“Where’s Ken Solstad?”
“We think he’s in the coffin, too,” Floyd said as he pulled his wallet and threw a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. “I’ll explain when I get back. We’re still four hours from the office, and I’m going directly to the funeral home when I get back. Please talk to a judge about getting an order to exhume Ken Solstad’s casket to look for a missing body.”
“Judges don’t like to dig up graves. It’s harder to get an exhumation order than a search warrant.”
“I think you should approach Judge Farris. Ask him what probable cause he’d require to order the exhumation. Then, I’ll try to come up with the answers.”
Floyd shook hands with the police chief. “Nice to meet you.”
“Call me when you find the body,” the chief said, handing Floyd a business card.
“With any luck,” Pam said, “you’ll read about it in the papers.”
“I want the gritty details,” the chief said as they walked out the door.
“Hang on a second!” The waitress yelled as she walked briskly across the parking lot carrying two plastic containers with plastic forks taped to the lids. “You didn’t finish your pie!”
CHAPTER 47
“Have you got any plans for the evening?” Floyd asked as they reached the Pine City exit.
“Women with broken noses and black eyes don’t get many dates. I thought I’d go home, pack my face in ice, maybe watch some television, and fall asleep early.”
“I’m sorry. I bet you’re in a lot of pain. Do you want me to drop you at the courthouse so you can drive home, or would you like to come along to the mortuary?”
“I’m sore, but I took a couple Aleves at the restaurant. I’d like to come along and hear what Paul Bradshaw has to say. By the way, shouldn’t you call Mary and tell her where you are?”
“She’s making supper tonight. If I don’t show up she just puts my supper in the refrigerator.”
“You know, she’s a gem. I’d feed it to the dog.”
“There have been occasions…”
“Take out your cellphone and call her. Paul Bradshaw can wait.”
Floyd parked across from the funeral home and called Mary. Pam stood on the sidewalk for the short conversation and watched the few cars driving into the funeral home parking lot.
“Don’t worry,” Floyd said, leading the way to the front door, “she’s not going to disown me today.” He held the door open for Pam, then led her to the office, past the family gathering for the wake near the front door.
Paul Bradshaw was in his office reviewing a stack of papers. His suitcoat hung neatly on a hanger on the wall. When Floyd knocked on the doorjamb Paul took off his reading glasses and stood.
“I can’t say I’m happy to see you,” Paul said, gesturing toward guest chairs and closing the office door. “Please tell me what this is all about.”
“Would it have been possible for Melissa to put Aaron into a casket without anyone knowing about it?”
“I don’t think so,” Paul said. “Melissa isn’t a big person and it’s not easy for one person to get a body into a casket. Also, the casket lids are secured each night with a special tool, and the building has an alarm system. If someone were snooping around they’d set off the alarm.”
“That’s a lot of security,” Pam said. “Is there a problem with break-ins at mortuaries?”
“We store a lot of chemicals, and a number of them are subject to misuse. Then there are always vandals who don’t have any objective other than causing damage. They could cause a lot of pain if they damaged a deceased client.”
“You were going to get the records of funerals for the winter Ken Solstad died,” Floyd said. “Were you able to pull them together?”
“Here’s a list of the deceased who we weren’t immediately interred, followed by the date of the memorial service and the date of interment,” Paul said, handing a neat three-column list to Floyd and Pam. “There were eleven in total.”
Floyd scanned the list quickly. “Most of these were after January first, leaving only Ken Solstad, Ted Munson, and April Luverne in December. Do you recall anything unusual about any of the caskets when you buried them?”
“Nothing comes to mind. As I told you before, we kept them in locked storage at the cemetery until the ground thawed in the spring. You can see by the dates of interment that they were all buried within a couple of weeks of each other. The dates are determined by when we could make arrangements with the families who wanted to be present at the interments.”
“Is there room in a casket for two bodies?” Pam asked.
“I’ve never tried. In general, I’d have to say if the two bodies weren’t too large they could fit in a single casket.”
“Would you notice if there were two bodies when you handled the casket?”
“It depends,” Bradshaw said, obviously uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “I suppose we might not notice the weight, depending on the size of the deceased. But we’d notice damage if someone pried open a latched casket.”
“How do you latch a casket?” Floyd asked.
“I’ll show you the work area,” Paul said, retrieving a blue smock from a hook behind the door. He took them into a large well-lit room with a table in the center. Bradshaw led them to the wall where two caskets were stacked on a rack. He took a small metal tool with an ornate handle from a drawer.
“The end of each casket has a small hole,” Paul said, pointing to a pencil-sized hole just below the lid on the end of a casket. “I insert this wrench and it engages an internal screw mechanism.” Paul lifted the lid, exposing the Rayon lining. He turned the wrench and hooks emerged from the lower part of the casket as he turned the wrench. “The hooks catch pins in the lid and lock it closed. When I remove the wrench the lid is sealed and locked down.”
He reversed the direction he was winding and the hooks retracted into the base. “So, you see that if someone tried to open the casket lid without the wrench, they’d do a great deal of obvious damage.”
“Unless they had a wrench,” Floyd noted. “You told me Melissa worked for you. Would she know where to find a wrench?”
“I don’t think she ever spent any time back here.”
“Do you remember any missing wrenches from that time period?”
“We get a wrench with every casket, so we throw most of them away.” Paul looked at his watch, “I’m sorry, but I really need to get ready for tonight’s wake. Do you have any other pressing questions?”
“You embalm the bodies before you bury them,” Pam said, noticing the large containers of chemicals in the room. “If someone put a body in a casket without embalming it, wouldn’t you notice the smell?”
“Probably not. Latching the lid also seals it pretty well.”
“Is it possible that Melissa managed to put another body in Ken Solstad’s casket if she had friends to help her?” Pam asked, restating Floyd’s earlier question.
“I suppose it’s possible. If you’d asked me if it was probable, I’d say no.” Bradshaw said. “Where are you going with this?”
“As you’ve probably surmised,” Floyd said, “we think it’s likely that Aaron Roberts died the same day as Ken Solstad. Based on comments by your niece, we believe she knows that Aaron is dead and helped with the disposal of his body.”
Bradshaw straightened his tie while he considered Floyd’s comments. “I don’t appreciate having my business dragged into this mess based on your interpretation of something Melissa inferred. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the visitation.”
“Thanks for your time,” Floyd said.
“How are you doing?” Floyd asked Pam as they walked back to the car.
“I’m getting sore,” Pam admitted. “I should head home and put some ice on my face.” After she got in the car she asked, “So what will we do tomorrow?”