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This doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t have to read about more, the ones in the middle\u2026You should.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid wondered just why the prosecutor wanted him to come up to the courthouse. The message had come a couple days before, so he cleared out a couple of the early afternoon slots. Was he in trouble?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He parked the old \u201954 Chevy in the lot. The Hilux had rusted away, but he still used it for dump runs. When he struggled with buying a new truck Martha had looked at him with wonder. \u201cWhat have you always wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new 4WD Toyota would be cool and practical. But he\u2019d remembered the old 1953 Chevy his grandmother Lila had. Four speed gearbox, steady engine. He\u2019d told her he wanted it when he\u2019d helped her move from the old place into town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut Jason said he wants it.\u201d The truck was worn but in really good shape overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jason was his cousin\u2019s husband. Sid thought he would respect the value. \u201cHe\u2019ll take good care of it. You should give it to him It\u2019s a beauty. He\u2019ll take good care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, on a later visit, Sid had seen the truck beating through the little Eastern Oregon hamlet. The side was caved in and the muffler blasting. It had been beat to shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGramma, did you give that truck to Jason?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, Honey. I sold it to a guy here in town. He was going to use it to get wood. I didn\u2019t want there to be no bad blood between you two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gem trashed to preserve nothing. Sid knew this sentiment, this insidious peacemaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did you get for it?\u201d Sid knew it\u2019s value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, it was so old. He give me $200.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All to avoid a worried about conflict that wasn\u2019t there. Now it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Sid had found an old truck and fixed it up and now, in his later years of practice, he had some pride in it. It glowed in the lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019d even taken it on coroner calls. Folks recognized him rolling up. Sometimes, at least. Once on the highway east of town, called to a motor vehicle death, he\u2019d passed around the line of cars a deputy was holding. Sid could see the frown from a distance as he rolled up. \u201cYou\u2019re supposed to stay in line.\u201d The deputy had barked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid smiled and looked down. \u201cSorry, but I\u2019m the coroner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deputy smiled back and said to come on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he strode up to the steps, he was again wondering just what mistake he might have made. Such was his nature; always had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prosecutor met him in the hall. \u201cGood, you\u2019re here. We\u2019re all here.\u201d He said to a young woman who went into a room behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI haven\u2019t had time to brief you on this.\u201d Mr. Prosecutor held out a folder. \u201cWe\u2019re meeting with a family who had a child die a few years back. It seems the child\u2019s death was declared a natural death by our county coroner at the time, but they have found that such was not the case. I apologize I couldn\u2019t get these documents to you earlier to review, but the medical records are all here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid looked at the manila folder. It was thin. That\u2019s good. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prosecutor took a deep breath and launched in. \u201cThey have a legitimate grievance. We are trying to assure them such an injustice would not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInjustice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prosecutor handed Sid the folder. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you look through this. When you\u2019re done, come on in.\u201d He went through the door and Sid opened the folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The top sheets were an autopsy report for a 9-month-old child from the big city in a neighboring state. They described the cause of death as injury to internal organs from blunt trauma. The manner of death was listed as homicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next few pages described the hospital course for the infant before the autopsy was needed. Sid scanned them, knowing the pathways taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were police reports after that, usual observations. But the stories of the two attendants, mother and daughter, weren\u2019t consistent. This had not been pursued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last page was the official death certificate, filed by coroner of the county. So familiar, he had done so many of these. And it all comes down to the coroner, Sid knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this prior coroner had put \u2018pneumonia\u201d as the cause of death, and \u201cnatural\u201d as the manner of death. Sid couldn\u2019t clearly read the coroner\u2019s signature, but he knew of this guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This county had elected doctors to be coroners forever. That\u2019s why he was currently serving. Sid had been strong armed into getting appointed to the position by the exiting coroner, a young surgeon strong armed into running for the office by his older partner who had done it for four years. Most counties in this state had funeral directors as coroners. They got called to the scene anyway to pick up the body, why not have them fill out the paperwork? The doctors in Sid\u2019s county thought a medical professional should be involved in death investigations. So, they had handed around the office to the new guy in town, and Sid had been that guy 14 years ago. He had been unsuccessful recruiting any of the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Sid knew, doctors, like all people, aren\u2019t always honest. And Sid knew more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This doctor had left town under a cloud. He had been a member of a prominent conservative church, but his sexual orientation was not accepted by their dogma. Sid just knew rumors of this history. But here\u2019s his name, and here\u2019s this death certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid went into the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a big Formica table and about ten people seated around it. Sid only knew the prosecutor and two others. They were an older couple he had seen in the clinic with some of their many children. He knew them to be of the same faith as the former coroner, the fugitive doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd this is Doctor Hawthorne, our county coroner.\u201d The prosecutor intoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid nodded to the couple. He knew them from clinic visits, and they knew him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prosecutor continued. \u201cDoctor, you have read the reports. This family is here today to get our assurances that such a miscarriage of justice will never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid didn\u2019t speak. They needed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story came out. The day care providers were trusted fellow church members. The coroner also was of their faith, though, they acknowledged, he had lapsed. They believed what they had been told. But then when autopsy results were revealed\u2026. Tears flowed. They felt a deep wound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so did Sid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But inside he felt some relief. It was not his fuck up. He slowly grasped just who was around this table. There was probably an agent from the county\u2019s insurance company and at least a lawyer or two representing their interests. And since this had occurred in the city, Sid imagined some lawyers for that jurisdiction were here too. It\u2019s about risk and loss for them. Just what the hell was he here for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked down at the folder. He looked across at the sad couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The baby was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wish I could assure you.\u201d He placed the folder on the Formica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have done my best to insure good investigations of childhood deaths in this county. I have instituted child death investigations. Whenever a child dies, the death is reviewed by a panel of professionals, not just me. Our state is the only state in the union that does not have such a statewide review, but we do this here in our county. At least we do now, while I am coroner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid paused and looked around the table. Few of the lawyers met his eye, but the bereaved parents did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI cannot assure you that such will be the case in the future. The county coroner is an elected position. The voters will make this call. I am so sorry for this. I wish it had been done differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sid left the basement room and got into the 54 Chevy pickup. He sat a bit before turning the key and stomping the starter button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next day he found the phone number of the former coroner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a brief conversation. Sid told the guy he would be filing an amended death certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That night he replaced the coil on the old pickup in his cold garage. He tried to keep things running. It brought him a kind of peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the abdomen<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manner of death: Could not be determined<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t have to read about more, the ones in the middle\u2026You should. Sid wondered just why the prosecutor wanted him to come up to the courthouse. The message had come a couple days before, so he … Continue reading