Narrative: Penny Ross @ the B&B and the ME Office Who: Penny Ross and some NPC types Where: The ME's office and the B&B What: Dead People! When:After this is reported Warnings: Dead people
It wasn't that people didn't die in Repose, people died everywhere. It was just rare that they required the services of the Medical Examiner's office. And it wasn't that she wanted people to die mysteriously. In theory, it was a good thing she wasn't busy.
Penny's days were spent assisting other counties with her expertise, and giving lectures at the high school during drinking and driving week. She told horror stories to driver's education classes. She filled in lecturing at the community college. She filled in as Coroner when she needed to. She rearranged the filing system at the ME's office. She watched iZombie on Netflix. She went on a New Year's bender. She missed Graham, she missed Clementine. She contemplated running away again. She looked for the missing kid, because as much as she wanted something to do, the last thing she wanted was a three year old coming through her office. So she looked, and looked, and looked. And she prayed. They found him. Then she won some money on the Panthers. Things were looking up! She sobered up (again). She redecorated her kitchen.
So when the call came in that she was needed at the B&B she wasn't sure her ME winter coat would even fit. It did!
She arrived at the B&B and got to work examining the two bodies that were in the carriage house. It seemed cut and dry to her at a glance as she took notes down about everything she could see in front of her. Red lips, cheeks, fingernail beds. She'd seen it before. The physical signs coupled with the oven door being open made carbon monoxide poisoning (possibly intentional??) the choice of the hour, she went about determining the time of death. It had been a couple of days at least. It reminded her to hire a housekeeper, so someone would find her in case she died.
Then someone told her the oven wasn't even on. She scratched a few things off on her notepad. The oven wasn't turned on. Faulty central heating caused carbon monoxide poisoning in a sizable percentage of cases, especially in the winter months. She suggested someone get an HVAC expert to check it out to rule that out. It was getting interesting. She asked a deputy to send her pictures of all heating elements in the house from space heaters to wood stoves. She asked for pictures and lists of every chemical in the house. She gave her on the scene report and said she'd take the bodies to the ME's office and send her full report once she had the autopsies done.
A couple of paramedics and deputies loaded the deceased into her van and she made her way down the freshly salted road back to the ME's office with something new to do.