The Heart Collector (Under Editing)

Chapter Fourteen: Morgue

Fare stood in front of the entrance to the Ninth Division. It was smaller than she expected. It was about half the size of the Thirteenth. As she headed for the doors, she noticed that there were less gargoyles guarding the entrance. There were still plenty of runes that littered the siding. She made a mental note to ask Novus about it later. When she passed through the doorway, her heart rate increased. The reality of what she was about to do set her on edge. While Novus' reassurance that he would come to her aide eased her nerves a little, the voice in the back of her head screamed that this was a bad idea. As she took in her surroundings, Fare could not help but compare it to the Thirteenth. The walls of the offices were made of cement or plaster instead of glass. There was not a front desk when you walked through the front doors and there were few people in the lobby. Fare took note of the lack of security in the lobby. She knew that every Division ran differently, but for some reason this layout made her even more on edge.

Novus told her that the coroner's office was on the lower level of the building, but she could not find a way down there. No signs of an elevator or stairwell. She decided to walk down the hall and take her chances with asking someone for directions. It was a risk, but it would be less suspicious than standing for a long time in the lobby. That would draw attention and questions. As she rounded the first corner, a door swung open in front of her, and she walked into it.

"Damn it." She held her hand to her face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" A familiar voice said.

Fare looked up, "Sheila?"

"Fare? What are you doing here?"

Fare was unsure how to answer. She had no idea if Novus had told her anything.

"I have an appointment with someone on the lower level. Do you happen to know how to get there?"

Sheila eyed her like she was reading her soul, "Down the next hall and to the left. There are some stairs."

"Thank you." Fare walked as fast as she could.

As she reached the end of the hall and turned, she stopped. She realized that Sheila never answered her question. Why was she there? Did Novus know? Did he send her? If he did, why did he not tell her? Fare tried to recall what door she came out of, but she did not see a sign. She pushed the door open to the stairwell and descended the steps. Fare wondered if there was a freight elevator somewhere. How would they get a body down there? It would be odd if this were the only access to the coroner's office. Maybe the morgue was in a separate part of the building. When Fare reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a metal door with a little window in the center. A sign was underneath the window that read: Morgue. She looked at her surroundings to see if there was another door, but it was just the one. She scratched the back of her head and tried the doorknob. It was locked. She then noticed a little sticky-note in the corner of the window.

"Out to lunch." Fare read aloud.

She looked around again to check to make sure nobody was watching and pulled a small lock-pick kit out of her jacket pocket. She did not tell Novus that she kept it on her, but she had a suspicion that he knew and just denied his knowledge. She inserted the first on and quickly followed it with a second one. After a few seconds of jiggling and finesse, she heard a click and the door swung open. Fare hoped that she had an hour, but she had a feeling that the universe would only grant her thirty minutes. She quietly entered the room and carefully closed the door behind her. It was dark. The only light in the room was the computer's screensaver of a beach at sunset.

"How original." Fare said while she looked for a light.

She made out a silhouette of a desk lamp and felt around for the switch. Once she had some more light, she looked around. It was still dark, but she did not want to push the luck that she already had. Everything was neat and organized. A coffee cup was on the corner of the desk and by how it laid perfectly in a ring mark, it was placed in that exact same spot every time. Near to the coffee cup was a file holder. She skimmed the tops of them. Whatever system he used; she could not figure it out. It was not alphabetical or numerical. Several colored tabs peeked out of them, and paperclips aided the larger files in containment of their contents. She looked to the left of the desk and made out two tall filing cabinets. Each drawer had letters of the alphabet. When she tried to open the drawer with the 'W's, it would not open. She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight to aide her to look for the lock.

The lock was unusual. Unlike most filing cabinets that had one central lock somewhere at the top. Each drawer had their own lock off to the right side. Fare had never seen this kind of cabinet before, and the locks were exceedingly small. It took longer to pick open the lock than she liked to admit, but she never had to open this small of a lock before. Once inside she looked for Kila's file, but it was not in there. She looked in the 'K' drawer, but it was also not there. In a last attempt, she looked under 'J'. She found the file under 'Joy, Kila Woods.'

"Who files medical records by middle names?" Fare silently cursed the coroner out.

She quickly laid the file open on the desk and started to take pictures on her phone. Since Kila's case was still active, it would draw to much attention if it went missing. As she neared the end of the file, she heard the doorknob jiggle. She snapped the file shut and slid the drawer shut. She picked up the file and looked around for a hiding place. She cringed at her only choice.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fare was freezing. She had managed to slide into an empty mortuary cooler right as the door opened. It was like listening to a conversation under water. She realized that someone was talking on the phone, but she could not make anything out. One thing she knew for certain was that they were looking for something. She heard things being opened and tossed. Whomever it was, it was not the coroner. When she felt the vibrations of the door being slammed shut, she pushed herself out. When she rolled off the slab, she stepped on broken pieces of the coffee cup. Someone had the same idea as Fare, but they were less subtle about it. The file cabinets were dented in to pop the drawers open. Papers were scattered everywhere. The computer's screen was flickering back and forth between black and the screensaver. She could not be sure if they found what they were looking for. She had no way to figure out what was missing. She knew that she needed to get out of there. As she slid the slab in, she felt resistance. She shone her light and noticed a white piece of fabric caught on one of the wheels. She followed it to the cooler next to the one she was in. She placed the file under her arm and reached for the handle. Fare had an uneasy feeling, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She took a deep breath and pulled.

Fare had to bite her tongue at the last minute to prevent the scream that bubbled in her throat. There was a man in the cooler surrounded by a pool of blood. He wore a white lab coat that had 'Coroner' inscribed on it. His skin was grey. Fare could not tell how long he was in there, but she had a suspicion that it was before she had arrived. She pushed him back in. She needed to inform Novus. Especially if his death was related to the other murders. She stuffed the file under her shirt and made for the door. Considering the circumstances, she had just landed herself in, she thought it best to take Kila's file. She took a couple quick photos on her phone to show Novus and quickly made her way out of the Ninth Division.