The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 408

Arthur didn't seem the least bit offended by the rejection. In fact, he laughed it off. "Figured as much. Hardly anyone back in the States actually likes the taste of raw goat's milk."

"Cow's milk is an easy sell, but trying to find an export market for the goat's milk has been an absolute nightmare. It was driving me crazy for a while. Anyway, why am I boring you with farm logistics? Do you want to come down here and grab dinner with us? I'll drop you a pin."

"I heard you're catching up with friends, so I won't intrude," Nathan replied smoothly. "But go ahead and text me the address. When you're all finished, I'll swing by and pick Grandpa up."

"Deal. I was gonna say I could just drop him off myself, but if you want to make the drive, that works too. It's been way too long—we'll grab a drink and actually catch up when you get here."

"Oh, and make sure you bring your fiancé along! I want to meet her," Arthur added warmly. "I didn't fly all this way without bringing a proper engagement gift."

Before Nathan could even agree, Arthur had already shoved the phone back into Harold's hands.

"You're really coming to pick me up?" Harold clearly felt terrible making his grandson play chauffeur. "Why go through the trouble? I can just have the driver come get me. You and Nora have been working yourselves to the bone all day; you should just stay home and relax."

"It's fine, Grandpa. Just text me when you're wrapping up."

Nathan waited until Harold reluctantly agreed before ending the call.

Noticing the slight tension in Nathan's jaw, Nora asked softly, "Are you worried about Grandpa?"

Nathan gave a curt nod.

Nora opened her mouth to ask why, but her phone suddenly erupted with a sharp ringtone. Her expression instantly shifted into strictly professional mode. She pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and answered without hesitation.

"This is Nora."

"Nora, are you busy right now? We just had a body drop at the precinct," Julia Ryland's frantic voice came through the speaker.

Nora's gaze sharpened into ice. "I'm on my way."

Having just walked through the front door, she now had to pivot right back out. Knowing Nathan had to pick up his grandfather later, she refused to let him drive her back into the city.

Nathan wasn't thrilled about it, but he relented, strictly ordering the Peyton family's private driver to get her to the precinct as fast and safely as possible. His overprotective intensity made Nora smile helplessly.

"Call me if you run into any issues," Nathan demanded as he walked her to the car.

Normally, a dead body meant a civilian had called in a homicide, which would trigger a direct call to Nathan as the Captain. Since Julia had bypassed him and called forensics directly, it likely meant it wasn't a high-profile murder, just a standard suspicious death requiring an immediate autopsy.

"Nothing."

"She's dressed in an oversized hospital gown that clearly doesn't belong to her. But her hair, face, and nails are impeccably clean. She definitely wasn't homeless or neglected."

Nora didn't waste another second on speculation. She marched into the locker room, quickly suited up in her sterile scrubs and PPE, and entered the autopsy suite.

...

"What's the verdict?"

A detective who had rushed over upon hearing the news asked as Nora stepped out of the suite, snapping off her latex gloves.

Nora's voice was calm and clinical. "The victim is a female, approximately eighty years old. Cause of death is entirely natural—consistent with acute myocardial infarction secondary to coronary heart disease. It was a massive heart attack. I can definitively rule out blunt force trauma, mechanical asphyxiation, toxicology, or any other unnatural factors."

The detective inhaled sharply. "So... the body itself is totally clean? No murder?"

"Correct," Nora confirmed with a curt nod. "The real mystery isn't how she died. It's who threw her away, and why."