A First Love to Die For

Chapter One- Dumpster Fire

(Lincoln's POV)

There are bad days and then there are ones that feel like a raging dumpster fire. As I stood over top of the seven corpses, all in various states of decay, I sighed with devastation. It appeared this particular day was never going to end.

I ran a hand through my dark curls and rolled my shoulders, trying to ease the familiar pressure of responsibility and the tension that came with my role. My gaze travelled over the long faces surrounding me, and I took a large breath. There was no point, the stench in the air only added to my stress.  It was clear that I wasn't the only one who had aged in the last few hours. Every face working our current crime scene carried the same wide-eyed concern.

Fuck. Seven buried bodies in the middle of nowhere and a suspicious-as-hell phone tip. Who were these women, and what horrors did they experience?

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. We were a small town, in a quaint community. In my time as Chief of Police... forget that, in my lifetime, there had only been one woman who had gone missing in this area. So again, who were they? There weren't many possibilities for the victims in front of me.

God, I hope you aren't here Izzy.

It hadn't gone unnoticed that each of the victims had been buried naked. Although I was no expert, the differential decay between them clearly suggested that our victims had died at various points in time. One body had barely started to decompose.

Since accepting my role a little over a year ago, I spent very little time actively policing. The bulk of my time was spent navigating political hell and battling through the paperwork that always decorated my desk of doom. Regardless of the lack of action, my instincts were still intact and screaming. Shouting. This was just the beginning. 

Our coroner, Gary, and his team swarmed around us. Everyone was trying to preserve as much of the scene as possible. It wasn't easy or smooth but I couldn't expect them to act like a well-oiled machine. No one in this group of people had experienced anything like this. Death by natural causes was our normal. No matter how good I thought my people were, with this, we were out of our depth.

I slid up next to Gary and his bloodshot eyes met mine. He wasn't the only one who had shed tears today. His rumpled clothes reminded me that most of the staff circulating were well past the end of their work day. When he spoke, it was with heavy exhaustion and disbelief, "What in the hell is this Lincoln? Not here... not in Fenelon. Things like this don't happen here."

Except... apparently they do.

As I looked around, I shuddered at the sight of the bodies that lay before us. The gruesome scene was made worse by the maggots, I'd always found them difficult to stomach. Seeing them now, working away at the meat that was left on these poor souls... Saliva pooled in my mouth and bile gathered, fighting against the stench that permeated the air. It reeked of rotting flesh, desperation and despair.

I closed my eyes and focused on not losing my dinner. A few of my people already had and I didn't want to add to the disgust circulating through all of us.

What kind of monster would do this?

Gary squatted down and scanned the only body that had fully decomposed. His shoulders were tense, his face solemn, as he pointed a finger from one body to the next. "The difference between these skeletal remains and each of the others is jarring. This one is obviously the oldest." His voice was hoarse, heavy with with emotion as he explained.

I cleared my own throat, swallowing the disbelief.

I nodded, letting him know I was listening. "I'd already put together that the others hadn't been here as long."

His eyes met mine. "I can't tell you much yet."

I pulled out my little flipbook and pen. "That's okay, Gary. Share what you can."

He pointed down towards the closest remains. "The flared hip bones and wider sub pubic angle on our full skeleton remains indicate female." His voice trembled and he swallowed before continuing. "We've already discussed that this one is the oldest. I believe it'll date back at least ten years. For the others, I can only give a ball park. Tomorrow, I should be able to tell you closer to the time of death and the gender for each."

He stood up, groaning with weariness. "Dear God, these poor souls, Lincoln."

I starred any of the information that I would need to send off and closed my notepad with a snap, growling my agreement. "I know." I considered my next words carefully, knowing I wanted my whole team to be behind the idea of outsiders coming in. "You're right. Things like this don't happen here. We aren't prepared. I'm requesting help immediately, Gary."

His expression showed his surprise but he gave me a quick, understanding nod. "I think that's the right call."

"Me too. We're not going to do this on our own because with more help, the quicker we can solve this. Whatever happened here..." I swallowed hard, hating the thoughts racing through my brain. "I think bringing in people who have handled something like this before is the least we can do. To honour them and hopefully get the monster that did this behind bars as fast as possible."

"I'll be heading back to the station to put the report together and I'll cc you on the request to Charles Byson, so that your findings can go to everyone. Let me know what overtime you are going to need." As I spoke, the possibility flared that it would be Josie's team sent in to help us, but I ignored the thought, as well as the familiar ache in my heart.

If that's what happened, I would figure it out, but my priority had to be my town and right now Fenelon Falls and its police force needed all the help we could get.