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“That’s uess”

Conklin made notes, then said, “What do you say, Claire? Can you introduce me to Mr Doe?”

“I’ to meet the man myself,” said Claire

They walked back to the autopsy suite and Claire pulled open the drawer next to the one that had been vacated recently by Joan Murphy

Conklin found the unknown man to be as described He was a white ht paunch and a lot of chest hair Frouessed that the guy was some sort of businessman He looked like he could be a sales executive of some sort

Conklin told Claire what Sackowitz had put in his case notes “He was found naked, lying on the naked body of Mrs Murphy”

Claire said, “That seeht Looks to me like he took the first two shots to his back Then, he probably turned to face the shooter and that’s when he got this one to the underside of his biceps It went through thethat stopped his heart forever”

Conklin said, “So, who do we think was the shooter? Mrs Doe? Did she get someone to let her into the rooical explanation An obvious one Or could it have been Mr Murphy, who killed thehim? Is that why his as spared?

“And if the motive was a domestic beef,” Conklin continued, “why take the jewelry? Was it staging, tolook like a robbery?”

Claire listened as Conklin continued theorizing out loud He said, “Or was it, in fact, a robbery? A stranger gets into the rooets the loot and John Doe’s wallet But why didn’t he give Mrs Murphy a shot to the head so she couldn’t testify? Was he convinced she was dead?”

Claire cut off his , “Here’s my theory Anyone would have been convinced that that woman, Joan Murphy, died in that hotel room You see, there’s an unusual condition called ‘catalepsy’ If this is that condition, it’s my first experience with it I know that death is a many-part process Different parts of the body cease at different times Skin lives for twenty-four hours after a person dies, for instance

“So, catalepsy is a nervous condition that looks like death even though it’s an attenuated slon If Mrs Murphy had not been refrigerated overnight, she would have suffered brain death and she would have died”

“Okay, so what causes catalepsy?”

“Could be a nus Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, cocaine withdrawal It can be a side effect of an antipsychotic And one of the most common causes can be traumatic shock”

Conklin said, “She had to be pretty trauht You think her memory will ever come back?”