Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 24 - A Difficult Week

The phone rang early at the Abernathy house on Tuesday morning.

"Hello?" Susan answered the extension beside her bed.

"Who is it, Susan?" Greg asked from where he lay beside her, still half asleep.

"Rosemary. Somebody told her about Mom. She's calling before she leaves for class because wants to help," Susan said, holding her hand over the receiver. "Are you working this week?"

"I'm supposed to be at the studio three days," Greg told her. "I can reschedule if I need to."

"That's probably not necessary," Susan told him. "I doubt I need more than an afternoon to be at the mortuary. I'll let her know."

The rest of Susan's conversation was very brief; but it was time to get up, so neither of them went back to sleep.

The routine of a school day got the Abernathy household up and moving. Susan even managed to do some work at her desk in the cottage, before an official called the house just before noon. Greg answered and took down the information then went in search of Susan.

"What did they say?" Susan asked her husband.

"The Medical Examiner's office completed the physical part of the autopsy this morning. The dental records Stephen provided are a match. They said they don't need the DNA samples to confirm your mother's identity, however legally the courts prefer it; so they have sent tissue samples to the lab this morning for analysis to compare with those you and Stephen provided yesterday. They expect results in two days," Greg said.

"So on Thursday," Susan said.

"Yes. They asked me to confirm the mortuary information you gave the clerk yesterday. Apparently they contacted them, but the mortuary doesn't know anything about it," Greg said.

"Yes, I know. I need to call them today," Susan said. "Were they able to determine how Mom died?"

"The cause of death has been recorded as cardiac contusion due to thoracic trauma," Greg said, referring to the notes in his hand. "Her chest was crushed due to the force of impact of her body against the steering wheel when her car struck the bottom of the ravine."

"Didn't her airbags deploy?" Susan wondered.

"They said they probably did, but because the car tumbled, their effectiveness was limited, and may have actually contributed to her injuries," Greg said. "The medical examiner feels her condition would have been serious enough she would have been unconscious and near death at the time of the fire."

Susan closed her eyes. "Oh no ... I was so hoping her death was quick when she hit the bottom. I know she must have been terrified."

"I'm sure she was. The official report on the accident is still pending, but they thought you would want to know, her cell phone was in her hand when she was found," Greg said.

"Then the call I received was either just before or just after the accident," Susan said.

"That's what they said. The Sherriff's office was able to retrieve the call log from her phone," Greg told her.

"Oh Greg ..." Susan said, her brow furrowed, her voice full of anguish.

Greg reached out, squeezing Susan's shoulder for reassurance. She closed her eyes for a moment or two, struggling to digest the information.

"I'll have to call Stephen," she said when she opened them again.

"He will want to know," Greg agreed. "What about the mortuary, Susan? Would you like me to call them for you?"