Nikki had been astounded by his passionate defense. With the exception of her real grandfather, who had died when she was nine, she’d never had anyone take up for her the way Dr. Nance had. He’d cared enough to look beyond the dyed hair and heavy makeup, beyond the sullen demeanor and the chip on her shoulder. Maybe he’d seen a younger version of himself in Nikki. He’d taken her under his wing, encouraged her interest in science and had been instrumental in helping to secure the scholarships and grants that had made the dream of college and medical school a reality. His influence on her life had been immeasurable. His death would be the same. It would be days, months, perhaps even years, before Nikki would be able to process the impact.
She drew another breath as reality settled heavily around her heart. “This doesn’t make sense. He spent a lot of time out here on the lake. He loved to boat and fish. He was an excellent swimmer.”
“Anything can happen on the water,” Tom said. “Especially if you’re out here alone. He was getting on up there in years.”
“Seventy-three,” Nikki murmured. “With no sign of slowing down.”
“Maybe that was the problem. He could have had a heart attack or stroke. Who knows?” Tom’s shrug was far from nonchalant. “But it does make you wonder why no one called in a report. You and I both know he’s been in the water for days. Someone must have missed him. Friends, patients, his housekeeper. Someone.”
“They probably thought he was out of town. He told me last week he was headed to Houston for a medical conference. He planned to take a few extra days to get in some deep-sea fishing out of Galveston while he was down that way. But none of that explains how he ended up here.”
“Last-minute change of plans, maybe? It happens. How did he seem to you?”
Nikki thought about that final meeting and Dr. Nance’s usual ribbing.
Sure you won’t humor an old man and come with me? This time next week we can be out to sea, not a care between us. Might even go out deep enough to catch a big blue. Unlike my patients, yours won’t complain if you take a little time off.
“He seemed in a fine mood.” She tried to control the tremor in her voice. “He was looking forward to that fishing expedition in the Gulf.”
“No hint of trouble? No health complaints? Nothing out of the ordinary that you can remember?”
Nikki paused. Had he seemed distracted or was that hindsight playing tricks? Had he looked a little pale, been a little subdued despite his usual teasing?
“Not that I noticed at the time,” she said. “But I was in a hurry to get back to work and now I’m second-guessing that whole conversation. Maybe he was sick.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. There could be any number of explanations as to why he changed his plans. Maybe he backed out of the conference and decided to hide out at the lake for some R & R. God knows he deserved to.” Tom trailed his gaze over the water. “I’ll check with the conference registration about a cancellation. If his vehicle is at the cabin, that’ll tell us something about his plans. Maybe we’ll find his wallet and watch there, too. In any case, I think you should let Dr. Ramirez handle the autopsy.”
She nodded her agreement. In addition to her duties as the Nance County coroner, Nikki also worked as one of three full-time pathologists at the Northeast Texas Forensic Science Center. In the state of Texas, any death that couldn’t be explained by medical history or visual examination required an autopsy. The lab serviced all the rural counties in the Piney Woods area, so she and her colleagues stayed busy.
“I still can’t believe he’s gone.” She was no stranger to loss. Her beloved grandfather was long dead and the grandmother who raised her had passed away two years ago. Her parents were still alive, as far as she knew, but she hadn’t seen or heard from either in years. Now Dr. Nance was gone, too.
“It’ll take some time to sink in,” Tom said. “Memorial Hospital won’t be the same without him. His great-granddaddy built the original hospital. There’s been a Nance in charge for as long as anyone can remember. Hell, the Nances were some of the first settlers in these parts. His death coming so soon after all that other trouble...” He shook his head. “The community’s already on edge and people tend to think the worst when something like this happens. We need to head off speculation before the rumor mill starts to grind. We owe Dr. Nance that much. I’d like to call a press conference as soon as possible. Be a good idea if you were there, too.”
Nikki glanced across the body to where Tom still hunkered. She shuddered at the very notion of speaking to reporters about Dr. Nance’s death. “Wouldn’t it be better to wait until after the postmortem?”
“When will that be, do you think?”
“I’ll talk to Dr. Ramirez about prioritizing the schedule, but tomorrow is Friday and we’re swamped. It’ll probably be Monday morning at the earliest.”
“The news will be all over town by then,” Tom said, worried. “I don’t want to let people stew about it all weekend. At the very least, I’ll need to issue a statement. I’ve got a little pull with the paper these days. They’ll accommodate us as best they can in both the print and online editions.”
Nikki nodded, vaguely aware of his impending nuptials to Rae Cavanaugh, whose relatives owned the Echo Lake Star. But her
