The Body Mafia Read Online Free PDF

looked at the names on the paper. “Dr. Donovan Esposito and Dr. Neal Schmidt? I’ve never heard of either one of these men before.”
    “I can assure you they exist, each with a flourishing practice in Cleveland. They’re subcontracted by LifeTech to perform the tissue removals in this area. All of the doctors contracted by the company are out of Cleveland and assigned certain districts. When a procedure needs to be done, they fly by private plane so they can get here quickly.”
    “That makes no sense at all. Why wouldn’t they use local doctors?”
    “Because not all are qualified to perform such procedures, and they want the best. LifeTech opens subposts, as you call them, in areas with a high homeless population. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati are givens, but also in the smaller cities: Mansfield, Youngstown, Akron, and Lima. You get it?”
    “I got it.” Not that I really did.
    “Now, Sergeant, if you’ll excuse me.” He stood up. “I really need to attend to some things. I’ll be in touch with the rest of the list.”
    “I probably shouldn’t hold my breath, should I?” I smiled.
    Returning the smile, he led me to the front door. I had to admit, everything about LifeTech sounded solid, but it was Steven Snyder himself who bothered me. He was hiding something, but I didn’t know if I should chalk it up to the genuine weirdness of a funeral director or to something else. Folding up thepiece of paper with the doctors’ names and putting it in my purse, I jumped a little when my cell phone blared to life.
    “Hi, honey, it’s me.” Michael’s soothing voice came through the phone.
    “Michael! I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all day, for crying out loud. How come you haven’t called me?” A sense of relief washed over me.
    “Honey, I’ve been busy, but guess who’s on his way home right now?”
    “You are!” I looked at my watch. “I didn’t realize how late it was. So, you’re finally going to be home before dark, huh? I guess I should make it worth my while and beat you there.”
    “You could make it worth my while and be naked by the time I get home.”
    “Sounds good to me.”
    I stopped and grabbed Chinese takeout on my way home. It had been a while since Michael and I had time together, and I didn’t want to spend it cooking—not that I cooked much anyway. I wasn’t naked when Michael got home, but planned to be so later. My plans turned into fantasy when, immediately after dinner, Michael’s office phone started ringing. Once again, he stayed behind a closed door. Cleaning up our dishes, I found myself slamming plates into the dishwasher out of sheer frustration. After several minutes of the clanking dishes, Michael came into the kitchen.
    “What the hell is going on?”
    “Nothing, babe, I’m just cleaning up after dinner.” I literally dumped a handful of silverware right onto the rack before slamming the dishwasher door and turning it on.
    “You have to put the silverware in the trays or they’ll fly all over the place.” He walked over to the dishwasher, turned it off, and opened it.
    When he was finished, he came up behind me and stood while I opened a bottle of wine, which I fully intended to finish before the night was over. Feeling his hand on my shoulder, I quickly shrugged it off.
    “All right, I know you’re mad…I’m sorry.” His pleas falling on deaf ears, he continued. “For Christ’s sake, CeeCee, you know how our jobs are! I can’t just ignore things, just like you can’t.”
    I turned around and grabbed my briefcase, pulling out the Daniel Huber murder file.
    “You may not be able to ignore things, but I can.” I let the file drop onto the floor. “I can ignore this for six whole hours to spend time with my husband. Unlike you, obviously, I’ve learned that life is too short to be consumed by this fucking job!” I was on the verge of tears.
    He sighed and took my hand. “Come with me.”
    He led me into his office and made me