Chapter 23

Mayor Hamilton stumbled through the stairs, his wife following closely behind him. He could hear her sobbing softly as she went. Her hands held on firmly to the railings for support.

Dr. Gary Carson walked in front, leading the way. He was a tall and huge man, and his huge frame covered most of the path that lay ahead of them. Mayor Hamilton had chosen to use the stairs because he’d figured he would have adequate time to prepare for whatever was waiting for him once he reached the morgue to take a look at his son’s body. But he was wrong. Nothing could prepare him for the pain he was about to experience.

The stairs were long and broad. Mayor Hamilton was beginning to wonder whether the architect had followed some kind of new design that only favored people who were much taller when he built the place, but he could not say it openly. Somehow, it did not seem fitting for him to leave his predicament to worry about how the stairs were formed.

After taking about eight