Happy Accidents

Chapter 11: Heart

Sakura worked on the remains the moment they got in, making notes as she went along with her examination. There wasn't much more than what she had found initially at the scene; she was able to catalogue more specific details about the injuries, but nothing more than that. She swabbed for particulates a couple of injuries, setting them aside to send up to forensics for processing. Beyond that, there was little more she could do; most of the remodelled injuries to the skeleton were consistent with the victim's medical records. The only thing that would identify the assailant would be determining precisely how the defensive injuries occurred and what damage they would have caused to the assailant.

She entered the data into her computer as she heard footsteps outside her office, seeing the detective there. He looked frustrated, as if he hadn't got anywhere with his interrogation.

"How'd it go?" She asked curiously.

"Same story as Dosu, which means that what they were talking about checks out. Unless they planned this a hell of a long time in advance, they're telling the truth. Right now, we have only circumstantial evidence to hold them. We have no murder weapon, no DNA, fingerprints, nothing identifiable." She could tell he was deeply frustrated by these facts. Without those pieces of evidence, their case wasn't as solid as it needed it to be. If they were responsible, it meant that the two of them would walk for the murder; the only saving grace was that the evidence could tie them to drugs with an intent to distribute with airtight certainty. Given one of them was a repeat offender, he wouldn't be coming out any time soon.

Getting up from her desk chair, she sat down on the couch beside him, resting a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know you want to solve this. I do, too. I'm sorry there isn't more I can do." She was genuinely apologetic; she felt as if there was more that she could do, more that she could find, more evidence that she could pull that would help them with something. So far, they'd had no luck. If there was one thing she'd learned about the detective, it was that he seemed to take failures such as this on cases hard; despite his callous personality, he was genuinely kind and wanted to help others. He didn't have a cruel bone in his body to speak of, from what she could tell.

As she sat there thinking, another idea came to her. One that might very well be able to get them the evidence they would need to solve the case. "Hey--did you see if they would possibly grant exhumation orders for the other victims we matched the injuries to?" She asked, feeling like she was on to something.

"No, I haven't checked that. You think you'll find something?" He asked curiously.

"Well, yeah. We've managed to trace some of the victims back pretty far, and the way serial killers work, their first kills are never as refined as the later ones. If we can identify a few more, examine their remains, I might find something that the previous examiner missed in the initial examinations. At the level of desiccation that they're likely at, particularly the older ones, you need someone skilled in forensic anthropology to examine the bones. The last person here didn't have that skill. They were just a pathologist. I'm both." A helpful perk if there ever was one.

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, pondering before he stood up. "Yeah. Good plan. I'll see what we can do. Uzumaki said he might have a few other leads on Sarutobi's case, so I'm going to touch base with him on that. Once you have the list of bodies you want exhumation orders for, bring them up to my office. I'll get them to the DA, and we'll see if she can procure a judge to grant them." He stared for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile before he reached up and lightly poked her forehead with his index in middle fingers. He then gave her a curt nod before sweeping out of her office, making his way back to the elevator and up to his own office. She sat there for a moment, dumbfounded as her hand reached up to her forehead. It was such an odd gesture; somehow, she felt it was some unique way for him to show affection or appreciation.

Feeling a surge of confidence from her idea despite also feeling flustered, Sakura quickly dove into the files that she had, flipping through x-rays and categorizing names by the likelihood that they'd be related. She went over everything there was for each case; she scanned through every bit of forensic evidence, every particulate found, every logged injury during the autopsy, creating charts and lists more comprehensive than she had before. Once she had a healthy list, she cross-checked and sorted them again, narrowing it down to a handful of possibilities; after all, a judge would only grant so many. She had to be careful about which ones they were asking for. If she wasn't confident and they found nothing, they weren't likely to get any further orders for that particular case.

With the stack ready in her hands for the detective to review, Sakura made her way up toward his office, stopping as she could hear voices from the open door. Usually, she wouldn't have bothered, but it was the nature of the conversation that caught her attention.

"So, about that new girl..." That voice was Detective Uzumaki.

"New girl?" Sasuke asked, a bit confused. "You mean Dr. Haruno?"

"Yeah, her! You've been spending a lot of time with her, haven't you?" Naruto asked, clearly trying to goad his friend. Naruto could hear a groan coming from the Uchiha.

"Oh, please. Get those stupid ideas out of your head," Sasuke said with a hint of irritation.

"Stupid ideas? They're not stupid. You spend way more time down there than you need to." As Naruto mentioned that, Sakura thought about it. He was right; it was only just now dawning on her that he did spend a lot of time down there with her. She also noticed that when most people spoke to him, he would continue multitasking; however, when she talked to him, he seemed inclined to give her his full attention.

"We're partners. Are you stupid? Obviously, I'm going to spend time down there. We work on cases together." Sasuke's tone was becoming more and more irritated.

"Aw, c'mon, Uchiha. Don't be so grumpy. She's cute! You should ask her on a date. Maybe that'll quiet all the ladies that stare at you," Naruto said with a teasing tone.

"Shut up. I'm not going to ask her out, stupid. None of this is any of your business. I'm not interested in dating her, let alone anyone." The conviction in his tone was absolute; he seemed dead-set on saying no. "We wouldn't work out. Not that it's any of your business. Go ask her out yourself if you're so obsessed with her."

That bit of the conversation was enough for Sakura. She could feel her heart wrench in her chest, feel her stomach twist like his words had torn something from her. She hadn't even realized she was beginning to tear up. Any chance she had was dashed immediately with that conversation. She turned and ran back down toward her office, scrambling to put her things away. She shakily opened her phone and keyed in a message to the detective, keeping it simple.

I'm going home early tonight. Not feeling well.

With that, she was picking up her things and leaving quickly, breezing out into the parkade. She was in her car and out quickly, fighting to keep herself composed as she made her way home. She was out of the vehicle quickly once she reached it, wiping at her face as she reached for the handle.

Had someone unlocked the door? Had she been in that much of a rush in the morning that she'd left it unlocked? She slowly opened it, feeling uncertain. Knowing her, she'd likely just forgotten to lock it in the morning. It wasn't a terrible neighbourhood; she had nothing to worry about. She hung up her jacket and her bag and glumly stared ahead, making her way into the living area. As she turned around, a glimmer caught her eye, along with an all too familiar click. The man stepped into the low light, revealing his face. He was tall, with dark brown eyes; his silvery hair was slicked back, and he had a wicked smile on his face. His hand held a revolver pointed directly at her, and he was smirking.

"Ah, such pretty eyes. Unfortunately, I already have a pair of yours in my collection, but... well, perhaps it could be worthwhile to start another one. That being said, you'll make for a good example, if nothing else." He let out a low chuckle. Sakura felt frozen in fear, staring at the gun. It was like everything happened in slow motion. She heard the shot go off, a deafening sound reaching her ears. She felt warmth spread from her chest, and then something hit her back.

Oh... no, it wasn't something hitting her back. It was her, hitting the floor. She was staring at the ceiling, feeling a hot sensation coupled with numbness.

Then, he was standing over her, staring down at her, with that wicked smirk plastered over his face.

It was a face she was never going to forget.