Last Autopsy

The Last Autopsy - Overview

Glen Hollow was a small innocent town nestled in America's heartland. Life had been slow, safe, and predictable till residents of a nearby county started dying. Concerns over the distant deaths turn to terror when the body of a local girl is discovered in a snowy ditch behind a car repair shop. Under enormous pressure to decipher the death and catch the killer, a retired coroner rushes the body to a makeshift morgue. A religious rogue is arrested and charged with murder. During his trial, disturbing rumor surface and pique the interest of the national media. As the media probes deeper, they begin to unearth an unholy secret. Now, identifying the killer becomes an intricate puzzle. Under the white-hot spotlight of the media, the small town of Glen Hollow struggles to define established religious paradigms about when life begins and when life ends. A second man is charged with murder and a jury has to decide if the murdered girl actually died twice. In a remarkable conclusion, the reader witnesses how the search for truth liberates one man and destroys another.


Excerpts

Upon entering the chamber, a cold breeze brushed the skin like the breath of a ghost. Inside, the air smelled fresh, yet somehow spoiled, like an ocean cave littered with decaying sea creatures. When the long lights were turned on, one was startled by a disturbing vision. What first appeared to be animal carcasses hanging in a freezer were, in reality, dead human beings. The lifeless bodies of naked men, women, and children of all shapes, races, and sizes dangled from calipers that had been screwed deep into the ears. The entire assemblage of humanity hung on a mechanical conveyor similar to the transporters used by dry cleaners to shuttle clothes to waiting customers. As the conveyor turned, it swung the corpses around like a macabre merry-go-round. When the transporter stopped, dozens of naked men, women, and children, twisted, swirled, and swayed. Their legs and arms flailed in step like a morbid chorus line. The medical students called this the dance of the dead. For one cadaver, a woman in her early-forties, this dance would be her last.

So tell me, how do you explain the existence of a single grain of sand? Even if all that existed in the entire universe were one small grain of sand, it would be a mystery, a marvel, a miracle. How did it get here? Where did it come from? Who made it? And that's just a grain of sand. Our Earth teems with an abundance of life in countless colors and varieties. Look at the genetic code that makes us human, that imparts the color of our eyes, our experience to think, our capacity to love, our intellect to ponder the wonders of the world. This code is so intricate, so complex, that it could not possibly have evolved from mere evolutionary chance. The fact that anything exists, especially the abundance and diversity of life that we have here on Earth is a miracle that one cannot explain by some evolutionary roll of the dice. Jack, there has to be a higher source."

Reverend Godsend's appeal struck a note. Jack, though, was not so easily convinced.

"O.K., Joel, but that doesn't mean that it was your God that created all of this. Whoever created this world was a mathematician, a scientist, chemist, a physicist, a biologist. He would have to be brilliant, a gifted genius of science and magic.

"You've put your entire academic standing in jeopardy," Hoskins scolded as he leaned back into his padded leather chair and locked his hands behind his neck. "I've reviewed your academic record, Mr. Henley, and I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with your grades and your academic standing. You're a very bright student with much promise for a successful career in medicine. But frankly, I don't understand why you would autopsy one of our cadavers. Mind you, Mr. Henley, I understand your interest in forensics, but this is neither the place nor the time to perform autopsies."

Henley had not been listening. He had waited impatiently for the dean to pause. When he did, Henley dropped the bombshell.

"She was murdered!"

About The Author

Norbert Zaenglein is the author of two popular non-fiction titles including Disk Detective and Secret Software. He was born in Europe, served in the military, and has trained in law enforcement. He has published a number of trade magazines and a nationally-syndicated newsletter.

HiddenMysteries seldom offers fiction titles, except in rare cases where the novel is based on a true story, or the content of the novel is revealing of a foundational truth in our society.

The Last Autopsy is indeed one of the exceptions, showing small town injustice, corruption, lies, frauds, and murder.