An Apple for Zoë ~ The Forsaken Read Online Free PDF Page B

Kirkland. Roberts resumed talking into his recorder once again dictating the current state of the body. Stopping he placed his hand on her chin. Slowly turning her head left and then repeating the ritual by turning it to the right. Confused both James and Kirkland watched him.
    "This girl has had a cerebral hemorrhage," said Roberts.
    James pulled himself away from the wall.  
    "Really?"
    Roberts motioned for James to come join him.  
    "Look there, the eye on the right. See how the pupil is all the way open and the eye on the left appears to be normal?"
    James nodded his understanding.
    "Her brain has been blown out. I guarantee once we get inside the skull there will be blood, this may not be a homicide boys."
    James was suddenly confounded.  
    "Wait a second, this girl was alive last night at a club with another girl. I know it's odd she ended up in a funeral home ahead of schedule, but how can you say it might not be a homicide?"
    "Come on, Tom, this sort of thing can be congenital, weak arteries, high blood pressure, habitual cocaine abuse. How do you know she's not a junkie?"
    "So she just brings a life sized portrait of herself to the local mortuary, finds a casket she fancies, shoots a little smack and hops in?" James asked. "Come on Larry, look at her, she's beautiful. I admit that she's dead, but does she look like a junkie?"
      Roberts put his recorder down. "Remember your first case, the 10-year-old girl? Same thing, her grandfather said she slept all weekend long, he thought she had the flu, when he finally came in to wake her up she had been dead two days."
    "I remember."
    Kirkland cut into the conversation. "So what was it?"
    Roberts turned to him. "We couldn't figure out what had happened based on the history. Then I saw the overly dilated pupil. Examined her arms for signs of shooting up, nothing. Then I remembered a colleague of mine had dealt with a similar case. You remember what I did Tom?" asked the doctor.
    "Yeah, you looked between her fingers with a magnifying glass."
    "Exactly, and that's where we found the needle marks."  
    Kirkland was stunned. "You're kidding me. A 10-year-old was shooting cocaine?"
    "Wayne, get my magnifying glass," ordered Roberts.    
    In moments the doctor was checking Amanda's hands. From his expression James could tell he wasn't finding anything. Roberts then moved down to the girl's feet and spread her toes. His expression changed once again to one of triumph.  
    "Bingo," said Roberts.  
    Kirkland shook his head in denial.  
    "She actually shot up between her toes?"
    "That means she's hiding her drug use from someone," said James.
    "Is it possible, Dr. Roberts, she didn't inject herself?" asked Kirkland.
    "You're suggesting perhaps that her injections were forced?" quizzed the pathologist.
    "Yeah."
    "Sure it's possible, but I don't see any signs that her feet or ankles had been bound or held down."
    Their attention was suddenly taken to the swinging doors. Stillwell stood out of breath. His faced covered in sweat and his complexion pale.
    "Tom, you're not going to believe this! You're old guy, 84-year-old Richard Skylar. He's not Richard Skylar at all. He's 95-year-old, Hermann Kritzler."
    "Okay, so the old guy lied about his age and changed his name. Big deal," said Kirkland.
    "Who the hell is Hermann Kritzler?" asked James as he saw Roberts face go white.  
    "Reinhard's rapist," said the doctor in a hollow tone.  
    "Reinhard's what? What are you guys talking about?" asked James.
    "Reinhard Heydrich was Himmler's number one man. He ran the Belzek death camp. Kritzler, was chosen to organize transportation of Poles and Jews to Belzek," said Roberts.
    "This guy is a Nazi?" asked Kirkland
    "He's not just any Nazi, he's a Nazi who actually begged and bribed Heydrich for his position at Belzek. A position that gave him total control over deciding which women would go immediately to the gas chambers and which would be selected for his special project."
    "Special