"Just read it quietly-" George began, but Raine's voice sliced in, halting him mid-sentence.
"Seriously, sir?" Raine cut in, steering the conversation off course.
Zane fell quiet, and George followed suit.
"IS SHE ALWAYS LIKE THAT?" Zane mouthed silently, letting the DI catch his unspoken words.
"GET USED TO IT." George replied in the same manner.
"What details do you have about the victim?" Raine asked, her tone serious.
"Can I speak now?" George whispered, glancing at her, eager for permission to contribute.
"Go ahead. Just make it quick, please," Raine said.
"But is she confirmed dead? You called the ambulance, right?" Zane shot back, his frustration evident.
"Andrea Rivera, 32 years old," George started. "A neighbour spotted her and reported a gunshot. They were planning to surprise her for her birthday, but when they noticed the door open, they rushed in to investigate."
"Other neighbours said Andrea returned home moments before they heard the shot. It was barely an hour after they'd last seen her. The EMT arrived outside, and she's already confirmed dead on the spot," he concluded. "She'll be taken to the morgue for further investigations after this."
"I just want to be sure about it," Zane replied, aware of his second profession.
"Clearly, this isn't one of the heart-stealing killer's victims," Raine observed, her gaze scanning the scene for clues. Her eyes narrowed as they roamed over the victim, honing in on potential evidence.
"I thought this was one of them," Zane said, as she continued. "Auntie said so."
"Fake news. Is that new to you?" Raine replied.
George and Zane exchanged surprised glances as Raine stepped cautiously forward, approaching the side of the corpse. Her gaze fell on the bullet hole in the woman's temple, noting its small size and the minimal burn marks surrounding it.
"Long range," she thought.
Her russet-brown eyes flicked to the woman's right hand holding the gun. She then shifted towards the things around the woman and found a coffee cup placed left, a small plate holding a pancit canton with the fork located on the left, and his phone located left next to the plate.
"Left handed," Raine noted to herself.
She squatted beside the body, running her gloved hand along the woman's hand that gripped the gun. Signs of livor mortis were evident, the blood settling and causing discolouration. The stiffness of the hand indicated rigor mortis.
"Two hours or more after death," she thought again.
She turned her attention to the woman's gunshot wound, noting the absence of any bleeding.
"The heart has already stopped beating."
As she surveyed the area, her gaze landed on a pair of white shoes neatly arranged under the shoe rack alongside the others.
"Organized."
Her attention drifted to the surrounding items...
"Organized."
... and then the way the woman wore her clothes: an oversized gray shirt and pink pajamas...
"Neat."
YOU ARE READING
The Missing Link
Mystery / ThrillerThe peaceful town of Nueva Aurora was rattled by a series of baffling murders that sent shockwaves through the community. Lorraine Adriella de Verra, PhD, a science teacher with a long-held ambition to become a crime investigator, and her newly acqu...
