even though we all know her.”
“Is the final autopsy report completed yet?” I asked, wanting as much information as possible to make sure this was consistent with hiking accidents.
“Not yet. Should be done first thing in the morning,” he said and picked up his keys to get going.
“You don’t want to swing by and make sure Krista’s OK?” I asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’ll give her a call on the way.” He pulled out his cell phone to call. She must have picked up on the last ring before going to voicemail because he seemed to wait forever to talk.
“Krista, is Judy still with you?” he asked. I could only hear one side of the conversation. “She told you the news I guess. . .Yes, it’s really Sarah. . .We’re on our way to Jack’s right now to notify him. . .He’ll have to come to the station with us to identify the body and give a statement, but I’ll let you know when I’m on my way home. . .I’ll pick up dinner, don’t worry about it. . .Love you too.”
As nice as it was having Judy home again, I felt lonely listening to him take care of his wife and realized that’s what I was missing in my life.
***
“Allen. Sam,” Jack greeted us at the door to his house that he’d shared with Sarah until recently.
“Jack. Welcome home,” I said.
“Thanks, I just got back about ten minutes ago. Good timing on stopping by. You working in the area?” he asked. There had been a few occasions in the past that we might be working late on his side of town and I’d drop off Allen for dinner if Krista was already over there. We’d never stopped by before unexpectedly or without Krista and Sarah already hanging out.
“No, we’re actually here on official business,” Allen said.
“Oh.” Jack’s face dropped. He knew enough to know that us showing up wasn’t a good thing if it was work related. “Can I get you some water? Something else to drink? Something to eat?” He was suddenly a bit more nervous, as I would have been too.
“We’re fine. Can we come in and have a seat?” Allen asked.
“Of course,” Jack said and turned and led the way to the kitchen. We each took a seat at a round table with four chairs. “What’s this about?”
“Jack, we found Sarah’s body yesterday. She was hiking and took a fall. The time of death was Sunday afternoon,” I said matter of factly, needing to get it all out at once so he would hear it.
“Sunday,” he said after his face had lost all color and his eyes were unseeing.
“Yes, she died on Sunday and her body was found yesterday,” I repeated.
“I was out of town Sunday. What happened?” he asked.
“It looks like she was hiking and got caught in a torrential downpour. A big storm came through Sunday around noon and lasted several hours. She was likely near the top of Mount Potash when the weather turned and she was heading down. Her body was found at the base of a cliff. The autopsy report will be finished by the morning and we’ll be sure to let you know. But right now we need you to come identify the body and collect the items that were found on her,” I finished.
“I can do that,” he said without looking up. He was in shock.
“I know this is really hard, and we’re all very sorry for your loss, but we’ll also have to get a statement from you. Just about where you were and when you left.”
“OK.” His eyes were still unfocused and looking at nothing.
***
“Jack, I’m Dr. Liddell,” the medical examiner introduced himself when we brought Jack into the morgue. “I’m very sorry for your loss. I know this is a hard time for you, but we need you to confirm the body.”
“OK.” Jack was still in shock and answering in one word answers.
Dr. Liddell pulled the sheet back that had been covering Sarah and Jack looked away.
“It’s her,” he whispered. Tears came to his