Camera's were flashing everywhere as I stood as still as a statue, observing Martin. He was deep in concentration as his left knee stayed pressed against the cobblestone, taking close up shots of the blood that spilled on the ground belonging to a young woman earlier that morning. It was my first day out in the field, and the sheriff made it clear that I was to learn with my eyes and not my hands. In other words, he was telling me that despite nearly a decade of putting myself through policing and detective education, I wasn't advanced enough to handle a crime scene. Or even help out in that case.
"Looks like the guy must've approached and shot her from the left," Martin mumbled to himself loud enough for me to hear.
"How can you tell?"
"Her body was there," he pointed at a chalk traced human shape on the ground, "and the blood stains are mainly on the opposite side of her head. Based on what the autopsy results reveal in which direction the bullet traveled through her head, I'd say it's safe to assume for now that he approached her from the left.
"Oh."
All of a sudden I recalled learning about crime scene interpretation in my fifth year of schooling. That was probably something I should've remembered. Maybe I really wasn't cut out for this job.
"Pass me my other camera lens, this one isn't picking up the pigmentation. It's in the trunk of the car," Martin said, his eyes still glued on the red ground.
I nodded before scurrying off to Martin's car, happy for an excuse to finally move on such a gray and cold morning. I opened up the trunk of the police car, observing all of the random detective equipment that stared back at me. His camera gear finally caught my eye as I fished my hands through to find his backup lens. Pulling out the round and thick piece of optical glass, I closed the trunk before my eyes landed on Lewis walking towards the police car behind ours. He had a stern expression on his face as his gloved-hand held a red-stained banana in a plastic evidence bag.
"Is that a banana?" I questioned him as I got closer, suddenly self-conscious over how stupid my question was.
"Yeah, it was found at the evidence scene. Has to be the same sick bastard who's been going around like a grim reaper made of damn flesh."
"Wait, what do you mean?" I had only started at the detective firm a week prior, and I hadn't paid much attention to the other crime cases that came in before that.
"We've had eight random murders these past couple of months. All victims had bananas next to their exploded corpses. Always a bullet in the middle of their socketed eyes with a bright freakin' banana next to their head. What kind of sick freak leaves a message like that?"
I flinched. Martin and I had arrived at the crime scene after the body had already been taken, but I did hear that both of her eyes had been removed by whoever ended her life. The thought made me sick. She had only been a few years younger than me. So much life ahead of her. I wondered how her family had dealt with the news. Had they even been told yet? Lewis snapped me back to reality as he continued to ramble on about his annoyance over the same crime with no suspects. I plastered an interested look on my face despite how much I wanted to leave. I could only imagine Martin's annoyance over how long I was taking. All of a sudden, something caught my eye. A flash of yellow on the ground. Running over to the yellow object, I bent down and picked up a bright yellow banana.
"Hey Lewis, I think you missed this o-"
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Banana: A Short Detective Story
Mystery / ThrillerA death. A banana. What next? It's a short detective story that's definitely worth the five minute read.