I excused myself. I needed to think several things through. I told both of them to stay put while I gathered the family for a meeting and then I took a stroll over to the other side of the fairgrounds to collect my thoughts and to make a couple of calls privately.
First, I called Leon back at the morgue and let him know that JD’s ex-wife and I would be claiming his body on Wednesday on behalf of his minor children and with the consent of his sister, his only known immediate kin besides Beth and Cole. I apologized for not being able to do it sooner than that and then rang off with him before he could protest.
I knew that I was kind of putting the cart before the horse, but after my previous conversation with Gloria, I was certain there wouldn’t be a problem. I called her next anyway and l
