JOURNAL OF A COFFIN DODGER CHAPTER J

CHAPTER J

As I had read Clare's journals and had noticed Mike in action at the asylum where I worked, I had no hesitation in confirming Rebekah's statement. An opinion given strength as I continued reading Clare's journal.

A couple of pages after that comment, Clare had glued to the pages of her journal a newspaper report of the coroner's inquest into Mike's death and the fire. The fire that I had lit in the derelict asylum building that Mike and Bill used as a brothel.

The coroner ruled that Mike's death was 'death by misadventure.'

The coroner noted testimony from the asylum administration that the building was a 'known haunt of squatters'.

'In all likelihood therefore,' the coroner wrote, Mike had entered the building 'with a view to moving the squatters on.'

He may have had assistance in this matter with the 'services of another staff member,' but that person was currently unknown.

Though the source of ignition was not located, 'in all likelihood, a candle or a similar source of illumination used by the squatters caused the blaze.'

The coroner, after noting Mike's 'sterling service as an asylum nurse' and offering commiserations to Mike's family, then closed the inquest.