Chan and Gi Yu walked around the fire truck and ran smack into Captain George Freitas.
“Whoa, Ma’am, hold it right there,” said Freitas. Yu stopped short as the Captain put up his hands.
“George,” said Chan, nodding toward the ambulance gurney, “are they here for one of your men?”
“Oh, David, hey. No, we found someone inside.”
Chan stepped forward. Gi Yu tried to follow him, but the Captain put up his hands again. “Sir, I own this building,” she said.
“Ah, it’s good to know that,” said the Captain, “but I still can’t let you in there, Ma’am. It’s too dangerous.”
Chan waved her back. “Miss Yu, please wait here for me. I’ll be just a second.”
The two attendants were receiving the body as Chan walked over to them. The corpse was badly charred but still intact to an extent.
“Dan, Tom,” said Chan, addressing the two, “what have we got here?”
“Hey, David,” said Tom, “appears to be female, maybe forty or fifty, if I had to guess.”
Chan knelt by the body. “Yes, maybe a woman,” he said, but it was not easy to discern. The hair was cut short, and the face was badly damaged by the fire. But what remained of the clothing appeared to be a blouse and skirt.
“Can you tell if she died because of the fire?” asked Chan.
They shook their heads as they hiked the gurney up to waist height. “Couldn’t say,” said Tom. “Have to let the coroner tell you that.”
He laid a white sheet over the body and the two wheeled her out. Chan followed and rejoined Gi Yu by the ambulance.
“Who was it?” she asked.
“Too hard to tell,” said Chan. “Probably a woman, but the body’s pretty badly burned.”
“How horrible,” said Yu. “I wonder who she was?”
Chan shook his head. “I’ll get some answers from the coroner. When I do, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Please do,” said Yu. “I wonder if I knew her?”
“Yes,” said Chan, “I hope we know soon.”
Gi Yu turned away toward her car.
“Wait,” said Chan, “that’s a good idea, I think. Would you mind coming to the morgue with me? It may be that you can identify the woman for us.”
“Well,” said Yu, “I don’t know how great I’ll be when it comes to looking at a burned body, but I’d be happy to try to help if I can.”
The two followed the ambulance to the morgue in Māpunapuna. Chan saw Kathy’s car parked near the entrance. He and Gi Yu walked inside.
“Wait here for a second,” said Chan, indicating a chair in the reception area.
“Leilani,” said Chan, addressing a woman behind the desk, “this is Miss Yu. She’s with me. A body was just delivered in the rear from a fire. Miss Yu owns the building where the body was retrieved.”
“I’ll take good care of her,” said Leilani, smiling warmly. “Coffee, Miss Yu?
“No, thank you, Leilani,” said Gi Yu, shaking her head and taking a seat.
Chan walked by the counter and through the door to the lab area. Kathy was there signing in the body.
“Hey, Kathy,” said Chan, “I was at the fire site when they found this one. Gi Yu was there, too. I brought her with me in case she can identify the person.”
The two attendants lifted the body onto one of the three slabs. “Thanks, guys,” Kathy said as the two departed by the rear exit.
“We couldn’t tell the sex for sure,” said Chan. “Looks like it might be female.”
He stood there while Kathy took several photos of the body from different angles, including close-ups. Laying the camera down, she began to carefully peel the remaining fabric away from the body.
“It does appear to be a woman,” she said.
Chan watched with what delicacy Kathy worked to fully expose the body. It was a woman.
“Any guess as to how old she might be?” asked Chan.
Kathy shook her head. “The charring is too severe even to give an estimate. I’ll have to figure that out as I go in.”
“Before you do that,” said Chan, “let me bring Gi Yu in here. I want her to see the body now before too much cutting is done.”
He turned and went out, then brought Yu back with him. Surprisingly, she didn’t balk at walking up to the side of the body.
“Does she look at all familiar?” asked Chan.
Gi Yu studied the face for a considerable time. Finally, she looked up. She had tears in her eyes.
“How terrible,” said Yu, brushing at the tears. “I’ve never seen anything so sad.”
“Do you recognize her?” asked Chan.
“No, I’m sorry, I can’t say I do. The damage to her face, it’s just too much.”
Yu reached into her purse and took out some tissue. “Please excuse me,” she said, turning and walking toward the exit.
“It’s no problem,” said Chan. “Thank you for trying. I’m sorry you had to see her this way.”
Kathy went back to work, using a slow stream of water to try to gently wash away any debris stuck to the skin.
“Well,” said Chan. “We have no form of ID on the body, and we surely won’t be able to publish photos of her for purposes of asking the public’s help. We’ll not be able to get any fingerprints, certainly. We wouldn’t be able to go to every dentist on the island – if she even is local. This is looking like our only hope will be someone filing a missing person’s report where we can match her up.”
“Look at this,” said Kathy, turning off the hose. She pointed to a spot on the woman’s lower abdomen.
“What is it?” asked Chan.
“I’d say it’s a stab wound,” said Kathy. “A knife, maybe. Something with a large blade. I’d say she may very well have been dead before the fire started.” She shook her head. “Would someone burn down an entire building to cover up a murder?”
“I’ve heard crazier,” said Chan. “And, of course, it just might be that this woman walked in on someone who’d already set the place on fire.”
Lanning Lee 