Chapter 11
11
Cora walked into the apartment and looked around. The small room was decorated with years of memories. Shelves with framed photographs crowded together among figurines. The worn sofa held a multicolored, hand-crocheted blanket. The lift chair was newer and had similar crocheted arm covers.
The lace curtains covering the blinds were yellowed with age but appeared clean. She looked up as the EMT walked in behind a deputy. She didn’t recognize the rescue worker, so she nodded in her direction. “I’m Dr. Wadsworth, the medical examiner.”
“Sally McKenzie. I’m with the North Heron Rescue Squad. The woman is in her bedroom. There was no one else around. Her daughter came over this morning and found her.” She leaned closer and whispered, “The daughter is still in there.”
“Thank you,” Cora said, walking past them. She was in full PPE until she could see the situation for herself. She entered the bedroom, her gaze once more taking in the setting. An antique bed appeared to have had the legs shortened so the elderly woman could get in and out without too much difficulty. A rocking chair sat nearby, with a nightstand and lamp. A Bible rested on the nightstand. The room was clean, just like the rest of the house she’d observed. Another crocheted blanket covered the bed. The covers were pulled up to the chin of the elderly white-haired woman lying on her back with her head resting on the pillow.
A gray-haired woman stood at the window, looking at the small backyard. She turned as Cora entered, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Ma’am, I’m Dr. Wadsworth, the medical examiner. Don’t be concerned about my protective covering. It’s my job to ensure that your mother is treated with care.”
The woman nodded. “I’m Mary Salisbury. This is… was… this is my mom, Carol Sue Hudgins.” She swallowed deeply, tears tracking down her face. “It’s not unexpected, but I… didn’t… I…”
“Mary, is there someone you can call? Someone who can come to be with you?”
“I called my husband. He had to care for the cows but is on his way now. He should be here any minute.”
“Okay, good. I will have some questions for you later. You may stay here, but you might be more comfortable waiting in the living room?—”
“No, I’d prefer to stay with Mama.”
Cora noted the reverence in Mary’s tone and nodded. She walked over and confirmed that the woman was deceased. She looked at her watch and glanced toward her technician, who had entered the room. “Carl, the time of death is nine fifty-two.”
“But she was… gone when I arrived earlier this morning.”
Looking at Mary, she explained, “Since the actual time cannot be determined, it becomes when a doctor pronounces the death.”
“Oh, okay,” Mary said, her hands twisting together.
“You have identified her as your mother, Carol Sue Hudgins, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cora knew that Carl was keeping notations, so she continued. “What was your mother’s medical condition, if any?”
“Her kidneys were failing. Her doctor is Dr. Nielson at the clinic near the hospital.”
“I know Dr. Nielson. Thank you for the information. It will make getting her records very easy.” Cora kept her voice soft.
“She was in palliative care and had a home health nurse stopping by weekly. But I didn’t know that she was this close to… well… I thought we had more time.” More tears fell, and Mary swiped at them.
“I understand, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”
A noise was heard at the doorway, and a large man wearing overalls and a barn coat rushed inside the room as Mary cried, “Martin!”
He wrapped his arms around Mary and held her close as he gazed toward the bed. Tears filled his eyes. “Oh, Mama Hudgins,” he whispered, then tightened his grip on Mary.
Cora gave them a few minutes before stepping closer. She introduced herself to Mary’s husband, then said, “I need to explain what happens next. The paramedics will take Mrs. Hudgins’s body to the hospital morgue?—”
“The morgue? But we thought it would just go to the funeral home. We’ve already made arrangements with Snyder Funeral Home. And we’ve called Mama’s pastor.”
“That’s perfectly fine. But we need to check her records and determine the cause of death officially. I will be the one who signs the death certificate, and then Snyder Funeral Home will be able to transport the body. I know this is all new to you, but it’s standard procedure when a person dies alone.”
Mary’s expression appeared lost, but Martin nodded. “I understand. I can call Mr. Snyder and our pastor and let them know.”
“Mr. Salisbury, I think it would be best if you took your wife outside. It can be upsetting to see the paramedics as they transport her. I have assured your wife that we will treat her mother with the utmost dignity.”
He nodded again. “I remember this several years ago when my daddy died at home and was all alone.” He guided Mary out of the room, and she waited until Carl stepped to the doorway and held his gaze.
“They’ve walked outside,” Carl said.
She pulled the bedcovers back and did a quick examination. Once complete, she nodded to Carl. The EMTs came in and carefully took care of the body before placing it on the gurney. Cora stepped over to the nightstand and snapped a picture of the pill bottles nearby.
“Ask one of the deputies to come in, please,” she requested.
The female deputy she had seen earlier walked in. Unsure if the deputy had attended a death before, Cora explained, “I need you to accompany me into the bathroom where we can check for medication.” The deputy nodded, and Cora led the way. She snapped pictures in the bathroom, and then they opened the medicine cabinet, where she examined each container. Most still had pills in them, but several were empty.
“I’ll need evidence bags,” Cora said. The deputy quickly walked back outside and returned with several. Cora placed the medication into the evidence bags and handed it to Carl for identification. She then followed the same procedure with the medication that was on the nightstand.
While there was nothing suspicious, it was her job to make sure. She found nothing out of the ordinary while looking around the bedroom. She walked out with Carl and told the deputy, “I’m finished here. If the North Heron Sheriff’s Department has a reason to search, that’s on them. At this point, I’m not seeing anything suspicious.”
“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll let my superiors know.”
With that, she and Carl headed back to the hospital. She checked with Dr. Nielsen and received the records, discovering that Mary’s report was correct. Her mother was in the late stages of kidney failure, and her doctor was not surprised she had died during the night.
She called Karen Drummond from the home health program. After explaining who she’d been to see, she asked, “There were empty prescription pill bottles in the medicine cabinet. They seem to be the same as the ones that were filled. Do you know the reason for that?”
“For some reason, Mary was afraid to throw out any of her mom’s prescription bottles. I thought I had convinced her she didn’t need to keep the empty ones because the pharmacist would simply give her a new one. Then she got into the habit of saving the last prescription bottle when she picked up a prescription for her mom. This had been going on for a while, and when I checked her medication each week, nothing was untoward about her number of pills.”
Thanking Karen, she disconnected, then finished her report, determining that Carol Sue Hudgins’s death was due to kidney failure, and the death was not suspicious. She filled out the form for the death certificate, and after it was brought to her, she double-checked the information, then signed and dated the form. Looking over at Janice, she said, “You can call Snyder Funeral Home and let them know they can pick up Mrs. Hudgins’s body.”
Cora glanced at the clock on the wall and realized she had worked straight through lunch. Thinking of the lunch Jeremy had brought the week before, she sighed. It had been delicious, and she was touched he’d thought of her. Snorting, she shook her head. Of course, he needed something from her, so it was more like a bribe than a thoughtful gesture.
Her stomach rumbled. It was midafternoon, but she had plenty of work to keep her busy. She couldn’t wait until the day was over. She wanted to see the cats, plus the unseasonably warm weather made her decide that a walk on the beach was just what her mood needed.
* * *
Jeremy and Pete parked outside Ed Evans’s house and walked to the front door. When they arrived, it was thrown open, and Ed greeted them with a broad smile and a booming welcome.
Ed had been the police chief for Baytown years before. He had taken over for his father, and now Ed’s son, Mitch, had taken over for him. Jeremy and Pete were friends with Mitch, but they wanted to talk to Ed since they hoped he might know more about older American Legion members.
Ed welcomed them into the living room, and a group was already waiting for them—men who had grown up on the shore and were now retired. Their children were taking multiple jobs on the Eastern Shore, too. Ed’s brother, Steve, walked over to shake their hands. Toby Wilder, Eric McFarlane, David Bayles, and Thomas Ward warmly greeted them.
They smiled as Ed’s wife, Nancy, walked in with glasses of iced tea. She headed back to the kitchen, leaving them ready to ask questions.
“We wanted to ask you about Robert Stewart and Henry Miller, who died recently. I know they’re quite a bit older than you, but they had been members of the American Legion. Neither Pete nor I met them, and we were hoping you might have some information.”
“I know who you’re talking about.” Ed nodded as his brow furrowed. “I know there might not be a lot you can tell me, but it would help if I knew if there was something specific you wanted to know.”
“We’re looking into suspicious deaths. By now, you’ve probably heard of the accident that claimed Fred Rudolph, another older man in the county. I think the write-up was in the newspaper.”
The other men nodded, several murmuring that they had read the article.
Jeremy continued. “It appeared that Fred had not been taking his medication and suffered a heart failure that caused the accident.”
Thomas shook his head slowly. “My wife and I knew Mrs. Adams, who was killed in that accident. Not well, mind you, but she belonged to the auxiliary, and we had worked a bake sale with her once.”
“Tragic,” Eric said, also shaking his head.
Pete nodded his agreement. “We’re looking for a connection besides just two men being part of the American Legion. We’re looking to see how well they might’ve known each other. Did they have a close relationship or relationships with others? We don’t have any suspicions about the American Legion, but these two men are tied into two deaths that also are suspicious.”
Ed rubbed his chin. “I’ve had a few conversations with them, but not alone. Sometimes our older members cannot attend many of our activities other than a meeting, and I like to ensure they still feel a part of the community.”
Toby said, “I ran into Henry at the grocery store several months ago. He was having car trouble, so I called Jason’s place to have him towed so they could work on his car. Besides that, I’m afraid I’ve had no reason to talk to him or Fred.”
Thomas shook his head. “I feel like we’re not giving you anything, but I can’t say I’ve had a conversation with either of them.”
Jeremy and Pete shared a look, both nodding. “It was a long shot,” Pete said. “We’ve got four elderly people who have similar suspicious deaths, and we’re looking for any tie between the four. So far, we’re coming up with very little. Helen McCarthy was the fourth one.”
“What all have you looked at?” Ed asked. He immediately blushed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. It’s the law enforcer in me. Always asking the next question.”
Jeremy chuckled. “No offense taken. Believe me, we’re willing to take any information we can get.”
Pete continued, “We’ve looked at any connection. Two of them went to the same church, but when we talked to the minister, they had minimal overlap. Two of them had their prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy, but that was their only overlap. Two belong to the American Legion.”
“It would just help to find something that connected all four,” Jeremy said. “Then we could trace that back and have a better idea of what was happening with their prescription drugs.”
Steve’s brows raised. “Now I understand why the drug task force is on this case.”
Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, for some reason, these four people were not taking their prescriptions, but neither were the medications found in their homes when they died.”
“Damn,” Ed said. He rubbed his chin again. “I offered to pick them up and bring them to some activities they might want. Now, mind you, I didn’t speak only to them, but it was an offer made to any of our older members who could no longer drive at night and might not have someone who could bring them to activities.”
“We heard the same thing from the minister. Do you know if Henry and Fred ever took anyone up on that?”
“They didn’t take me up on my offer, but I know they showed up at the last holiday bazaar we hosted. It never dawned on me to find out who brought them, but I remember telling Fred I was glad he could come but didn’t see Henry after they first walked in. As you remember, we had a lot of people wanting to buy baked goods and Christmas gifts as part of our fundraiser.”
Steve leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. “Would you like us to make some calls? We could check with some of our members to see who might have offered rides to them.”
Again, Jeremy and Pete looked at each other and nodded. “You can give us names once you find out. We’d appreciate any help you can offer.”
“It’s not a problem,” Steve said. He looked at his brother, Ed, and said, “It shouldn’t take us long to go through the roster, and we can just check to see who the drivers were.”
They stood to leave, and Nancy walked back in from the kitchen. She blushed, then offered a smile toward Ed. “Perhaps it’s because I was the daughter-in-law of a police chief, the wife of a police chief, and now the mother of a police chief,” she began, “but I overheard the last part of what you were saying. I don’t know about the man, but I can tell you that Helen came to a few American Legion auxiliary meetings. She decided not to become a member officially, but I talked with her. She said she was interested, but her eyesight was going, and driving was tricky. I told her members would happily pick her up and bring her. She never returned to one of our meetings, but I saw her several times at bingo.”
At that word, Jeremy and Pete both jerked slightly. “Bingo?” they said simultaneously.
“I believe it was at the firehouse. This is embarrassing because I don’t play bingo very often, but a group of us will go to a few churches, fire stations, and organizations and play about once a month. I’m almost positive I saw her at the fire station.” She winced and added, “My memory isn’t as good as it used to be.”
“No, that’s good information,” Jeremy said. “Like I said, at this point, we’re going for any connection we can find. We’ve got an intern already digging into some bingo places, so we’ll be sure to give her that information.”
With goodbyes offered, they headed back to the station. As Pete drove, Jeremy closed his eyes and sighed heavily. So far, they were getting nowhere with this case. Opening his eyes, he realized what a beautiful day it was. “I’m not going to work late today,” he said. “This feels like a day I need to kayak. Get out on the water, enjoy the sunshine, and give my brain a break.”
Pete nodded. “That makes sense. Clear your mind, then we can come back fresh tomorrow.”
Jeremy agreed, but as he turned the case over in his mind, he knew that sometimes tomorrow wouldn’t bring any answers either.