2019-11-17 - Inquiries

It'd been a sharp catch by the mortician, something that hadn't looked quite right when she was embalming the body of someone who was tagged as having died from an overdose. The call to the coroner's office had another examiner assigned to it to double check the findings and review the samples and autopsy results, and now? That very examiner tasked with double checking was delivering the results in person.

A folder is held in his hands, the manila colored envelope not overly thick, but large enough to hold it's fair share of documents. Whomever is there to greet him is flashed a faint smile, even as he explains, "Here to see the funeral director," His thumb catches the edge of his papers, a quick glance cast down towards them to confirm, "Beth Lawson."

Beth is in her office off of the entrance foyer when Yule comes in. She looks up from whatever paperwork she is currently engrossed with, pushes her glasses up by the nose piece, and stands up from her desk to go into the foyer to greet Yule. When he explains who he is looking for she smiles in return, "I'm Beth Lawson." She glances to the manila colored envelope before looking back to Yule's face, "How can I help you?"

It's a touch of familiarity that enters Yule's brown eyes when Beth makes her appearance, and out his hand comes in an offering of greeting. "Yule Duchannes. Medical Examiner," Left off is any formal salutation of Doctor, the man instead getting to the heart of the question she had asked. "They had me take a look at your inquiry and review the findings of the examiner who had signed off on it. Find it better to put faces to names," It's an easy smile, if small, but no less sincere as it settles on the man's features. "If you have a bit to see what I've found out."

A look of understanding crosses Beth's face as Yule states his job title and his purpose for being here today. She reaches out to shake his hand in greeting, her grip firm but not overly so. "Thank you for coming. I just hope I haven't wasted anyone's time. I know how busy your office can get." She gives him a slightly apologetic look, as if preempting that his or another's time has been wasted, before she motions towards the office. "Of course. Please come in. Would you like some water or a coffee? We have soda, too."

"It's no problem," He reassures, head dipping into a small nod, even as his own hand squeezes back. It's firm, but not overly so, and nor does it linger excessively long. "Always good to be thorough, yeah? Least we can do for the families. Coffee, please. No cream or sugar." Yule steps through into her office, a brief glance given to soak in all of the small and large things, even as he sets the stage to make sure they both are on the same page. "The official cause had been accidental overdose. The note I saw showed you observed an odd reaction with the embalming fluid that gave cause for concern. Makes sense." Not an ounce of frustration to be had at the fact they've had to go back and double check everything. "How long have you been doing this? If I recall right, from my mispent youth," It's just a touch of casual humor, those brown eyes watching where she heads towards. "This was the Lawson funeral home way back then, too."

Beth gives Yule a reassured smile when he says it was no problem, and she nods her head gently. "One black coffee coming up." She steps out of the room briefly and returns with a black coffee in a styrofoam cup, and offers it to him. This gives Yule a moment to soak in the office. "Would you like a seat?" She asks, gesturing invitingly to one of the chairs in front of the desk. She sits down behind it herself, and when he informs her of the results she lets out a sigh that sounds relieved. "Good. It's hard enough for the family to have to deal with that sort of death." His question causes her to tip her head backwards as if thinking, "Well, my dad and my granddad were the funeral directors before me. Pops just turned the duties over to me recently and is part-time. I was doing the majority of the embalming probably ten years before that." She pauses and looks him over when he mentions having lived in Gray Harbor in his youth. "I think I went to high school with some Duchannes, but we weren't in the same grade."

Yule takes that offered seat in the chair, settling in as he flips open the folder he brought along. "There is a bit more, though. And it's a good thing you called it in. While I was able to confirm the amount of heroin in the system was fatal, just as the first examiner found? I double checked and tested what had been in the syringe. It was laced with a bit of bleach. This, I think, is what you likely observed as your oddities. It'd have been pretty nasty had the person not overdosed." The report is placed down on the desk, just in case she wants to look it over herself, even as he takes that cup she's brought for him into his fingers. "Won't change the ruling, but it does provide something more for the detectives to poke into, see if there was something else going on, or just a really nasty batch of drugs out there."

Yule considers Beth for a moment, a flicker of a smile curling to the corners of his mouth. "Snow or Winter. Younger than myself, and Nat is only a year younger than me, so couldn't have been her." He waits to see if any of those names jostle her memory, letting the conversation flow back to her own family. "Yeah? Good to have a family business to invest in. Just keeps that connection alive. I've only recently returned myself after a twenty year absence... got all settled in about a month ago, maybe."

Beth's face falls a little when he tells her there was bleach in the syringe. "Jesus." She breathes out, and she leans forward slightly to glance over the report. "Will the family be told?" She wonders, and a slight frown accompanied by a little furrowing of her brows crosses her face. "They are taking the death hard. But maybe I'm just being sensitive to it. My brother passed from an overdose, too." She looks up from the report, "What would have happened if they didn't overdose?"

"Oh, I think it was Winter." She adds a little more lightly. "He is the boy, right?" She smiles then, "Well, man now I suppose. We're all far more grown than we ever imagined we would be at this point." She nods her head gently, "It is. It's a good way to be of service to the community. I noticed your name on some paperwork so I knew they had someone new at the medical examiners office. Did you get nostalgic for all the rain?"

"It'll be up to the detectives, but likely not. Even without it? He would have died, unfortunately. Had the dose been less," It's there Yule pauses, offering a faint smile towards Beth, and one dark brow arches upwards. "You sure you want to know?" It's there he lets the thought rest, leaving it up to her how much of the details she'd like to be ware of when it comes to the more morbid thoughts.

"Yeah. Middle of the brothers. He's still around town, but all too often out in the forest with his bats." This draws a touch of affection to his voice even as Yule mentions it, a small scuff of laughter escaping from him. "Forest science... something or another. Biology. Does research on them." A touch more laughter comes at the mention of rain, his head shaking back and fourth. "Hell no. One thing I could do without, but at least it doesn't as cold as NYC in the winters, unless you go up in the mountains. IT was family. Came back a year ago, and it... just felt time to come home, yeah?"

Beth hesitates when he asks her if she really wants to know before she nods her head. "If someone is putting bleach in heroin and someone else passes away I need to know what the signs look like so I can contact your office again, I'm afraid."

Her expression lightens again at the mention of what Winter is up to, "That sounds super cool, actually." Her smile widens when he laughs and shakes his head. "Well I always tell people new to town to invest in some vitamin D, but you probably know more about all that than I do."

"It depends on the amount. In a low dose, like that? Likely it just would have felt like burning through his veins. In higher concentrations, it would cause the arteries to burst, leading to internal bleeding. The more bleach? The more bursting of veins and the more obvious it becomes. Their prognosis would depend upon how much, and if they were smart enough to get into the hospital before they bled out on the inside." Calm. Thorough and factual, in this facet? Yule is nothing but professional, a thread of respect for the fate of those poor souls that would have to go through it.

And just like that, the switch changes, that faint smile curling back as he returns to family. "He loves it. He's so often outside in the forest." A warm bit of laughter comes from him at the mention of vitamin D, and he murmurs, "And sunlamps. Jesus, those do wonders when it's been fourteen days straight without any sort of sunshine."

Beth doesn't look horrified at the description, but she has spent most of her adult life preparing bodies for burial. She's probably seen just as bad if not worse than that. She nods simply at his description and says, "I'll watch out for signs of it."

She is able to compartmentalize in a similar way and yet again her expression lightens. "That sounds better than an office any day. Well, except on the days where you'd freeze your hiney off from the cold." She lets out a murmured sound of agreement at the mention of sunlamps before she adds jokingly, "The town should start printing fliers with tips to fight against the gloom along with coupons for the nutrition store, tanning salon, and the bars when the vitamin D and sunlamps don't work."

"Or you get caught in the pouring rain. Or find yourself under a swarm of pooping bats." It draws a broader smile to his features momentarily, that touch of fondness for his brother apparent. "But Winter loves it. When I see him next? I'll mention I ran into you." Out he reaches, picking that report back up now that the business side of things have been settled, and it's closed, tucked beneath an arm before he turns to drinking his coffee.

"You'd think it'd be a big, booming business around here, yeah?" A soft 'mmm' is had as he takes another drink, letting the scent of that coffee wash over his face for a heartbeat. "So what should I tell Winter you are doing these days, besides hanging out with the dead?"

Beth laughs a little, "Well better pouring rain than pouring guano I guess. And he probably doesn't remember me, honestly. I think he was in the grade ahead of me. Might remember my sister Angela before he remembers me, and she lives in Florida now." She responds cheekily, "Well, the bars seem to be doing well enough." She shrugs her shoulder a little before she admits, "Honestly? That's all I'm doing lately. My dad really wants to retire. I'm planning on hiring an assistant and maybe an embalmer, but it's mostly me here so I don't have a lot of spare time." She gives him a curious little look before she asks, "Are you settling in okay? If you need breakfast recommendations I can tell you the Grizzly Den Diner is fantastic if you love bears and hate omelets."

"You might be surprised." Comes Yule's murmured thought about it all, though a soft snort comes from him at the talk of the bars. "Yeah. I've moved into a trailer next to the family. Not sure if you recall, but that was our family business - running the Huckleberry Trailer Park. Nat is the one that took over all that, and I'm sure she could commiserate with you on the sheer amount of time it all takes." That small bit of laughter turns a touch broader at the breakfast recommendation, one dark brow ticking upwards. "With a ringing endorsement like that? It's going to be hard to refuse." The last of that coffee is polished off, and down his mug comes, settling upon the edge of her desk.

"That might be why the family name is familiar, too." Beth says with some certainty. "Running family businesses are tough." She says in agreement, "And if you mess up it's not like you're just failing yourself but however many generations of your family have had it." She lets out a huff of amusement when he laughs outright at her quip. "Well you know it's just a little diner. Can only get the bear necessities there." Pun unleashed out into the world she notices his coffee is finished, and stands up from her chair to guide him towards the door. "Thanks for coming by and letting me know about this."

Up his eyes roll even as he moves to stand at that pun, but there is the faintest of smiles that grace his mouth. "Low hanging fruit. Low hanging fruit," He teases, before he brushes off his pants, straightening the sweater that he wears. "Good to see you formally, Beth. If you ever have any questions? Feel free to reach out." Off he goes, guided towards the door with her, "And I have a feeling your family business? Is in very good hands." A beat of a pause, and then he returns the favor of the horrible puns, "You'll knock them dead." And with that, he slips out, heading back on his way to tend to work.

"Is the best sort to pick." Beth retorts to his tease , and as they reach the front door she opens it to hold it for him. "It's nice to meet you, too. And likewise. Like I said I really like to be of help to the community." She groans aloud at his pun as he walks out the door, "Come on now!" She cries out before she follows it with, "Have a good day!" She watches as he heads out to the sidewalk before closing the door.