The Rose and The Wheelchair

Chapter 2: A sickening brake to reality

"Rose Turnbull was quite the celebrity here in Bristol. She acted in quite a few soap opera's and the occasional movie. She was also a part time model. Sad, poor woman had so much promise in her life, only to be cut short in such a horrific way.." Sargent Clayton said sadly while looking at the battered victim. Jessica held back her urge to vomit and  cry. Which she was good at doing having been known for her strong stomach and professionalism by her colleagues. "What was the cause of death here?" Jessica inquired while grabbing out her detective's bag and applying gloves on her hands.  

"Apparently there was a party in the apartment she was staying at in Room 22 at the Marriot Hotel. There was a lot of drinking, smoking and loud music. There was also a loud argument heard and  noise complaints were made to the Hotel. In an unfortunate turn of events apparently Miss Turnbull had too much to drink and fell off the balcony. Such a waste..."  Sargent Clayton said shaking his head in disappointment. 

"Hmmm I suspect there might be foul play here.. The bruise marks on her body seem very old.." Detective Stanley said bent over the victim's wounds with a flashlight. "Right you are Detective Stanley! This crime does indeed seem very odd. That's why I need both you and Detective Cartwright to go over the body and the seen of the crime in Room 22. I also need you to talk to the many suspects that were at the party." Sargent Clayton said seriously.

"Who are the suspects?" Jessica asked looking at Sargent Clayton sternly.   "Ah yes well here is the list of the people invited to the party. You must question the suspects to see if there were any uninvited guests or paparazzi at the party. Also, come to the police station sometime this week to receive information on family, friends and relationships of the victim. Do we understand?" Sargent Clayton explained handing the list to Jessica.

"Yes sir!" Detective Stanley said confidently. "Yes sir...." Jessica said weakly as she took the list from Sargent Clayton and put it in a small plastic holding bag which she then put in her detective bag. Jessica and Patrick began investigating the victim in depth for evidence. The Sargent wish them goodbye and good luck as he took the police officer's car to the police station.  Detective Stanley began going over the victim's body with a flashlight. Swabbing all the substances on the body such as lipstick, blood, saliva, puss, dirt with different cotton buds. He then put it inside a capsule that keeps the evidence fresh for hours. Jessica had also took notes on the victim's condition. 

**Appears to have a fractured arm** ** bruises on arms and legs** **Appears to have been in a struggle** **Two different shades of lipstick on the victim's face** **Purple markings on the victim's neck** Patrick then started rummaging through the victim's pockets on her dress and her jacket to find evidence. He found her black purse with gold studs which inside the purse he found makeup, a pair of earrings and bracelet. He also found receipts for expensive restaurants. as well as contact numbers for her agents. "We will try looking in those places and calling her agents later." Detective Stanley said. Detective Cartwright nodded continuing to write down her notes. Detective Stanley kept searching her pockets he found a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a phone number that was with the name "Angela" above and was stamped with a lipstick kiss. He also found the victim's cellphone which was had a flat battery and wouldn't turn on. It was also quite outdated

"We will try and find who this 'Angela' is and see if we can find any useful information on her phone right Jessica?" Patrick asked waving the phone with a pink cover on it in the air towards Jessica. Jessica did not answer only just frozen staring at the phone. "Jessica?" "Jessica?!" Patrick shouted trying to get Jessica's attention. Jessica still was unresponsive. She was thinking "That phone, she received that as a gift that Christmas year." Jessica suddenly snapped out of thought when she felt her wheelchair move. "Jessica, hey are you okay?!" Patrick asked concerned. "Whaaa? Oh yeah I'm fine sorry I was just in deep thought." 

"Stay focused Jessica!I know this is quite a disturbing sight. But it's not the first dead rose we have seen before." Patrick joked. Jessica was quite angry at the remark. "Detective Stanley that was quite inappropriate this is young woman's life that has been lost!" Jessica snapped. Patrick looked remorseful. "You're right. I'm sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up." Jessica rolled her eyes "Are you done collecting the evidence?" She inquired. Patrick smiled "Yeah, I think so I also collected evidence of blood and hair under the woman finger nails. I think we can let the body be carried over to the coroner now. We should go check out Room 22 in Marriot hotel." 

Jessica nodded as she put away all the evidence into there detective bags and detective coolers. Patrick went to go push her wheelchair back to her van. Jessica took one final look at the body and had shed a tear. "I will find out what happened to you Rose. I promise!" Jessica thought to herself determined and upset.