Chapter 4
Tennyson
Half a mile from the medical examiner’s office, Ten started feeling sick to his stomach. Pain, like he’d never felt before, ripped through his abdomen and chest. His stomach felt like it was on fire. He tried taking slow, deep breaths, but it wasn’t helping. “Ronan, pull over. Quick!”
Wearing an alarmed look, Ronan did what Ten asked. “Do you need to get out of the car?”
“I don’t think so. I feel a bit better now.” Ten bent forward and rested his head on the back of Ronan’s seat. Slowly the pain began to ebb.
“What happened?” Jude asked, turning in his seat to look at Ten.
“All of a sudden I felt sick to my stomach and my chest hurt, like the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life.”
“Since you feel better now, do you think it was motion sickness or gas?” Jude asked. He reached out and set the back of his hand against Ten’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”
“I’ve had my fair share of stomach bugs,” Ten said with a grimace. “I thought maybe that’s what this was for a minute, but things changed quickly. My stomach and chest felt like they were on fire.”
“But that’s all gone now?” Ronan looked concerned. “If you need to go to the ER, say the word.”
Ten shook his head. “I don’t think I’m psychically sick. I think this has to do with the morgue.”
“You got sick all the time on the way to the prison in Walpole, but never on the way to the medical examiner’s office. You think this is a message from a spirit there?” Ronan looked worried.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Ten caught a look at Ronan in the rearview.
He looked scared. “I’m okay, Ronan. Let’s get this over with.
I have a feeling I’m gonna need tacos when we’re done.
” Every time Ten’s body reacted this way, his go-to, feel better food was always Mexican.
Tacos. Burritos. Enchiladas. Free chips and salsa.
Ronan pulled back onto the road. His eyes bounced between the road and the rearview mirror.
The Essex County Medical Examiner, Max Greenfield, didn’t know Tennyson like Vann Hoffman did.
Vann was totally on board with Tennyson’s gift and even made use of it a time or two in his personal life.
Ten wasn’t ready to reveal himself to Greenfield.
“Jude, is there anything that would make me feel like this? A poison maybe?”
“You said it felt like your stomach was on fire, right?” Jude asked, digging his phone out of his back pocket.
Ten nodded. “My chest too.” It had felt like his body was about to burst into flames.
“Potassium cyanide burns when ingested,” Jude said. “Same with strong acids, sulfuric and hydrochloric to name two.”
“Drain cleaner would do that,” Ronan added. “Anything caustic.”
“I can’t tell the medical examiner what happened to me. Can you bring it up if it’s pertinent to the Head Doe case?”
Ronan nodded. “Is your gift suggesting this information is from the head?”
“I’m not sure.” Ten didn’t know what to think. He felt like his old self again. His stomach and throat weren’t burning anymore. Maybe it was acid reflux or gas like Jude suggested, and not a spirit reaching out with a message. Ten saw the morgue up ahead. He’d find out soon enough.
Ronan parked the car and got out, moving the seat forward to let Ten out. “Code word is Everly. If you feel like you’re going to blow chunks out of either end, say her name and make a run for it. Same goes if you can’t handle the spirits coming at you.” Ronan handed Ten the keys to the Mustang.
Ten nodded and pocketed the keys. Ronan had always put his health first in situations like this. Ten was going to hang in there as long as he could to see if there was something helpful he could learn, like the name of the person who belonged to the head.
Ronan entered the building, holding the door for Ten and Jude. They walked down a long corridor, stopping in front of the double doors leading into the morgue. Ronan knocked before pushing the door open. “Dr. Greenfield?”
“Come in,” a man wearing a white medical coat over a pair of clean, blue scrubs called. “You must be detectives Byrne and O’Mara.” He pointed between them, getting their names wrong.
“O’Mara,” Ronan said. “This is my fellow detective, Jude Byrne. Lastly we have Tennyson Grimm, a Salem Police consultant.”
“Nice to meet you.” The doctor walked to the morgue drawers and pulled one out. He pulled a cloth covered bin from it and pushed the door closed with his shoulder. “This is your Head Doe.”
The smell of bleach assaulted Ten’s nose when he entered the morgue.
Everything in the room was cold and sterilized.
All the same, Ten shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
The last thing he wanted to do was touch something.
He followed behind Ronan to the table where the doctor had set the remains.
Dr. Greenfield pulled back the sheet and stepped back. Ten got his first glimpse of the head. He shut his eyes, waiting for his chest to burn. Thankfully, it did not.
“The deceased is male. He appears to be in his early to mid-thirties and in good health. At least he was until he lost his head. The cut which severed the head was clean, no hesitation marks. You can see there are no rough edges to the neck and no chopping marks to the vertebrae.” Greenfield rolled the head and pulled back the skin.
Ten’s chest and stomach started to burn again.
He took a step back from the remains and tried not to panic.
“I can hear you if you speak to me,” Ten said softly.
The pain vanished, but the spirit did not speak.
When Ten caught his breath, he turned back to the autopsy table.
At least now he knew the sensations were coming from their murder victim.
“What can you tell us about cause of death?” Jude asked, as he slowly walked around the table, examining the remains from all angles.
“Well, that’s where things get interesting.” Greenfield stood the head on end, exposing the neck and throat. “The decapitation occurred post-mortem. See how the tissue appears yellow and dry? Also note there is no sign of swelling or inflammation.”
“Is it possible that being in the freezer for the last forty plus years caused the conditions you just described?” Ronan asked.
The doctor shook his head. “There are biological reactions that take place when a body is deceased. Wounds and tissue reactions are not prevented by the act of freezing, they are preserved.”
Ronan nibbled his bottom lip. “If the decapitation didn’t kill this person, do you have any idea what did? Poison, maybe?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve sent tissue samples to the lab with a rush on the results.
Heavy metal screenings are part of every autopsy now, thanks to a grant from the state.
I’ll be back in touch when I’ve received the results.
” Dr. Greenfield glanced at his notes on the clipboard near the remains.
“I have a forensic odontologist coming in this afternoon to take x-rays and measurements in an effort to identify this man.”
Ten breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully the doctors could identify this man and get his remains back to his family.
“Last question,” Jude began. “Is there any way to tell what kind of instrument severed the head?”
“As I said earlier, a single stroke was used.” Greenfield turned the head so the neck could be seen from the side.
“The cut was even all around. I believe the body was lying prone on an even surface. A strong and sharp instrument was used. Something like a sword or a heavy-duty meat cleaver. A bevel-edged cleaver would also explain why the vertebrae aren’t damaged or chipped.
” Dr. Greenfield covered the remains and placed them back in the morgue drawer.
“Without the rest of the body to examine, I won’t be able to give you a complete determination on cause or manner of death.
Find me the rest of this man’s remains and I’ll be able to give you a clearer answer. ”
“Thanks, Doc.” Ronan shook Greenfield’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.”
Ten nodded to the doctor and walked as fast as he could out of the morgue. He began to run when he reached the hallway. Bursting out into the cold March air, Ten breathed deeply. He bent double and focused on keeping his eggs and bacon from making a reappearance.
“Ten! Are you okay?” Ronan asked, as he ran up behind his husband.
Ten straightened and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Ronan pulled Ten into a tight hug. “I’m sorry I brought you here.”
“I’m okay,” Ten said, pushing back. “It happened again when we were in the morgue. I told the spirit I could speak with them and my chest stopped hurting. That was it.”
“What about other spirits? Were you being mobbed by them?”
Ten shook his head. “I think that was the strangest thing about this trip. I didn’t hear a single peep from any other ghosts, but then again, there haven’t been any-”
Ronan set his hand over Ten’s mouth. “Do not jinx us.” He grinned
Ten had been about to say that the most likely reason for the morgue being empty of spirits was because there hadn’t been any murders committed in Salem recently. He understood completely why Ronan had wanted to shut him up.
“Who’s in the mood for tacos?” Jude asked, jogging up to Ten and Ronan. “Now that I’ve dropped the kids off at the pool, I’m ready to eat!” Jude patted his stomach.
Ronan snorted and started to laugh. “I fucking missed you and the ridiculous shit that comes out of your mouth.”
“Same pal. Now let’s find some grub!” Jude opened the Mustang door and held the seat back for Tennyson.
When Jude was injured and out of work recovering, Ronan had changed.
He wasn’t as happy as he always was. Having Jude back was going to be good for Ronan.
As for Ten, even though he hadn’t tossed his cookies, Ten was definitely in the mood for Mexican food.
There was always room for tacos!