the alpha

Part 4

What are we looking at?" Stanton asked, coming closer to peer at the exposed area where the examiner had pushed the flesh back. A scarred rib came into view as the old man manipulated the torn flesh a bit more.

"That, right there," he replied, nodding in the direction of the rib. "So?" Stanton asked, shrugging his shoulders.

The old man sighed as he kept the wound open, "Whatever tore this person open and removed her heart, not to mention pieces of its neighboring organs, was metal. I can accept that human fingernails might scratch a bone surface, but not that deep. They also would not be able to create the type of collateral damage that was found inside the chest cavity. Plus, whoever did this has had practice, since tearing a person's heart out without cracking their chest open takes some doing."

"A regular Jack the Ripper with metal claws maybe?" Randall remarked.

"Jack the Ripper went after a distinct type of victim, and the legend is that he was someone that knew what he was doing, not some savage that tried to reenact an Indiana Jones movie."
Stanton cleared his throat, "So he kills her, makes her death look like an animal attack, and then rips out her heart?"

"It might appear that way," the examiner said with a sigh, "But that's kind of simplistic given that the cause of death was the second smile she's wearing on the side of her neck. The killer made sure she was dead before staging the other wounds and then going for her main pump. But that is a lot of work, especially since the artificial bite mark on her neck has the look of something a canine might make. This took time and it is not exactly pretty, but it's not sloppy either."

"Which means the killer has done this before," Randall nodded, "Are there any similar cases?"

"There have been murders that have been kept on the down-low by orders from the mayor's office, more to keep the public from freaking out than to hide the act. But nothing has really gone this far."

"What have the other cases been like then?"

The examiner glanced at Stanton as he spoke, "In the past year and a half there have been about two dozen murders, but none that I can recall that were this strange."

"So apart from a blade to sever the carotid on the right side of her neck, the bite mark and cross hatch on the left side, and the removal of her heart, might look like an act of dominance, or of trophy taking."

Stanton shook his head, "But nothing was taken. There is no sign of rape, no other trauma
but the initial slice and then the mauling. And the officers on the scene said there was not a drop of blood around her, which means that she was killed and transported."

"And no eyewitnesses, which is always an issue," Randall said, turning away as he tried
to think of something that might explain this current situation. He had seen enough shit like this out on the west coast, but the bite marks and the heart removal were still something he had to process.

"Any word on the next of kin?" Stanton asked the examiner.

"The parents have come and gone after giving a positive ID. I have just got to finish up with my report and then this'll be all yours."

Stanton shook his head, "Another fuckin' cold case to add to the stacks then," he said with a sigh, "Unless we can find someone that saw something."

"At least this isn't South Boston," the examiner quipped with a half smirk, "Who knows
how many unmarked graves are out that way just waiting for developers to discover them?"
Stanton managed a chuckle, "I almost think the guys in Southie might have written the
book on disposing of bodies. Or maybe they got it from the mafia in New York."

"This almost reminds me of a case I worked out in LA," Randall stated, turning around to
face Stanton, "The perp was diagnosed with some weird disorder I cannot remember. But he
thought that he was a cougar, or a tiger, or something, and was freaking people out in his
neighborhood by wandering around on all fours."

"Did he hurt anyone?"

"Well, he was in trouble for trespassing and finally sent to a psychiatric hospital. But they
diagnosed him with some kind of mental condition that I cannot recall at the moment. I will have to look it up when I get back to my desk."

"It's also a good idea for me to look up on other unsolved cases too."

"I remember another murder case that had caused a big commotion in Crestline, California."

"This was from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department, where they found a dead body buried up in them woods near Lake Gregory. It was all hacked up and chopped in pieces. Autopsy revealed that there was a total of 18 cut, stab and slash wounds with contused lacerations later identified on the scalp, as well as the face and the neck. In addition, superficial abrasions and bruises were identified on the skin. The immediate cause of death was due to an assault on the head with an axe, which was used both as a slashing tool and a blunt instrument."

"Well dog-gone, did they catch the perp for that one ?"

"No," Randall said, shaking his head,
"that guy is still on the loose – funny, come to think of it, this could be the same guy if he so happen to have made that long-ass trip from Crestline to Atlanta."

Stanton then looked perplexed for a moment.

"Haha, just kidding...I hope my buddies over in Cali catch him though...."

"Well, you had me there.....for just a minute, you go on and head back to our station then,"
Stanton replied, "I will finish up here and catch up with you in a bit."

"Will do," Randall replied, nodding to Stanton and then to the examiner, who did not
appear to be paying attention. Once he was past the metal doors of the operating room, Randall
could not help but breathe a little easier, but he wasn't about to admit as much.