Grave Echoes: A Kate Waters Mystery by Erin Cole

a body, the head, chest, and feet still detectable humps beneath the sheet. By the way he handled the cart, Kate could tell he was experienced with death, probably an everyday reality for him. He had blond, spiky hair, well-defined facial bones that were broad like a horse, and a small patch of hair beneath his bottom lip. He smiled and tipped his head toward Louise. Walking behind her, Kate couldn’t see her reaction, but she imagined Louise had a blushing smile. When Kate passed the man, he stared into her boldly, as if he could tell she were not new to death either. A badge on the left side of his shirt read Kinsley and Sons, a funeral home, which Kate made a mental note of, thinking he would probably be transporting Jev too.
    Averting her eyes from his, Kate concentrated on the signs in the hallway, steering them to the bowels of the hospital. Wells rounded another corner and then stopped at the first door on the right. A sign attached to the side of it read Autopsy B.
    “I just want to prepare you for what you’re going to see,” Wells stated, folding his hands together. His face looked flushed, and to Kate, he almost appeared nervous. “There won’t be any gore,” he continued, “but she will look very pale, almost blue, and might have a slightly different overall appearance. Death tends to contort facial expressions in subtle ways that can sometimes lead to unfamiliarity. She will be covered, so all you will see is her face.” He paused, perhaps giving them time to collect their strength. “Are you ready?”
    Kate would never be ready, but she nodded her head anyways along with her dad. Through the little window in the door, she could see metal lockers broken down into three feet by two feet squares with a handle at the bottom seam. Inside, cold, hard, steel slabs lay bare, waiting for the bodies of mothers, fathers, children, and sisters. Before she could turn around and run in the other direction, far away from the hell she was about to enter, Wells unlatched the door and opened it for them to enter.
    David grasped Kate’s hand and tugged gently, leading her into the room. “You can do this,” he said. She wanted to believe him and took a step. Then another.
    Jack and Louise followed behind them. Everyone but Wells stopped in the middle of the room, just before the row of metal tables. The sickening smell of alcohol and bleach turned Kate’s stomach. Wells walked in front of them and then over to a bin that was partly open. He pulled on the handle and a metal gurney rolled out with a long, black plastic bag lying on top. Kate felt her stomach drop. David tugged on her again, but her shoes seemed glued to the checkered, green tile floor.
    Jack came up behind Kate. “You don’t have to do this,” he whispered to her.
    “Yes…I do.” She let go of David’s hand. It wasn’t just a matter of needing to view Jev’s body to confirm her death and provide verification that it was her sister, Jevanna Waters, lying there on the table—she had to see her sister one last time.
    Jack and Louise walked to the other side of the gurney across from Kate and David. Wells seemed to wait for some kind of signal until they were ready and when Jack nodded at him, he proceeded to unzip the bag. The teeth of the zipper vibrated, echoing like machinery through the quiet, sterilized room.
    Kate held her breath. First, Jev’s nose appeared, pale like a ceramic doll. Then Wells unsheathed the folds of the bag, pulling them aside and revealing the rest of her face.
    With instant recognition, Kate identified the girl in the bag as her sister, Jev. Jack brought his fist up to his mouth to hide his shuddering lip, and Kate knew he saw his daughter. Louise buried her head into his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her, hugging her tight. They held each other in the face of death. Kate didn’t want to be held and somehow David sensed it. The sight of her sister, blue and motionless, instilled a need to be alone. The dark