CHAPTER FOUR
Alexa led Stuart to one of her least favorite places in Phoenix—the coroner’s office. It was housed in the basement of one of the larger city hospitals. They had called ahead, and the coroner was waiting for them when they arrived.
The coroner was a hunched, older man with wire-rimmed spectacles and a large bald spot. He resembled an academic and had a professor’s quiet, authoritative air. After introductions, he led them into the storage room, where Alexa shivered from the cool air as they approached a line of oversized drawers. Names were written on tags for each of these. The two judges were side by side.
The coroner stopped and addressed them.
“Given your jobs, I am sure you have both been in a place like this. I must warn you, however, that this is an especially unple
