Chapter 7 - The Accident That Wasn’t
Daniel’s SUV had been found near a concrete drainage channel eleven miles from the warehouse.
Front end damaged.
Driver’s airbag deployed.
Blood on the steering wheel.
His wallet in the center console.
His wedding ring under the passenger seat.
Police initially believed the vehicle left the road.
But there was no body.
That fact had been obscured by the language everyone around me used.
Recovered remains.
Closed coffin.
Severe damage.
I realized nobody had ever personally told me:
“We identified Daniel’s body.”
Margaret did.
Ryan did.
The funeral representative did.
But law enforcement?
No.
Detective Ortiz later sat across from me.
“We had not formally closed the missing-person component.”
“Then why was there a funeral?”
“That is a question we are asking.”
The answer was ugly.
A private mortuary transport company delivered a sealed casket with documentation stating Daniel’s remains had been released after identification in another county.
The documents were false.
The county had released nothing.
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The signature belonged to a deputy medical examiner who had never seen the paperwork.
Someone created a funeral before there was a confirmed death.
