Bitter - Jim Hopper x OC

Chapter Five: Lost and Found

As Katherine arrived at the diner, she noticed a cluster of cars outside, mostly police vehicles. Her heart sank slightly at the sight, but she took a deep breath and walked inside, where the chief and two officers were already present.

"Gentlemen." She greeted them and walked closer.

"Doctor Morgan." Powell said, causing the other two to look at her as well. She exchanged a glance with Hopper, who was standing in front of the body in silence.

As she moved closer, she was able to see Benny's body better. His torso was sprawled on the table, his hand still gripping a gun, a bullet hole in his head, blood staining his face with some flies already beginning to gather around him.

Hopper watched her as she studied the body from the distance with unreadable expression on her face. Beside a quiet 'Jesus.' she mouthed, no other words came from her and her face didn't let on too much. Despite her age and the fact that her everyday work did not extend too much outside common flus, broken bones and maybe some occasional referring patients to other specialists, she must have been used to the sight of a dead body.

"We're thinking suicide." Callahan said, looking at the doctor.

"Yeah, looks about right." She sighed, looking at the gun in Benny's hand. She didn't know him very well, but she's been to a diner a couple of times when she didn't feel like cooking or when she took Will for milkshakes. Benny was always nice so seeing him like this wasn’t easy.

"When do you think this happened, doc?" Hopper finally spoke, looking at the body again.

Katherine scratched her furrowed brow, studying Benny's body.

"Judging by the state of the gunshot wound and the... overall," she sighed looking at the flies. "It must have been at night or maybe late evening." She took a glance at Hopper who was eyeing the body suspiciously. He looked like he didn’t believe it was a suicide. "It must have been after the diner was already closed. That's for sure." She added, reading his expression as he nodded.

In the meantime, two officers left for the outside, leaving Katherine and Hopper alone inside.

"I assume you knew him well?"

"Yeah, he is...was my friend." He sighed and took one last glance at the body before heading for the door.

"Chief." Katherine's voice made him stop in front of the door and cast a glance at her.

She met his gaze with a gentle expression, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I'm sorry about your friend," she said softly.

Hopper opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He just nodded and walked out.

Katherine spent some more time in the diner, waiting for the body to be taken to the morgue and filling out the necessary paperwork. By the time she left, it was already dark.

As soon as she left the diner, she headed straight for the search party. She parked her car at the edge of the woods and followed the sound of voices to find the group.

After a few minutes, she was approached by Scott Clarke.

"Evening, doctor." He greeted her with a warm smile.

"Scott." Katherine smiled back at him, starting to walk alongside him.

"How are you feeling?" He sounded genuinely worried, which surprised Kat.

"I'm holding up." She assured him, trying to sound convincing, but she knew that no matter how hard she tried, it was clear she wasn't in the best place.

"It must be hard for you." He continued. "Kids at school are really going through it too."

"Yeah, I know how close Will is with his friends." A gentle smile appeared on Katherine's face as she thought about how excited he always got when he was meeting them to play D&D.