When Adams asked why the viewing had proceeded after staff identified inconsistencies, Thomas rubbed his forehead.

“I thought the medical examiner’s certification settled it,” he said.

“You also told me embalming had been completed,” I reminded him.

He looked down.

“I shouldn’t have said that without checking.” It was the first unequivocal admission I had heard from anyone involved.

It did not explain Rachel’s condition, but it exposed how one person’s assurance had been repeated until it sounded like a verified fact.

Thomas’s assistant was interviewed separately.