“That’s right. But so what?”
“Can you remember any of your friends who overdosed and had a policy?”
Jamison interjected, “But, Decker, you said the insurance companies had investigated some of the deaths in Baronville and didn’t find anything amiss.”
“Answer the question, Cindi,” persisted Decker.
“I don’t know. Wait a minute.” She thought for a fewmoments. “Keith Drews did. Because his mom opened the new bakery downtown. I remember her telling me it was the only good thing to come out of Keith’s death.”
“Was he a longtime user?”
“No.”
“So what happened? How did he overdose?”
“He got injured, was prescribed Percocet, then Vicodin. Then he got hooked on Oxy. From there it was a downward spiral. He diedof a heroin overdose. Whoever he got it from had laced it with fentanyl. Keith probably had no idea what he was taking. It killed him instantly, I heard.”
“How old was he when he died?”
“Younger than me.”
“His mother was the named beneficiary. How much did she get?”
“Enough to open the bakery. She totally gutted the first floor of an old building and boughtall-new equipment. So it was a lot of money.”
“Wasshean addict?” asked Decker.
“Yeah, she was, actually. For many years before she finally kicked it. But what the hell are you getting at?” added Riley angrily.
“A lot of people have died in this town from drug overdoses. And I’ve found out that a lot of those people had life insurance policies. Now, you have to havean insurable interest in someone to be named a beneficiary. And you can’t get much of a policy benefit without taking a medical exam and swearing on an application that the information you’re providing is accurate. They may even do a criminal background check on you, access your medical records and make you undergo a physical exam.”
“How do they get around HIPAA?” asked Jamison, referringto the law guarding a person’s medical history from unauthorized third parties.
“I had a life insurance policy when I was a cop back in Ohio,” replied Decker. “On the application, you can waive HIPAA protections. In fact, most insurance companies won’t write the policy if you don’t waive that so they can dig into your medical background. And evidence of illicit drug addiction would bea red flag for a life insurance company.”
Riley looked confused. “I don’t understand. You’re saying if you’re an addict you can’t get a life insurance policy.”
“I think that’s right. At least not one they will pay out for a drug overdose death.”
“So—”
“So how did somebody know certain insured people weregoingto become addicts and then overdose and die?”Decker finished for her.