CHAPTER 17
The exhumation was arranged after three days, despite the difficult situation in the city. William arrived at the cemetery along with Tom and Sgt. Huston.
'Thanks for your help!' William thanked the Sergeant. 'I didn't expect you to collect the documents so quickly. Have you got wings under that uniform? The judge, prosecutor and city hall have you to thank – you're just a Patrick Mahomes.'
'I didn't expect you to be a fan of 'Kansas City'', the Sergeant admitted, smiling modestly.
'Bill, go and sign all the papers. You'll have to pay extra for some of those services. They can't work miracles, but I've already spoken to them. Part of the costs for this will be paid by the department,' Tom slapped William's shoulder and soon gestured towards the medical examiner and other colleagues. 'We're going to have to change clothes for now, and please don't argue with Tory Blackhouse, despite anything she says! Just do it for Carol's sake.'
'Oh God, is she here as well? Just a question, who's that over there?' William had noticed a man uncovering a camera along with a short Asian girl who he'd already seen that day, when they found Woodruff's car with his body inside. By the time they'd set up, Tom and Jimmy had already left, and the attention of the cameras had turned towards bureaucrats, who were in a hurry to sign hastily-prepared documents. The Sergeant had done his best as everything had been prepared properly. Even the zinc coffin had been brought around and video filming was organized. Everything was as it should be. Maybe William shouldn't have been so biased towards Huston before?
When the standard procedures had been completed, William quickly adorned a disposable jumpsuit with shoe covers and a mask. As he strode over to Tom and Sam Bryson, who both stood by a fence, he noticed the back of Carol's mother. She was speaking to the small Asian reporter, pointing towards William every so often. Stood nearby was another cameraman and assistant.
'Hi Sam! How are you?' William asked the medical examiner.
'Still alive and kicking, how about you? Sorry, I haven't come to express my condolences – I couldn't do that.'
William sighed.
'I get you,' he said. 'You've always supported me. Now I can see you're going above and beyond.'
'I think you'd do the same for me.'
'Sam, thanks so much for that. Has your daughter called recently? How's she doing at the academy?'
'She doesn't call as often as she used to, got exams at the academy. There's not a day's rest since they're constantly on patrol. She said to say hello to you and to thank you for helping her with her admission to the academy. You really helped her out then.'
'Oh, stop it Sam! Sure, I just taught her what I knew. She's a real fighter, just like her father.'
'I'm not really a fighter anymore. I've barely been myself for two years,' Sam shook his head and fell silent. William had no idea what to say. Bryson had never got over his wife's death just two years ago and he didn't really speak with friends. Speaking about the matter at hand was just rubbing salt into Bryson's wounds.
'You should come over one night,' William suggested. 'We could have a drink together.'
'Where? The office?' Bryson looked glum. 'You're spending every night there with Tom,' he said sadly. 'Look, they're already starting, let's go.'
Staff near the fence began to move.
'Begin,' Huston gave the order to dig and soon, several cemetery employees began to stick their shovels into the earth.
The whole process took some time. After loading the coffin into a special machine, everyone moved away. William removed his plastic jumpsuit and approached Tom. He wanted to find out any news that his boss had heard in a meeting earlier that morning with the district attorney and the mayor. Before he could do this however, a figure with a microphone appeared in front of him from nowhere.
'Mr Lindstone? 'Leon', cable TV. Do you mind answering few questions for us?' the reporter blathered a scripted phrase to William. Without any hesitation, she continued her barrage of questioning. 'Is your wife's death somehow connected to the death of psychiatrist Michael Woodruff? Have these two events got anything to do with the exhumation of your daughter's body? Have you anything to say on this? Your wife's relatives believe that the blame lies with you and that you have no regrets about what's happened.'
William grabbed the microphone and wanted to tear it out the hands of the young woman.
'Listen!' he began with an assertive opening, but soon saw Carol's mother aside with a dismissive scowl across her face. Tom stood next to her and his face contorted, as if he was alarmed by a rock falling above him. The silence around everyone was tense, as they waited for William's mistake and watched on in anticipation at his next words. Before long, William brought the microphone to his mouth and said:
'American citizens have the right to know the truth. If the police had perfect detectives as you appear to be, madam, then we wouldn't have any crime. With all due respect to the press and your viewers, I'd like you to refrain from asking such probing questions. I hope you understand. Have a good day,' William made a gesture towards the reporter and let go of the microphone. It was only then he noticed that the reporter was hanging onto the microphone for dear life since he'd squeezed her fingers together to the handle, causing her to grimace with pain. William was unaware of this, though, and began to walk towards the car. He'd turned his attention to other matters – the long wait for the results of the exhumation.