#killingdreams
"The Captain spoke to us concerning the nature of the Councilman's injuries," Bill said. "My wife and I are well acquainted with the effects of violent death, having seen more than our fair share when we worked in Arizona." Patches couldn't help but notice that Bill had emphasized the word 'we' when he spoke and was put further at ease when the coroner simply nodded and pulled the sheet back revealing the body down to its waist.
The result of the Councilman's fifty-foot plunge was obvious. The head was twisted at an impossible angle. The nose and lips were mashed well over to one side and one eye had been forced out of its orbit. Blood had oozed from every orifice in the head including both the ears. The former councilman had not made a very attractive corpse.
"What was your official ruling?" Bill asked the coroner.
"Suspicious death," Lachman replied without hesitation.
Bill looked at him. "Not suicide?"
Lachman shook his head. "Call it a hunch if you will but these injuries are not consistent for that type of suicide," he pointed to the dead man's face. "See there? It seems to me he landed on his face. If I were to jump out of a third story window I'd think I'd land on top of my head especially if certain death was my intent."
"Hmm," Bill said walking around to the other side of the table. "I agree. That fits in with your trajectory problem, Patches."
"One of my trajectory problems," she corrected holding up a piece of paper. "According to the police report the body was found face down with the head close to the wall."
"I don't suppose they took measurements," Bill said leaning down to look at the man's side.
"Of course not," she returned with barely concealed sarcasm.
"That does seem kind of backwards," Lachman said thoughtfully. He had come beside Patches and was looking over her shoulder at the police report.
"That's because it is," Bill and Patches said together. Instantly they looked at each other and smiled. Lachman grinned deciding he liked this couple very much and couldn't wait to learn more about them.
"Let's roll him over for a moment," Bill said placing his hands under the corpse. Lachman joined him and the two men rolled the body to its right side, revealing a number of long, deep scratches going down the man's back.
"Hmm," Bill said hunkering down to get a closer look, his fingers probing the wounds. "These are not clotted so they happened virtually at the same time he died. Mister Lachman-."
"Peter," Lachman said. "Please."
Bill looked up at the man and returned his warm smile. "All right, Peter. Do you have a pair of tweezers handy?"
"On the table behind you," Peter indicated a small metal table with a nod of his head.
Bill turned, selected a long pair of steel tweezers and bent once again to the body. "Patches, what did the witness report say again?" he asked as he continued his probing of the wounds.
"Um," she ran her finger down her notes and read out loud. "Feldman's housekeeper stated that 'after dinner they heard what sounded like a struggle coming from the study. Upon finding the door locked they made to break it down and in the process heard a loud crash'."
"And when they went outside they found the body, face down on the paving stones." He finished for her verbatim to what was written.
"That's correct," she said after double checking. "Why?"
"Well I wonder," he said straightening up. "What kind of suicide falls backward out of a window without first removing the glass?" He held the tweezers under the light and there glittering in its jaws was a small piece of blood covered glass. "I think we can corroborate by checking his shoes. Do you still have his personal effects?"
"I most certainly do," Peter said. If Patches had been concerned that the coroner might be upset that he had missed the glass in the body his actions and the tone of his voice relayed to her that he was, in fact, quite enthused. Relieved, she bent back to her sketches.
Lachman retrieved a wooden box from one of the numerous counters and set it on the empty examination table. He removed first a man's suit neatly folded, a pair of shoes, and then a smaller metal pan which contained a pocket watch, chain with fob, penknife, a wallet, and a modicum of change. For a moment there was silence.
"It's always like this," Peter said with a reverent sigh. "You look at the contents of a box and wonder if that's all a man's life is worth in the end. When you get right down to it we come into the world naked and we're not much better off when we leave."
TO BE CONTINUED...
@>--->--- ~*~ ---<---<@
Where to find me and all my stuffs =D
Killing Dreams:
Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Dreams-Myssah-Lee-ebook/dp/B0083VB32W/ref=sr_1_6_twi_2_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1431893625&sr=8-6&keywords=killing+dreams
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Dreams-Myssah-Lee/dp/1468142917/ref=tmm_pap_title_0/186-7375186-1611752?ie=UTF8&qid=1431893625&sr=8-6
Bullets and Blades:
Audio and Word: http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/bulletsandblades/enter/
Authors Pages:
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6489868.Myssah_Lee
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For art and other things:
Deviant Art: Imager1966
Fine Art America: Myssah Lee
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Killing Dreams ~An American Victorian Steampunk Murder Mystery
Historical FictionA Denver city councilman is found dead, and the Denver Metropolitan Police Department is frustratingly lost on how to proceed. There are no leads, no clear pieces of evidence, and nothing more than a mysterious untimely death. In desperation, the DM...
