Specter of Death- Part 23

          “Hang on a sec,” Kim interrupted. “Before anyone goes anywhere, we need to coordinate with Detective McDonald. The last thing we need is to interfere with her department. I’m going to call her first before anyone does anything, agreed?”

Unenthusiastic nods were the only sign of agreement but Kim ran with it. She picked up her phone and dialed Marie’s direct line. On the fifth ring, just as she was about to hang up, the detective answered.

            “Hey, Marie, it’s Kim. We think we might have uncovered something that will help decipher those symbols. Did you want us to—”

On the other end, Detective McDonald interrupted, leaving Bill, Angela and Gillian only speculation as to what was being said. With the exception of a few, “uh huhs,” Kim remained silent until she said goodbye. Her friends stared at her with wide, expectant, eyes.

            “She’s sending someone from her team over to find out what we’ve got and they’ll take it from there,” said Kim. “In the meantime, Doctor Tynesdale, why don’t you continue with your other findings?”

For twelve minutes, Dr. Tynesdale had a captive audience. He was free to prattle on about his theories and no one objected because they had no choice but to wait. On the thirteenth minute, a young woman wearing a trendy business suit entered the morgue.

            “Hello, I’m looking for an M.D.I. named Kim,” the woman said as she pulled out her credentials and flashed her badge. “Detective McDonald sent me.”

Kim stepped forward, extended her hand, and introduced herself.

            “Here I thought I’d met everyone on Marie’s team.” Kim chuckled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

            “Actually, I just transferred here. Detective Gabriella Sanchez and it is a pleasure to meet you too.”

Kim introduced the others to Gabriella and marveled that someone so young had already reached the rank of detective. Clearly, the others were surprised too but it was Dr. Tynesdale who addressed the pink elephant in the room.

            “Dear me! You look like you could be one of my students,” he exclaimed. “You must have been on the fast track to already achieve a detective’s position. If you don’t mind my asking …”

            “If she doesn’t, I do!” Bill interrupted. “That’s an inappropriate question and has nothing to do with the case, Phillip. I apologize, Detective Sanchez, on behalf of my colleague. Now, let’s just get back to the case.”

To speed things up, Kim filled in the new detective on what they’d discovered so far and their idea to check out The Seekers’ inner sanctum.

            “Sounds good. I’ll go check them out,” said Detective Sanchez.

            “Look, Detective, one of the victims was our friend and, well, I hate not being useless. Mind if I tag along?” Bill asked. “I won’t interfere or bother you. I need to do something to help even if it’s just keeping my ears open.”

            “And to keep an eye on the young detective, right? That whole bit about my age was planned, wasn’t it? You wanted to get on my good side so I’d let you come along.”