. As far as Tess knew, he was single, never married, with no children, but she’d learned all that from Patty a few years ago. Heck, until two seconds ago, she hadn’t known he had any siblings. The doctor wasn’t unfriendly—he just kept his personal life, well, personal.
“Really? What field?”
“Cancer. Both my grandmothers died of it—one from ovarian, and the other from glioblastoma.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He raised his eyebrows at her. “It is what it is, Tess. We all have to die of something someday, right? While my mother searches for a way to help the living from behind her microscope, I try to do the same right here. Maybe, between the two of us, we’ll come up with some answers one day. Maybe, someday, you’ll be the one finding the answers.”
Tess had a feeling this was no longer a conversation about Hansen’s family. He confirmed it a moment later when he asked, “So, when are you going back to med school?”
“Hopefully, after Andy starts college.”
“Whitemore?”
She held out a specimen jar she knew he’d ask for in a moment. “Yes. It doesn’t make sense to apply anywhere else when that’s such an easy commute.”
“Mm-hmm. I see. Well, I spoke to a friend of mine the other day. Maybe you recognize his name—Dr. Mark Finkelstein?”
Her eyes widened. “Dr. Finkelstein?As in the dean of the Whitmore School of Medicine?That Dr. Finkelstein?”
“The one and the same. We went to med school together. Anyway, I was talking to him the other day, and he mentioned a little-known grant available to students interested in forensics. Asked if I knew of anybody willing to apply, but there’s a bit of a catch. The student must be recommended by a board-certified medical examiner—who’s in good standing—to be eligible. Now, here I am, a board-certified medical examiner—I think I’m in good standing with said board. So, I thought to myself, hmm... who do I know who might qualify and wants to go to Whitmore?”
Tess was dumbfounded, standing over a dead body, gaping at her boss, and praying she wasn’t dreaming. The corners of his mouth pulled up into a wide grin behind the plastic shield protecting his face from body fluids. “Nod your head, Tess, if you want me to get you the paperwork and write a glowing letter of recommendation.”
“I—I… um...” She finally got her neck muscles working, even if her mouth wasn’t yet, and nodded. It was unbelievable. She hadn’t been sure how she would manage financially if both she and Andy were in higher education at the same time. The money from their parents’ life insurance policies and the settlement from the lawsuit would probably cover four years of school for both of them—but there wouldn’t be much left afterward. A grant was a huge deal and would help her tremendously. “Y-yes, Dr. Hansen. Oh my! I don’t know how to thank you!”
“Just become the best medical examiner I know you can be.” He gestured to the corpse between them. “Now, shall we get back to work?”
Chapter 11
Behind the closed bedroom door, Andy turned on his computer and waited for it to boot up so he could log in. Yeah, he had two finals on Thursday and Friday, then four more crammed into next week, but he knew the material by heart for his first exams, so there was no need to study anymore tonight. He would ace both, of that he had no doubt.
Once the computer was up and running, he clicked on the browser and headed for the hacker chat room. While he scrolled through the day’s posts and replies, his phone chimed with a text.
252-555-1845:
Hi Andy it’s Kelle V. I hope you don’t mind I got your number from TJ Holland
His heart pounded in his chest. He’d been temptedto ask Kelle for her number at the end of the study session but chickened out. TJ was one of his best friends, but Andy had never told anyone about his crush on Kelle. His hands trembled slightly as he picked up the phone and began to type, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.
Hi Kelle it’s okay what’s up?
Hopefully that didn’t sound too excited or desperate. Yeah, he was overthinking this.
252-555-1845:
A few of us are going out after schl tmrrw Rocco’s Pizza wanna come with?
Holy shit.Was she asking him out? Nah, it was with a group of people. Right? Regardless, he wasn’t giving up the opportunity to hang out with her again and have a conversation that didn’t revolve around AP Chemistry.
Sure sounds like fun.
252-555-1845:
