“115 degrees! What is this thing doing so hot?” Sam Garrison asked Kavita as he removed the thermometer from the water.
He was investigating the death of Roma and Clint Underhill, prominent real estate brokers in Desert Palm.
“This hot tub should be no more than 109 degrees.”
He remembered reading a Consumer Product Safety Commission flyer on hot tubs and wondered if the tub was associated with the death. The bodies were being taken away for autopsy as he took in the scene.
“Hmm. What about these bottles of wine? It looks like they had a party—all by themselves! The medical examiner will check their blood alcohol level (BAL, or blood alcohol concentration—BAC) and we’ll be able to see his complete report on Monday. We may even be able to determine their cause of death with that information. I’ll ask the maid about any medications.”
He went into the sunroom off of the patio to where the maid was being consoled by another officer.
“Ma’am, can you tell me if the Underhills were taking any medicine?”
“Well, sir, I know he was complaining about having to use the bathroom a lot since he returned from the doctor’s office about two weeks ago. You might look in the cabinet over the sink where they keep aspirin and such.”
Sam looked where she indicated and found a recently filled bottle of Lasix.
Monday afternoon, the medical examiner phoned Sam with the following information:
Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/blood_pressure/blood_pressure2.asp
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