week-end.”
Angela grabbed the clipboard on her desk and scanned it. “I was off for a couple of days,” she explained. “So, someone might have come in who I wasn’t aware of. If you’ll…”
She was interrupted by the intercom on her phone beeping. “Angela Murray to Radiology - Stat.”
Angela looked over at the phone and rolled her eyes. “It’s going to be one of those days,” she said. “I can tell.”
Mary smiled sympathetically, thinking of the man who danced his way to heaven. “Well, I can certainly wait,” she said. “Please go ahead.”
Angela put the clipboard down on the desk. “You don’t mind waiting alone in the morgue? You’re not afraid of ghosts?”
Mary nearly laughed, but was able to control her impulse. “No, I’m a former Chicago cop,” she explained. “One of my favorite places to hang out used to be the morgue.”
Mary thought Angela initially looked uneasy at her response, but she quickly smiled and said, “Well then, make yourself at home. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Once Angela left, Mary waited for a few moments in case Angela returned, and then let herself into the back of the morgue. In the center of the room two stainless steel gurneys lay empty on the pristine linoleum floor, above them bright surgical-suite lights illuminated the basement room as if it were a sunny day. A large stainless steel sink and shelves that held equipment for an autopsy stood against the back wall. Although there was equipment for performing a basic autopsy downstairs, anything that required technical skill, like organ donations, would be performed in one of the operating rooms in the hospital.
Built into the walls on either side of the room, a number of square metal doors stood in three rows of five. Each of these doors opened to a refrigerator chamber with a steel shelf that slid out, large enough to hold the remains of one person. Mary walked down each side, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone, but not really expecting it. Just like funeral homes, morgues rarely had ghosts because people didn’t die in those places. Their bodies, the human shells that remained after their spirits had left, were the only things transported to a morgue or funeral home. If someone’s spirit were to stay behind, it would stay where it died. Or, travel to seek someone like Mary, who could help them on their journey.
Mary decided not to open any of the chambers without Angela’s permission and went back to the small office to wait for her.
She didn’t have to wait long, in a few minutes Angela and two orderlies came through the door pushing a sheet-covered gurney. Angela grabbed the clipboard and led them into the second room, directing them to an empty chamber. They pulled open the door and slid it out to reveal a long narrow shelf. They lifted the old man’s body and placed him on the shelf and closed the chamber. Mary felt her heart tug when the door was firmly closed, shutting the frail body inside the metal box, but she knew his spirit was already where it was supposed to be.
The orderlies left and Angela joined Mary in the office. “Sorry,” she said, with a huff. “His family is out of town and they won’t be able to collect his body for several days. We thought it best we keep him on ice until they return.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mary replied, a little bothered by the detachment in Angela’s tone. “Will that help preserve him?”
Angela shrugged. “It will basically get him out of everyone’s way until a decision can be made about what to do with him. I’m sorry for the interruption, what did you need, Mary?”
A man just died, Mary wanted to scream. How about a little sympathy? Instead, she said, “I wanted to see if you had any Jane Doe’s during the past couple of days.”
Angela picked up the clipboard and scanned it. “Well, here’s one that might match,” she said. “She’s about forty years old, weighs 160 pounds.”
Mary felt her spirits rise. If this
Angela grabbed the clipboard on her desk and scanned it. “I was off for a couple of days,” she explained. “So, someone might have come in who I wasn’t aware of. If you’ll…”
She was interrupted by the intercom on her phone beeping. “Angela Murray to Radiology - Stat.”
Angela looked over at the phone and rolled her eyes. “It’s going to be one of those days,” she said. “I can tell.”
Mary smiled sympathetically, thinking of the man who danced his way to heaven. “Well, I can certainly wait,” she said. “Please go ahead.”
Angela put the clipboard down on the desk. “You don’t mind waiting alone in the morgue? You’re not afraid of ghosts?”
Mary nearly laughed, but was able to control her impulse. “No, I’m a former Chicago cop,” she explained. “One of my favorite places to hang out used to be the morgue.”
Mary thought Angela initially looked uneasy at her response, but she quickly smiled and said, “Well then, make yourself at home. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Once Angela left, Mary waited for a few moments in case Angela returned, and then let herself into the back of the morgue. In the center of the room two stainless steel gurneys lay empty on the pristine linoleum floor, above them bright surgical-suite lights illuminated the basement room as if it were a sunny day. A large stainless steel sink and shelves that held equipment for an autopsy stood against the back wall. Although there was equipment for performing a basic autopsy downstairs, anything that required technical skill, like organ donations, would be performed in one of the operating rooms in the hospital.
Built into the walls on either side of the room, a number of square metal doors stood in three rows of five. Each of these doors opened to a refrigerator chamber with a steel shelf that slid out, large enough to hold the remains of one person. Mary walked down each side, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone, but not really expecting it. Just like funeral homes, morgues rarely had ghosts because people didn’t die in those places. Their bodies, the human shells that remained after their spirits had left, were the only things transported to a morgue or funeral home. If someone’s spirit were to stay behind, it would stay where it died. Or, travel to seek someone like Mary, who could help them on their journey.
Mary decided not to open any of the chambers without Angela’s permission and went back to the small office to wait for her.
She didn’t have to wait long, in a few minutes Angela and two orderlies came through the door pushing a sheet-covered gurney. Angela grabbed the clipboard and led them into the second room, directing them to an empty chamber. They pulled open the door and slid it out to reveal a long narrow shelf. They lifted the old man’s body and placed him on the shelf and closed the chamber. Mary felt her heart tug when the door was firmly closed, shutting the frail body inside the metal box, but she knew his spirit was already where it was supposed to be.
The orderlies left and Angela joined Mary in the office. “Sorry,” she said, with a huff. “His family is out of town and they won’t be able to collect his body for several days. We thought it best we keep him on ice until they return.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mary replied, a little bothered by the detachment in Angela’s tone. “Will that help preserve him?”
Angela shrugged. “It will basically get him out of everyone’s way until a decision can be made about what to do with him. I’m sorry for the interruption, what did you need, Mary?”
A man just died, Mary wanted to scream. How about a little sympathy? Instead, she said, “I wanted to see if you had any Jane Doe’s during the past couple of days.”
Angela picked up the clipboard and scanned it. “Well, here’s one that might match,” she said. “She’s about forty years old, weighs 160 pounds.”
Mary felt her spirits rise. If this
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