Page 47 of Shadow of Hope
“Not odd at all.” Micha dropped onto the chair and resisted gloating at his success on what he’d expected to be a nearly impossible task. “That war fascinates me too. I mean, how can one man be responsible for waging a war where an estimated sixty million people were killed? Sixty million. That just blows my mind.
“Exactly.” Toby scowled. “I know the estimates are all over the place. Some saying as low as thirty-five mil, but still. That number is too hard to really even comprehend. One guy. Just one guy.”
He shook his head and sat staring for a moment as if he’d forgotten Micha was in the room. He suddenly blinked. “How’d you get interested in it?”
“Served as a Marine, and for a while, I was obsessed with all things military. What about you?”
“Family. We lost a lot of family members to the Holocaust, and in high school, I wanted to try to understand it. Then I got hooked on the military strategy. From that day on, I’ve tried to create other scenarios that might’ve changed the course of the war. Shortened it perhaps.” He clasped his hands on the desk. “I figure I keep doing it because I still can’t make any sense of it, and my brain is trying to process. Sort of like I do here. With homicides or victims of violence.”
“I never understood how medical examiners like you can do this job, but I have all the respect in the world for you.”
“I feel the same way about service members. Not sure I’d be willing to risk my life like you all do.” He waved a hand. “Listen to our mutual admiration society. So what did you need from me?”
Micha figured he’d buttered the guy up enough, and he should be straightforward in his approach. “I was hoping to learn the official cause of death for a Holly Boyle. She recently died in a hospice care facility, and my friend told me it was from dehydration and organ failure.”
He lifted a thick eyebrow. “And who is this Holly Boyle to you? Family?”
“No. My friend cared for her in the facility and thinks there was perhaps a cover-up on her cause of death. Because I served in military investigations, she thought I could figure out if there was foul play and asked me to try to get to the bottom of it.”
“Let me see what I can find.” He grabbed the mouse for his computer.
Please let him give me the answer I need.
“Okay, I see it. Only one Holly Boyle in our system.” He picked up the glasses and settled them on his nose. “It’s as you said. Organ failure from severe dehydration. Food poisoning was suspected but not confirmed.”
“Can you test for that?”
“Yes, there are tests to confirm food poisoning.”
“Did they test for it?”
“No, it wasn’t done by the center, but we sent in samples.”
“Why wouldn’t the center test for it?” Micha asked.
Toby looked at Micha through the glasses, and his pupils were much larger through the lenses. “Says here no one else at the facility got sick, and so food poisoning wasn’t considered. Not surprising, I suppose. Usually you see more than one case in an environment like this where the same food is prepared for most residents. If the center had considered it, they could’ve tested for the offending food.” He glanced back at the computer. “I see results for our samples are still outstanding.”
“Can you put pressure on the lab to get the results?”
He shook his head. “I’m not listed on this case, so they would refuse. Plus, any request outside of my assigned cases would raise red flags that would escalate to the ME, and I don’t want to lose my job.”
“But a source other than food poisoning could’ve caused her illness?”
“Sure.” He squinted at the screen. “Hmm. Not sure why this wasn’t looked into, but then she was in hospice care, so it wouldn’t be unusual.”
Interest piqued, Micha sat forward. “What wouldn’t be unusual?”
“We located a small puncture wound on her leg with a surrounding bruise consistent with a needle. The bruise wasn’t fresh, which means the injection wasn’t given on the day of death, but before that.”
Injection. Oh wow.That could be significant. “Could someone have poisoned her?”
“Poisoned?” He leaned his chair back and looked up at the ceiling. “Her food poisoning symptoms might suggest that, but why? Her cancer was at a very advanced state and would’ve taken her in a short time, so why not just wait?”
“To exact revenge, maybe,” Micha said. “I don’t know, but the needle mark could mean she was poisoned.”
“Or could simply suggest an intramuscular injection given by a doctor or nurse.”
“Wouldn’t she have had an IV or a PICC line to administer all of her drugs?” Micha had seen the PICC—peripherally inserted central catheters—used in the military for various reasons, but most often for chemo.
