As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark

wasn’t there is what drew my attention.”
    â€œMr. Hecker,” the prosecutor continued, “did you remove the body of Dr. Edward Grant from his bedroom to your funeral parlor?”
    â€œYes, I did.”
    â€œWhen did that take place?”
    â€œShortly after my arrival.”
    â€œYou stated that there was a caregiver on the scene?”
    â€œYes, I was informed that the caregiver, upon arriving at the house and going into Mr. Grant’s bedroom and going over to him, realized he was not breathing. She called 9-1-1.”
    â€œWere you informed that the Alpine police officer on the scene had contacted Dr. Grant’s personal physician, who agreed to sign the death certificate?”
    â€œYes, I was.”
    â€œIn your mind, as of that time, was there any suggestion or any indication whatsoever of foul play?”
    â€œNo, there was not.”
    â€œWhat happened after Dr. Grant’s body arrived at your funeral parlor?”
    â€œWe began our usual procedures to prepare the body for viewing and burial.”
    â€œDid you perform these procedures yourself?”
    â€œYes, with the assistance of one of my technicians.”
    â€œDuring this process did you observe anything unusual?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWhat was it that you observed?”
    â€œThe back of Dr. Grant’s head was very soft to the touch. It was obvious that he had sustained some type of traumatic injury to that area.”
    â€œAt that time did you have any idea about how that type of injury could have occurred?
    â€œI immediately thought of the missing pestle.”
    â€œGiven the location and the nature, would it have been possible for Dr. Grant to self-inflict the injury?”
    â€œAbsolutely not.”
    â€œWhat did you do then?”
    â€œI ceased working on Dr. Grant’s body and called the medical examiner. He immediately responded that he would call the police and send an ambulance to bring Dr. Grant’s body to his facility, the county morgue.”
    â€œWhat happened next?”
    â€œI understand that an autopsy was performed and two days later the body was returned to my establishment for burial.”
    â€œThank you, Mr. Hecker. I have no further questions.”
    Delaney listened as Robert Maynard asked only one question of this witness.
    â€œAre you in the habit of observing the artifacts in a room when your services are engaged?”
    â€œIt is something that I have always done automatically. It is in the nature of my work. When I am removing the deceased, I always closely observe the surrounding physical scene.”
    Knowing that he could do absolutely nothing with this witness, Maynard said, “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
    From her seat Delaney looked at Betsy Grant, who appeared surprised that her lawyer had not asked any more questions.
    The prosecutor then called Dr. Martin Caruso, the county medical examiner. After summarizing his extensive medical training and explaining that in twenty years as the medical examiner he had conducted thousands of autopsies, he related what he had observed during the autopsy of Dr. Edward Grant. He testified that the deceased’s skull had been fractured in four places causing the brain to swell and internal brain bleeding to begin.
    â€œIs there any way Dr. Grant could have fallen and caused that injury to his head?”
    â€œI would say it is almost impossible to have sustained that kind of injury as the result of a fall.”
    â€œWhy is that the case?” the prosecutor asked.
    â€œBecause if he had fallen and hit his head, the impact of that trauma would have been so severe that he almost certainly would have lost consciousness. And he would not have been able to get back into bed on his own.”
    â€œDr. Caruso, I represent to you that the evidence in this trial has indicated that a marble pestle, weighing approximately one pound, was missing from the bedroom where Dr.