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Cold Cases
Respect the dead and the dead will respect you.
The mortuary, you would imagine, is a sombre place. A place where police officers take a deferential approach to their work. A place where they show respect for those unfortunate corpses by talking in whispers while they strip and tag the dead. Efficient and professional come to mind.
It seems right for officers to leave all humour and nonsense outside the door, you might think!
The mortuary, whether right or wrong, was often a place where police officers carried out their devious pranks on probationers. I fell afoul of one such prank perpetrated by my older colleagues, John and Herbert.
Our mortuary was at the rear of our hospital. We met family members at the front entrance and ushered them through the demure surroundings to spend a little time with their recently passed loved one. A viewing room allowed them to sit and view the departed relative.
The mortuary attendant prepared the deceased by removing him or her from the freezer and onto a trolley. He covered the deceased with a shroud (a simple, clean white sheet) and turn the head at an angle before wheeling the trolley into the viewing gallery. Once the family was ready, the mortuary attendant would open the small curtain so they could see their relative. The angle of the head is always…
