By: Isiaih Lalonde
1
Death - it is the one thing all people fear, and those who don't fear death are ignorant of its effect on those who are left behind. Leo Routhier was no stranger to death, the sole survivor of a fatal car crash that killed both his parents. Leo has grown up living with his uncle; Armand Routhier, who is currently the lead Detective of Toronto's homicide department, had adopted Leo at his father's last request in the will.
Leo was now a young man and already an accomplished classical guitarist studying for his major in music theory at the University of Toronto. At the age of nineteen Leo, was the youngest attendee to the program and has his uncle to thank for encouraging his talents throughout Leo's youth.
Leo never imagined that when he woke up this morning that he would end it being escorted down the hallways of Toronto's Forensic Pathology Unit.
The building was drenched with the sickly sweet smells of chemicals which were starting to antagonize Leo's headache. Trying not to rub his temples to often Leo now paid attention to the man walking beside him, escorting him to the coroner's office. Detective George Brown is an old friend of his uncle's and Leo has known him most of his life. "So... George, you wouldn't happen to know why I received an invitation to meet with the chief coroner would you."
"I'm afraid I don't, and please abstain from calling me by my first name while in uniform." Leo always called George by his first name and was always forgetting to act more formally when George and his uncle were in uniform.
Leo now watched as George walked up ahead and opened a plain wooden door with a frosted glass window, with bold lettering reading: "Dr. Casio DeRose, Chief Coroner", George was speaking to whoever was inside with a hushed tone. Leo knew that if it weren't for George being ordered to escort Leo to the office that he would have waited outside in the cruiser. George has been paranoid around dead things as long as Leo could remember. A result of working for homicide Leo thought to himself.
"Leo, the coroner is just in here. I'll be waiting out in the hall for you when you're done. OK?" George stepped out of the doorway and ushered Leo inside. "Thanks George... I mean Detective Brown." With that George had shut the door and Leo watched his form through the frosted glass step down the hall and away from the door.
Leo thought the coroner's office was nice enough, for what it was anyway. Bleach white walls enclosed the space on all four sides; framed degrees covered the wall to his right and to his left, a book shelf matched the wall's length and just fell short of the wall's height. Books of varying widths plastered the shelves with the excerpt of a few anatomical models, a skull, stomach, and what Leo guessed to be a liver. A large Victorian styled desk made of tiger-oak wood was centered in the room, and as Leo took a seat in one of the black chairs placed in front of the desk, he noticed a second plaque on the desk with the engraving, "Dr. Casio DeRose". "The ego is strong with this one," Leo mumbled to himself.
The man sitting behind the desk looked like he belonged inside one of the freezers down the hallway. Dr. DeRose was a tall man even when seated; his hair oil black and combed back into a short loose tail that was hanging down his back. Leo took notice of his sharp facial features, which with the addition of a lab coat left the man before him resembling a white clad reaper awaiting his next soul.
"Good afternoon Dr. DeRose," Leo tried to stay polite but he had a difficult piece that he needed to work on for his studies; Lord knows Carlos Montoya's Farucca can't be learned in a short time.
"Hello Mr. Routhier, I'm sure you're anxious to know why I requested for you to come down to this abysmal place."
"I wouldn't say it's abysmal here... just out of place. I am interested as to what a chief coroner would want with a musician." Leo chuckled in his head knowing that those last few words he spouted out sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.
