FanStory.com - Alone Without a Whimper by Terry Broxson

Police corporal Dennis Gaston tells paramedic Fanny Wells, "This is how we found him. How long do you think since he died?"

"I don't know, a couple of days, most likely. Was there a note or anything?"

"No note. The front door was unlocked. Somebody asked for a welfare check. That's about all I know. I did find his wallet on the dresser; there are a couple of names and numbers for emergency contacts. I didn't do anything because our protocol requires we contact you first."

"Yeah, I know the drill. Did you see anything suspicious?"

"Not really. There are a lot of pills in the bathroom."

"At this point, it is hard to know if he died from a specific health problem, forgot to take his pills, or took too many pills."

***

Peggy Hill, a county medical examiner, is on the phone with Detective Sergeant Glenn Horne of the Dallas Police Department.

"Glenn, I talked to Mr. Bowman's doctor, and he told me Mr. Bowman had a long history of heart disease and that heart attack was most likely the cause of death. Our preliminary exam shows no trauma to the body."

"So you don't want to do an autopsy or anything, just call it heart failure?"

"Unless you guys found something else."

"Peggy, we didn't find much. He was a seventy-eight-year-old man living alone for the last five years after his wife died. He didn't seem to have many friends. We found two emergency contact names in his wallet. Mr. Bowman had named one the executor of his estate. She said he has no close family; his estate was left to nieces and nephews.

"We didn't find any note to indicate suicide. We found him because a neighbor called in a welfare check. His trash cans had not been taken inside for a couple of days. The neighbor said he didn't answer his phone. The front door was unlocked, which was odd. However, it is a secure, over fifty-five condo building. The place was not robbed.

"From the police's perspective, I don't see anything. No one seems to care."

"Glenn, it's cheaper and easier for us to call it heart failure and check that box for the death certificate."

"Sounds good to me."

***

"I know we are inheriting a bunch of money, but it is sad he died alone."

"I know, darlin', but there wasn't a thing we could do. It turned out just like he said it would."