A coffin was overturned on the red carpet in the middle of the hall, and two corpses were lying next to the coffin.
The male corpse was obviously the Mr. Mank mentioned by Esposito. He was a white man in his seventies or eighties, well-dressed, with light makeup applied by an undertaker on his face, and he looked in good spirits.
The small black hat on the back of his head showed his religious beliefs.
The female corpse under him was obviously still in a state of rigor mortis, her face was blue and purple, and she was wearing a long floral dress, the kind of beautiful dress she would wear for a date tonight.
Cassel looked around the scene with a puzzled look on his face.
"Am I the only one who noticed this? It seems that Mr. Mank is smiling very happily."
Beckett stepped on him silently, and Jack simply distanced himself from him. He swore that he would never stop this bastard from being beaten by his family members.
He walked over to Lanny Parrish, who was examining a body, and greeted her. The black beauty's attire was the most comfortable of any black woman Jack had ever met.
While she occasionally sported a dreadlock, she mostly wore her hair long and smooth, and wore minimal makeup, never putting on anything out of place.
"Hi, Jack, long time no see. You look even more handsome now." Lanny took off her gloves and smiled brightly as she accepted the bear claw bread from Jack.
Knowing the medical examiner didn't like coffee, Jack had brought her some extra bread from his morning bake.
"You too, are you seeing a new boyfriend? You look good,"
Jack said casually, but then he noticed Lanny's eyes involuntarily meet Esposito's, and he coughed to change the subject.
"The deceased is Dr. Valerie Monroe, the attending physician in internal medicine at the county hospital."
Jack glanced suspiciously at Esposito, who was scratching his head and forcing himself to avoid looking back.
Beckett didn't notice the brief exchange, already immersed in his investigation. "She's a doctor? Is she related to the deceased?"
"Kevin is taking statements from the family. We'll find out soon." Esposito gestured to the elderly woman sitting in a nearby chair and his partner, who was squatting before her, a small notebook in hand.
"Cause of death?" Beckett continued.
"Liver failure. The old man drank like a fish." The elderly woman, with the mid-century bouffant hair style popular, had a keen ear.
"I don't know the girl, but I'm sure no one would commit suicide for my husband. He only liked to hook up with those older than him."
"Thank you for the tip," Beckett said, suppressing a smile as he thanked the elderly woman, who was expected to live past a hundred.
"Ah, that's right. Maybe we already know the cause of Mr. Mank's death." Lanny was also trying hard to suppress her laughter. "But the cause of death of this doctor is a mystery. There are no gunshot wounds, stab wounds, or any
signs of binding." She temporarily handed the bear claw bread that she had bitten twice back to Jack, put on gloves and lifted the hair of the female corpse. "There is a bruise on the back of her head left behind, but it is not serious enough to be fatal.
Judging from the livor mortis and liver temperature, she died between 7 and 9 last night, but the specific cause of death can only be found after I perform an autopsy."
"So it is obvious that someone wanted to get rid of this body in this way, and of course her mobile phone and wallet." Beckett's eyes swept over the woman's handbag next to the body.
Cassel couldn't help but exclaimed, "The guy who did this is so smart. He actually thought of hiding the body in a coffin that already contained the deceased.
He had specifically chosen a Satay because, according to their tradition, the coffin would not be opened after the body was buried. If it weren't for the accident while carrying the coffin, the doctor would have disappeared forever. "
Beckett glanced at the time on his watch and ordered, "Talk to the funeral director and find out who had access to the coffin in the past 12 hours."
So everyone started to get busy with their own things. Esposito went to question the funeral director, Kevin stayed at the scene to continue taking notes, and Beckett went back to the police station to call the hospital where the deceased had worked.
Forensic doctor Lannie continued to stay at the scene to collect evidence, while waiting for the forensic team to come and take pictures and carry the body back to her office.
As for Jack and Cassel, of course they went to the Chinese restaurant they had booked in advance for brunch, and brought Beckett a takeaway.
"The girls around you are all very young. Can you tell me why my daughter wants this so much? "
Satisfiedly finishing a serving of steamed river eel with fermented black beans with rice, Cassel wiped his mouth with a napkin and took out his cell phone to show Jack the photo.
In the photo, Alexis was wearing a dress and holding a helmet, posing on a scooter, looking very cute.
Jack glanced at the photo and continued to eat the grilled crucian carp with green onions that was full of thorns slowly.
"Are you talking about the motorcycle helmet in the style of a Manroda helmet or the Vespa scooter she was riding. "
The Vespa motorcycle is the small scooter that Gregory Peck carried Audrey Hepburn through the streets of Rome in the movie "Roman Holiday".
If we talk about hype, it has to be the Europeans. The Italians have turned a small scooter into a synonym for art and elegance.
The Vespa motorcycle originally looked like this:
After "Roman Holiday" became a hit, it became like this:
Okay, this is just a joke, but the fact that such a small thing dares to be sold at an average price of US$5,000 is indeed full of brand premium. You know, the electric tricycles sold all over North America from Margrave are only US$3,000 each.
"Shouldn't you ask Detective Beckett this question? I remember she said she had a 1994 Harley Softail. Haven't you seen her riding that big guy in tight black leather pants? "
Jack's words gave Castle a burst of reverie, and then the beautiful scenery in his mind was quickly replaced by the image of his own good daughter, which made him shudder.
"Damn, you don't mean to say that Alexis is entering a rebellious period, do you?"
"What do you think? Judging from her age, she should have entered the rebellious period a long time ago." Jack shrugged and deliberately frightened him, "Be careful, I heard that the more obedient the girl is, the more serious the situation will be."
So until the two of them walked into the detective's office of the 12th Precinct of the NYPD, Castle still looked worried and anxious, and even Beckett noticed that something was wrong with him.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
Jack repeated the previous conversation between the two with a smirk. It was still the same principle. The smile would not disappear, it would only transfer from one person's face to another.
The bad mood he had been in since being intimidated all night last night had now completely recovered.
(End of this chapter)