Imperious

by C. M. Sutter

  “I’m beginning the initial exam, and honestly, I haven’t seen anything yet that looks suspicious.”

  Amber stepped closer and studied Daphne’s body. “No signs of a struggle, strangulation, or suffocation?”

  “Homicidal suffocation is hard to detect unless we had a crime scene such as a bed and a pillow. If she had been strangled, there would have been evidence around her neck and petechiae in the whites of her eyes, which she doesn’t have.”

  I leaned against the wall of cabinets and began coughing. Amber and Lena glanced up at me then continued talking. My chest began to tighten just as before, and my left shoulder down to my elbow ached. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe.

  “I need to leave.” I quickly exited the autopsy room and ran for the outer door that opened to the hallway. I caught my breath as I held the handrail and panted.

  Amber followed me out. “What the hell? Are you okay?”

  “No, I felt like I was having a heart attack. It’s going away now.” I rested my head against the wall and sucked in mouthfuls of air. “You need to ask Lena if it’s possible that Daphne died of a heart attack.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am—dead serious.” I took in long, slow breaths to relax my body as I rubbed the numbness out of my shoulder. “I have to go upstairs and do some research. Find out if Lena has Becca’s blood work results yet. We need to know what was wrong with her stomach and throat.”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll ask.”

  “Then ask her to come upstairs as soon as she has time so I can go over possible causes of death with her.” I glanced down the hallway. “I can’t go back in there.”

  “I will.” Amber squeezed my hand. “Can you get upstairs on your own?”

  “Yeah, I should be okay as long as I stay away from the victims.”

  Upstairs, I was glad to be at my desk and alone. I didn’t want eye-rolls or ridicule. I was certain Amber and Lena thought I was crazy as it was. I needed to find documented cases of transference in order to be taken seriously. First, I had to record my own physical symptoms, starting with Becca. When I stood alongside her body, I had developed severe stomach pain, nausea, and the taste of bile. It came out of the blue with no earlier indications of feeling ill, and then it happened again later when I attempted to enter Lena’s office. It went away when I backed out. I wrote that down, then thought about earlier, as I stood in the parking lot near Daphne’s car. My chest tightened, I had trouble breathing, and I found myself coughing for no apparent reason. Once again, it happened downstairs in the autopsy room when I was in the same vicinity as Daphne.

  There has to be a connection. Are they trying to tell me how they died? What else could it be?

  I found stories of empathetic transference and psychic energy moving from person to person yet proving that someone could literally feel the same symptoms that caused the death of another human being was hard for even me to accept. Some psychics swore they were conduits between the dead and the living, but not many people took psychics seriously. I felt I was on my own and would have to convince Lena to check for possible ways Becca and Daphne might have died.

  Chapter 20

  I checked the time as I completed my online research. It was nearing one o’clock. Amber busied herself at her desk and glanced over when I rolled my neck.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “I found what was documented, but of course that information comes from the psychics themselves, not an impartial outside source. When is Lena coming up?”

  Amber shrugged. “She said she would when she had something to tell us.”

  I shook my head with frustration.

  Amber set down her pen and closed the report she had been working on. “We’re taking your claims seriously, Kate, she’s just really busy now that there’s two dead students downstairs and families that want answers.”

  “Right, and I could help narrow down the causes of death if she’d give me a minute of her time.”

  “She needs to do her job, and she didn’t have the blood work report yet, anyway.” Amber pushed back her chair and got up. She filled two cups at the coffee station at the far end of the room then handed one to me and sat back down.

  “Thanks.”

  She nodded. “Can I be candid with you?”

  “I suppose so even though I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say.”

  Amber sighed. “Put yourself in the place of Becca and Daphne’s families. They want to know why their healthy daughters died. Whose report do you think they’ll take seriously, a medical examiner’s or a psychic’s?”

  I stared. “Wow, that was really harsh.”

  “No, it was honest. Law enforcement knows your history of solving crimes, but the public—especially grieving parents—doesn’t want to hear that. They want facts.”

  I was about to start my rebuttal when the beep from the security door sounded. I looked over my shoulder to see Clayton, Billings, and Jack walk in.

  Jack jerked his chin toward the hallway. “Kate and Amber, gather your notes. We’re headed to the conference room.”

  Moments later, with paperwork scattered across the table, the five of us sat in the conference room and began brainstorming.

  Chad and Adam had interviewed dozens of students and professors. They all said Becca and Daphne seemed like well-adjusted young ladies with plans for the future. Becca didn’t have a boyfriend, but her love of sports kept her busy. According to her professors, she did okay academically although chemistry was her weak spot. Jennifer described Daphne as someone who was focused on her career goals, but because she was so wrapped up in Vince, her studies suffered. Both girls had a bad case of nerves over finals week, and both were being privately tutored.

  “Did they have any classes in common?” Amber asked.

  I fidgeted and waited for my opportunity to speak. I needed to explain my theory again and that I had new symptoms similar to a heart attack when I was near Daphne’s body. There had to be a reason it was happening now since being around deceased victims had never made me physically ill before.

  Clayton checked his notes. “They both had chemistry lab. Daphne was fifteen months older than Becca and ready to graduate with her associate degree, so they weren’t actually in the same class, so to speak. They may not have even known each other or had friends in common. We haven’t checked that out yet.”

  Jack scratched his forehead. “And what was it Becca wanted to be after completing college?”

  Billings spoke up. “Something in biochemistry, her folks said. No idea what career fields that involves, but it sounds like master’s degree stuff.”

  “That’s right, and Daphne’s parents haven’t been interviewed yet.” Jack glanced at the clock. “As a matter of fact, they should be arriving any minute. We’ll have to pick up where we left off after I speak to them.”

  “But, Boss—”

  The conference room phone rang as I was about to plead my case. Jack answered, said a few words, and hung up. “Yep, we’ll continue this later. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are here. You guys keep at it. Find a connection between both girls, someone or something they had in common.” He stood, rounded the table, and walked out.

  “Damn it.”

  Clayton and Billings gave me a side-eyed glance.

  “What?” Clayton asked.

  “Can somebody give me a second to speak?”

  “The floor is yours,” Billings said.

  I let out a relieved breath. “Finally, and I need you guys to be open-minded.”

  Billings rolled his eyes then grinned. “Just giving you shit. Go ahead.”

  “Okay, what if I really do have physical transference and the reason it’s come to light now is because neither girl shows an obvious cause of death. The blood work results may be in for Becca. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Lena yet, but testing for something specific that may have killed one or both of them could take forever if we don�
��t know what their symptoms were. Maybe I’m getting the symptoms, as a clue in a way, so Lena knows what to test for.”

  “It sounds logical if you’re a psychic, but is physical transference an actual condition one might get?” Clayton asked.

  My shoulders dropped. “That’s the problem, Chad. I don’t know. What I do know is that Becca’s autopsy showed damage to her stomach and throat. I had physical pain in my stomach and nasty bile coming up my throat when I was near Becca. Today, I felt like I was having a heart attack when I was near Daphne.”

  “No shit? Why didn’t you tell us that earlier?” Billings asked.

  I shrugged. “It scared me, but we were also knee-deep in an investigation.”

  Amber nodded. “I did witness Kate’s symptoms firsthand, and they were real.”

  “Sure, then besides stomach and esophageal cancer, GERD, and chronic acid indigestion, what else could Becca’s inflammation be from?”

  I stared at Billings. “It had to be something painful enough to make her pass out or die and send her flying off the road. That has to be why she didn’t hit the brakes.”

  Chad nodded. “Let’s start a list of possible conditions and have Lena double-check those organs. How about appendicitis?”

  I wrote that down, along with colitis, gallstone and gall bladder issues, ulcers, pancreatitis, a ruptured aortic aneurysm, obstructions to the small intestine or colon, and the list went on.

  “Lena would have noticed those conditions, though, right?” Billings asked.

  Amber poured water for everyone. “One would think, if she took every organ out of Becca’s body and examined it, but she only mentioned the heart, lungs, and stomach. I think she’s waiting for the blood work results to come back tomorrow before looking for other problems.”

  “Okay, let’s move on to Daphne. Tightening of the chest, trouble breathing, and pain and numbness in my left shoulder to the elbow. Those are the classic symptoms of a heart attack, aren’t they?”

  The group nodded.

  “Can you think of anything else that causes those symptoms?”

  Amber took a sip of water and added her opinion. “Only when people go to the hospital because they think they’ve had a heart attack only to find out it’s indigestion. I think they end up with a bad case of embarrassment.”

  “That’s true, but I don’t know of anyone who has actually died of indigestion.”

  Clayton looked at the faces around the table. “I concur with Kate. I truly believe she’s experiencing the symptoms of the causes of those deaths. Becca and Daphne are reaching out to you, Kate, and it’s up to us to follow through.”

  I patted Chad’s hand. “Thanks. Now we just have to get Lena on board.”

  Chapter 21

  We returned to the bull pen at three o’clock with our notes and theories organized and ready to present to Lena. Through the wall of glass, I saw Jack was still talking to Daphne’s visibly distraught parents.

  Clayton set his coffee cup down and answered the ringing phone. “Clayton here.” He nodded. “Go ahead and put her through.” He placed his hand over the receiver. “I’m getting Jack’s calls while he’s with Daphne’s folks. It’s Lena calling with the blood work results.” He raised his brows at me. “Should I ask her to come up?”

  “Absolutely.” I glanced toward Jack’s office. “He shouldn’t be much longer.”

  “Lena, yes, Jack is still with Daphne’s family, but he asked us to keep working the cases while he’s with them. How about coming to the bull pen? We can start going over everything together, and I’m sure the parents have to sign consent forms, anyway, if they agree to an autopsy. Why don’t you bring those with you?” He looked my way and gave me a thumbs-up. “Yep, ten minutes is fine.” Clayton returned the handset to the base. “Are we ready to present our case to her?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been ready for hours.” I steeled myself for the theory I was about to present to her. Lena knew some—but not much—about my psychic abilities since our skills didn’t often overlap. I was sure she’d think I was off my rocker, but my gut told me I was on the right track. The clock ticked away as I stared at Jack’s office door. He would be the perfect person to act as a go-between with Lena and me. She trusted his opinion completely, and he trusted my instincts.

  Mrs. Cole picked up her purse, then she and her husband pushed back their chairs and stood. They shook Jack’s hand, and the three of them walked out. I lowered my eyes and pretended to be busy.

  Seconds later, Lena entered the bull pen through the back hallway, and Jack made the introductions between the Coles and her. “We were headed down to your office next. What can I do for you, Lena?”

  “I was coming up, anyway. First off, Mr. and Mrs. Cole, you have my deepest sympathy for the loss of your daughter. If your intentions were to go forward with an autopsy, I have the consent form right here in my folder.”

  Mrs. Cole spoke up. “We do, and that’s why we were coming to see you. We need to know why Daphne died. Most twenty-year-old women don’t die unexpectedly.”

  “I agree, and I promise to do my best to find out why she passed away.” Lena turned to Jack. “Can we use your office for a few minutes?”

  “Sure thing.” Jack opened the door and allowed them in. “Take your time.” He looked toward us as he closed the door and took a seat on Amber’s guest chair. “So, what’s the word?”

  “The word is I need to explain my theory to Lena. That’s why she came up here.”

  Jack looked over his shoulder. “I’m sure she won’t be long, and I’d rather you ran it past me first, anyway.”

  Clayton nodded. “That’s really the best way to go, Kate.”

  I explained to Jack how my symptoms came on only when I was in the proximity of the bodies. “Boss, I really don’t think it’s a coincidence, and I’ve never had this type of premonition, if you will, before in my life. It’s a new realm in my personal psychic world, and I can’t explain it other than how I did. I’m confident that the pain I feel in the presence of Becca and Daphne is them telling me the symptoms they had when they died. It really isn’t much different than me seeing villains and crimes being committed in my dreams except I’m physically experiencing the pain instead of dreaming about it.”

  “Although, you dreamt and felt it the other night,” Amber added.

  “You’re right, I did.”

  Jack raked his hair. “I understand, but you do realize how strange that sounds, right?”

  “Yes, and I’d prefer to keep it close to the vest, anyway, but we need Lena to check for those diseases. If you seriously think foul play is involved, then ruling out natural causes is the only way to know for sure.” I handed the sheet of potential causes to Jack. “Becca may have had such severe stomach pain that it rendered her unconscious or killed her as she drove. That’s ruling out a sudden heart attack, of course.”

  “Uh-huh. So if Lena excludes all of these diseases, it could be something else that masked a serious ailment?”

  Amber piped in. “Exactly, and it’s the perfect way to murder someone and get away with it. The same goes for Daphne. For all intents and purposes, it appeared as if she had a heart attack.”

  Jack took his turn. “And I asked her parents if she had heart issues, and they said no.”

  “Daphne’s case may be a little easier to figure out since a thorough examination of her heart should tell Lena if there was an underlying problem or not,” I said.

  Jack tipped his head toward his office. “Looks like they’re finishing up. We’ll meet in the conference room as soon as the Coles leave. If Becca and Daphne’s deaths turn out to be foul play, then we have our work cut out for us. Not only will we have to interview the people in their personal lives, but UWWC has well over nine hundred students and faculty members combined who may have to be interviewed.”

  Chapter 22

  When I heard Lena’s heels tap against the tile floor, I let out a nervous breath. She was coming down the hallway.
I didn’t understand my fear but knew Lena was all about business, and she didn’t appear to be the type who gave too much credence to the world of the unexplained. Every abnormality has a logical explanation behind it, I’d heard her say. I was ready to debate that comment.

  She entered the conference room with two folders in hand and took a seat near Jack then tipped her head as she glanced at the rest of us.

  “The Coles have agreed to an autopsy, so I’ll get started on that as soon as we wrap this up.” She looked at Jack. “They mentioned talking to you about heart problems?”

  “They said Daphne didn’t have any.”

  Lena sighed. “They told me that as well, but seconds later, Mr. Cole said he’d had a quadruple bypass only three years ago and that his own mother passed away at age fifty of a sudden heart attack. That just made Daphne’s odds of having heart problems rise significantly.”

  I couldn’t help myself and blurted out a statement I wished I could have taken back. “But you’ll examine her heart closely, won’t you?”

  Lena frowned. “Of course I will, Kate. It’s my job.”

  “Sorry.”

  Lena continued on. “Becca’s blood work came back as negative for cancer, and I checked her stomach for tumors and polyps. I didn’t see unusual cells under the microscope either. I’m assuming her irritation came from a serious case of GERD and nothing more.”

  I slid the list across the table to her.

  “What’s this?” Lena lifted her reading glasses from the lanyard and perched them on her nose. “A list of possible stomach and intestinal issues?”

  “Not only issues but something so painful it sent her flying off the road.” I sighed. “Lena, we’re trying to narrow down things that could have killed Becca or rendered her unconscious. That means the pain came on suddenly or worsened as she drove. She didn’t have a heart attack, did she?”

  “Her heart looked very healthy. Jack, did you get her medical records from the parents?”