Free Seaside Secrets by Cindy Bell

to speak to the coroner.”
    “ Why would you need to speak to the coroner?” he asked as his pale green eyes settled on her.
    “ Honestly, I just have a few personal health issues and I'd like to know if he had any of these issues at the time of his passing,” she explained. “It would only take a few minutes.”
    “ I'll see if she's free,” he agreed and picked up the phone on the desk. Suzie smiled with relief. She had expected to have to lie more than that, but apparently Jason's reputation was as stellar as Louis at the library had described it.
    “ Sure, uh huh,” the desk sergeant muttered into the phone. “All right then I'll send her down,” he said, then hung up the phone. When he looked back up at Suzie his expression hadn't changed. “Just take that elevator there,” he pointed to the elevator at the end of the lobby. “Hit B for Basement,” he explained. “Then go down the hall and it's the third door on the right,” he lowered his voice as he added. “Make sure you go right, the doors on the left, you don't want to see what's in there,” he assured her.
    Suzie cringed a little at the idea of what the doors on the left might be hiding. She assumed they might contain bodies. She didn't think a small town like Garber had too many murders to be concerned about, but then she wouldn't have anticipated a crooked mayor either. As she rode down on the elevator she felt her anxiety rising. She wondered if she would be able to convince the coroner to tell her the truth about her uncle's death. Was it possible that she had been bought and paid for by Mayor Ralley as well?
    When she stepped off the elevator she found a dimly lit and completely empty hallway. The doors weren't even marked. There was nothing in the hallway to indicate where she should go and where she shouldn't. She counted the doors and made sure that she went to the right. When she opened the door she was greeted by a stark, medicinal scent that made her stomach churn slightly. A woman was standing over a microscope, her dark blonde hair swept up into a half-bun at the back of her head, the rest flowing down over her shoulders to reach her mid-back. When she turned to see who had stepped inside, Suzie was surprised to see how young she looked. Maybe even younger than Jason. She had soft features, and soothing hazel eyes that seemed to set Suzie at ease.
    “ Hello, I'm Suzie Allen,” she said as she stepped further into the room.
    “ Ah yes, Ms. Allen, sorry,” she pulled the gloves she was wearing off her hands and disposed of them in the bio-hazard container that was closest to her. “I'm Dr. Rose, I'm actually really glad to have the chance to speak with you.”
    “ Really?” Suzie asked. “Why is that?”
    “ Well, we get a lot of heart attacks around here,” she explained and then hesitated. “I hope that I didn't offend you.”
    “ Not at all,” Suzie said gently. “I didn't know my uncle very well.”
    “ Well, like I've said I've seen quite a few heart attacks. This particular heart attack is a very rare one. I've never seen one myself before. The heart itself was in perfect condition prior to the attack.”
    “ That's strange,” Suzie said as she narrowed her eyes.
    “ Very strange,” Dr. Rose agreed with a nod. “Especially since these types of heart attacks are only seen in two types of people. Extreme athletes, and drug users.”
    “ Oh,” Suzie cringed as she shook her head. “I don't think my uncle was a drug user.”
    “ I don't think so either,” Dr. Rose admitted. “His liver was in good health, habitual drug use or drinking would have caused damage to his liver. I believe he might have taken a very high dose of something, however I couldn't find anything in his blood.”
    “ Is that why you ruled his death to be of natural causes?” Suzie pried carefully.
    “ Yes, unfortunately, I can't prove otherwise,” she paused a moment and looked into Suzie's eyes. “I can't prove it, but I do suspect