The embalming machine pumped fluid into her and blood flowed red from the vein. Gradually, the venous blood became a lighter color. Her heart stopped but the machine pumped on. Soon the fluid flowing from the groin incision was almost colorless, like the embalming fluid. He stopped the pump and disconnected it from her body. She could wait in the cold room until tomorrow. He fished in his pocket for the metal disk, tied it to her toe with a fresh piece of string, and stood over his work. His heart was pounding and his breathing was rapid as if he had just run a race. What power, what absolute power, he thought.

Something doesn’t seem right about the cadavers at the Portland University Health Center Medical School dissection laboratory–well, about one cadaver. Grace, director and primary lecturer of the medical gross anatomy course for fifteen years, knew something was amiss, but she couldn’t quite figure it out. She would have to ask Carl, the lab’s mortician, to get to the bottom of it.

But Carl knows exactly what is happening in the lab. It’s where he’s disposing his victims.

About the Author

H. L. Riviere is a retired professor of medicine and dentistry. Her career of nearly four decades included working at such esteemed universities as the University of Illinois, the University of California, and the University of Kansas.

Riviere earned a PhD in Human Anatomy from the University of Illinois Medical Center. In addition to her many faculty appointments, she has held consultant positions, published many industry articles, and earned a number of honors and awards throughout her career.

Riviere currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, where she enjoys painting, golfing, and writing. Her expertise in head and neck anatomy was the inspiration for The Diener.