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Kitty was already in the backseat e reached the li Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were feverishly bright, her hands restless in her lap, plucking at her black cotton skirt The outfit she’d elected to wear had an outlandish gypsy air to it, the black cotton top coarish shades of turquoise and red Glen had blinked lazily when she’d first set eyes on Kitty and an almost imperceptible smile had hovered on her lips before she turned her attention to so else She’d apparently decided not to make an issue of it Kitty’s manner had been defiant, but with no resistance on Glen’s part the juice had drained out oi the drama before she’d even launched into the first art

I was standing by the limo when I saw Derek approach He climbed into the backseat and pulled down one of the collapsible ca to pull the door shut

"Leave it open," Glen ht There was a delay while people took their places in the vehicles parked along the road Others were rass to no apparent purpose

Dcrek tried to catch Glen’s eye "Well, I thought that went very well’

Glen turned pointedly and peered out of the farWhen your only child has been killed, who really gives a shit?

Kitty took out a cigarette and lit it Her hands looked like birds’ claws, the skin almost scaly The elastieized neckline of her blouse revealed a chest so thin that her sternues were outlined like one of those joke T-shirts

Derek made a face as the smell of smoke filled the backseat "Jesus, Kitty, put that out For Christ’s sake!"

"Oh, leave her alone," Glen said, dully, Kitty seemed surprised by the unexpected support, but she stubbed out the cigarette anyway

The driver appeared and closed the door on Derek’s side, then moved around the rear of the li wheel I moved on toward hter once we got to the house People seeood wine and lavish hors d’oeuvres I don’t knohy death still generates these little tetes-a-tetes Everything else has been e of the wake remains Thereroom and hall, but it all see to smooth the aard transition fro sleep that was bound to conized athering that past Monday night: Dr Fraker and his wife, Nola; Dr Kleinert and a rather plain woman whom I assumed was Mrs K; the other doctor who’d been present, Mftcalf, in conversation with Marcy, who had worked with Bobby briefly in the Pathology Departlass of wine and inched my way across the room to Fraker’s side He and Kleinert had their heads bent together and they paused as I approached

"Hi," I said, suddenly self-conscious Maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea I took a sip of wine, noting the look that passed between theuess they decided I could be privy to their discussion, because Fraker picked up where he’d left off

"Anyway, I won’t be doing the ross, it looks like the immediate cause of death was a ruptured aortic valve"

Kleinert said, "Fro a sip of wine The explanation of his findings continued alain "The sternu aorta was incompletely torn just above the superior border of the valve cusps Additionally, there was a left heht hundred cc and a e"

Kleinert’s expression indicated that he was following The whole thing sounded sickening to me and I didn’t even knohat it meant

"What about the blood alcohol?" Kleinert asked

Fraker shrugged "That was negative He wasn’t drunk

We should have the rest of the results this afternoon, but I don’t think we’re going to find anything I could be surprised, of course"

"Well, if you’re right about the CSF blockage, a seizure was probably inevitable Bernie warned hi and etched with a look of permanent sorrow If I had emotional problems and needed a shrink, I didn’t think it would help me to look at a face like that week after week I’d want soy, pizzazz, somebody with a little hope

"Bobby had a seizure?" I asked It was clear by now that they were discussing his autopsy results Fraker must have realized I didn’t have any idea what they were actually saying, because he offered a translation