Free Whispers of the Dead by Simon Beckett

Hicks gave a sniff, disappointed to be deprived of a confrontation.
'I want everything ready in half an hour, Webster. Make sure it is.'
'Yes, sir. I'm sorry . . .' Kyle said, but the pathologist had already
turned away. The heavy door swung shut behind him.
'Well, I'm sure we all feel better for that,' Tom said into the
silence. 'Sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean to get you into trouble.'
The younger man smiled, but his cheeks still flamed red. 'That's
OK. But Dr Hicks is right. I really ought to--'
The door burst open before he could finish. For a second I
thought Hicks might have come back, but it was a harried-looking
young woman who appeared rather than the pathologist.
I guessed she was the student Tom had mentioned would be helping
us. She was in her early twenties and wore a faded pink T-shirt
over well-worn cargo pants, both stretched by her ample build. The
bleached blond hair had been pulled into some sort of order by a red
and white polka dot Alice band, and her round glasses gave her an
amiably startled appearance. It should have clashed with the steel
balls and rings that studded her ears, nose and eyebrows, but
somehow didn't. Once you'd got over the initial surprise, the painful
looking array of metalwork seemed to suit her.
Her words were tumbling out in a rush before the door had even
swung shut.
'God, I can't believe I'm /ate! I left early so I could stop off at the
facility to check my project, but then I totally lost track of time! I'm
really sorry, Dr Lieberman.'
'Well, you're here now,' Tom said. 'Summer, I don't think you've
met David Hunter. He's British, but don't hold that against him. And
this is Kyle. He's been holding the fort till you got here.'
A dazed smile spread across Kyle's face. 'Pleased to meet you.'
'Hi.' Summer beamed, revealing an industrial-looking brace. She
glanced across at the body, with interest rather than revulsion. It
would have been a shocking sight for most people, but the facility
helped prepare students for such grim realities. 'I haven't missed anything,
have I?'
'No, he's still dead,' Tom reassured her. 'You know where everything
is, if you want to get changed.'
'Sure.' She turned to go out, catching a stainless steel trolley full of
instruments with her bag. 'Sorry,' she said, steadying it, before
disappearing through the doorway.
A stunned quiet settled over the autopsy suite once more. Tom
wore a half-smile. 'Summer's our resident whirlwind.'
'I noticed,' I said.
Kyle was still staring at the door with a shell-shocked expression.
Tom gave me an amused glance, then cleared his throat.
'The samples, Kyle?'
'What?' The technician looked startled, as though he'd forgotten
we were there.
'You were about to get them packed up for the lab.'
'Oh, right. Sure, no problem.'
With a last hopeful glance at the doors, Kyle gathered up the
samples and went out.
'I think it's safe to say our Summer's got an admirer,' Tom said
wryly. He turned back to the table and suddenly winced, rubbing his
breastbone as though he had trapped air.
'Are you OK?' I asked.
'It's nothing. Hicks is enough to give anyone heartburn,' he said.
But his colour wasn't good. He reached for the tray of instruments
and gave a gasp of pain.
'Tom--'
    'I'm all right, dammit!' He raised his hand as if to ward me off,
then turned it into a gesture of apology.'I'm fine, really'
I didn't believe him. 'You've been on your feet since before I got
here. Why don't you take a break?'
'Because I don't have time,' he said irritably. 'I promised Dan a
preliminary report.'
'And he'll get one. Summer and I can finish off removing the soft
tissue.'
He gave a grudging nod. 'Maybe just a few minutes . . .'
I watched him go out, struck by how frail he looked. He'd never
been a physically imposing man, but the flesh seemed to have melted
from him. He's getting old. It was a fact of life. But that didn't make it
any easier to accept.
Tom's CD had long since ended, leaving