The Third Deadly Sin (TMNT fan fiction)

The Third Deadly Sin Part 2

Mikey spun completely around without seeing Leo anywhere.

"I told you we shouldn't have left him alone," Mikey said in a loud whisper.

"He was out here alone?" Raph asked, his hands going automatically to the hilts of his weapons.

Don opened his mouth to say something, but a warning hiss cut him off. The sound made Mikey shriek and jump two feet off the ground, his skin paling noticeably.

"Keep it down," Leo told them, stepping out of a room further down the hall.

"Damn it, Leo," Raph said, "ya' like ta gave me a heart attack."

"That wasn't funny dude," Mikey admonished him.

"You guys had better come take a look at this," Leo said grimly, ignoring both of them as he edged back into the room.

"What is it?" Don asked. "What did you find?"

The group followed a silent Leo into what appeared to have been the master suite at one time. As he led them towards a door that was half hanging off its hinges, they could see splotches of a red substance scattered across their path. It looked suspiciously like blood.

Leo stepped carefully into the master bathroom and stood aside so the others could crowd in behind him. The floor here was tiled and sturdier, braced to hold the heavy porcelain tub, but they were still careful to avoid all standing in one spot.

Curled inside that large garden tub was a dead man.

The body was desiccated and shriveled looking. Lying curled up on his side, blood had run out of him and down the drain. A large screwdriver was still protruding from his back.

"Don, can you take a look and tell me how long he's been dead?" Leo asked.

Don moved over to squat near the tub. "Initially I'd say quite a while, considering the advanced stages of mummification, although that makes no sense. It's not dry enough in here for this to have occurred; he should have putrefied and bloated first and that takes days. The smell alone would have told workers he was here.

"Decomposition could take as long as ten days if the air is chilled but then he'd bloat to twice his size and begin to turn green. The body would have started to give off cadaverine before that and . . . ."

"Donny," Raph said, interrupting him.

Don glanced up. "Yes, Raph?"

"We don't wanna hear all that," Raph told him.

Blinking, Don grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I can't answer your question, Leo. It really looks as though he died elsewhere and was dumped here."

"Then how do you account for all the blood?" Leo asked. "There's blood on the floor in the bedroom; in fact, it was a couple of drops of blood that drew me into the room to begin with. And you can see that the tub is colored red underneath him; his blood was still flowing from several stab wounds while he lay in there."

Don reached into the tub and gently touched some of the blood. "It's still tacky. This is recent."

"This ain't the building owner ya' were supposed ta meet is it, Case?" Raph asked.

"Nope. Never seen this guy before," Casey said.

"Hang on, his wallet is still in his pocket. I think I can get it without disturbing his position," Don said.

"Careful Don," Leo warned. "We need to put everything back exactly as is for the police to find."

"Just make sure Casey doesn't touch anything," Don said as he worked the wallet loose. "We don't leave fingerprints, but he does."