Oath of Office

The paper cap and shield covered more of Dr. Nuri’s face than a rusari, which was good, because she made Sassani uncomfortable enough. The blue surgical gown and dark rubberized apron obscured the shape of her body. But a wicked tongue more than made up for her modest appearance.

“You should not be here,” she snapped.

“This is a matter of great urgency,” Sassani said, unhappy at having to explain himself to anyone, least of all a woman. The fact that she had at least twice his education was of no consequence.

“Have you no shame? Surely the Sepah-e Pasdaran have a female operative they could send to oversee the autopsy of a woman.”

Sassani took a deep breath, death and disinfectant and all. “As I said, a matter of great urgency.”

Long-handled scalpel poised over the body, Nuri looked up to peer at Sassani, as if to say something else. In the end, she returned to her work, the blade sinking into the bloodless flesh at the left shoulder to begin the large Y incision that would open Farhad’s chest.

Sassani coughed. “The cause of her death is more than obvious,” he said. “Is that really necessary?”

Dr. Nuri paused her cutting at the top of the sternum. “A postmortem examination can tell the entire story.” She glanced at the doors along the far wall, where the other bodies were held. There were twenty of them, five across and four high, with pull handles like the deep freeze in the market near Sassani’s home.

The doctor continued. “We may believe we know that the manner of death was, say, hanging. An internal examination can tell us the exact mechanism of death. Did the rope cause the decedent to suffocate, or did a lack of blood flow to his brain cause a stroke first? Such an examination could tell us if forty-one of the fifty-two bones in this person’s feet were cracked and broken. If he simply died from heart failure, at least two days before his body was hanged. It is written that even the bones of the living or the dead unbeliever should not be broken.”

Sassani glanced at the rib cutters and steel saw in the tray beside Nuri. “And yet here you are, about to break the bones of the dead — for the security of the revolution. I ask again. Is an internal examination of Maryam Farhad necessary?”

Nuri dropped her scalpel into the tray. “If I am not mistaken, you are the one who ordered the postmortem.”

“Tell me your findings up to this point,” Sassani said, happy to gain back at least some bit of control.

Dr. Nuri stepped away from the body to look at an open folder on the counter behind her, by the sink.

“I have photographed the body from all angles.” She looked up at Sassani. “I will tell you, she was quite beautiful in life. You can print them over there if you want to carry photographs of a nude dead woman with you — for evidence. I should say, that might scandalize even a major of the Sepah.”

Sassani ignored her. “What else?”

“X-ray findings of four projectiles still in the body are consistent with twelve entry and seven exit wounds—”

“Seven?”

“Yes,” Nuri said. “Two of the projectiles likely left the body through the same wound.” She pointed to two small holes in the side of Farhad’s neck. “See how these may be covered with the tip of my finger?” She cradled the head with both hands, lifting slightly to expose a gaping hole just below the base of the woman’s skull. “And this could not be covered with my fist. Your bullets do a tremendous amount of damage as they exit.”

“Yes,” Sassani said. “That is the purpose of bullets. Is it not? Do you have any information of value?”

“She engaged in sexual intercourse shortly before her death.”

Sassani did not try to hide his smile. “So there is… evidence?”

“Of course,” the doctor said. “That is how I know.” She nodded to several test tubes in a metal stand on the counter. Each contained a cotton swab. “There is no bruising, or anything else to indicate that she fought. But I must tell you that does not mean it was consensual.”

“Oh,” Sassani said, “I am sure that it was consensual. She was naked and smoking a cigarette when we found her.”

“A capital crime, to be sure,” Dr. Nuri sniped.

“The DNA evidence,” Sassani said. He was not about to explain himself to this woman. “I need it now.”

“That will take time,” Nuri said.

Sassani clenched his jaw. “I tell you again,” he said. “This is a matter of great urgency. I must know the ethnicity of the man.”

“That can be done.”

“Then do it.”

“I will begin as soon as I complete the internal examination.”

“There is no time,” he said. “I need the information at once.”

“Major…” Nuri cocked her head to the side, as if explaining to a child why he could not have an ice cream. “The science dictates otherwise. Contrary to what you have seen in the cinema, a DNA test simply cannot be accomplished in the space of one hour, or even two. Extraction, the removal of salts and other contaminants, quantification, and then amplification through polymerase chain reaction will re—”

“Spare me the jargon,” Sassani snapped. “How much time to you require?”