Realms of Sci-Fi

A Familiar Face

I entered the police station bright and early. The badge clipped to my belt gleamed under the overhead lights. It was my first day as a detective, and I wanted to jump right in with whatever assignment I'd be given. Eagerness and excitement followed behind me like a pair of hyperactive dogs bounding at my heels. Today was going to be good. I could feel it.

An hour later, sitting at my desk behind a veritable mountain of paperwork, I was beginning to lose my enthusiasm. A commotion suddenly erupted at the front doors to the station. A crowd quickly gathered, their volume increasing until a few were shouting at each other. I couldn't tell what was going on, so I left my desk and went over to see what I could learn.

I asked a few questions of the people on the outside of the group, but being on the fringe of the gathering like I was, they didn't have any more information than I did. Deciding to make the most of my new rank, I imparted a polite amount of pressure to anyone lower in rank, forcing them to move aside and let me pass.

Only a few people were left in front of me, but it was only because the truly important people were off doing things while the rest of us were stuck at the station doing paperwork. With a lean to the right and then the left, I managed to catch a glimpse of the cause of the commotion. A dead body had been dropped off on our doorstep. I still didn't know why a single corpse would upset the entire station until I saw the face.

"Impossible," I said in utter disbelief.

Those in front of me turned at the sound of my voice. The men standing closest to the body stepped aside, and I got a good look at what couldn't have been and yet was. All conversations, even the loudest ones ceased almost immediately. The corpse lying dead on the front steps looked in every way exactly like me.

"Detective Fuller," Captain Mayes said to me. "Follow me."

The crowd parted for the Captain, and I trailed after him, but I couldn't help looking back at the dead version of myself.

The medical personnel arrived and collected the remains, taking it away to the morgue in the basement. It struck me as odd they'd remove the corpse before the forensics team had a chance to look it over. I didn't get to see anything else as the Captain closed the door and pulled the blinds to isolate his office from the rest of the building and everyone in it.

"Have a seat," Mayes instructed.

I didn't want to sit down; I wanted a closer look at my double, but because he was my boss, I sat down.

"Before you say anything, you're not working this case," Mayes told me.

"Why not?" I said in a louder voice than I'd intended. The shock of seeing myself dead had clearly left me shaken, and I almost instantly understood why the Captain wouldn't want me working on a case so unsettling. Taking a breath to steady myself and give me a moment to calm, I tried again. "With all due respect, Captain, I need to work this case."

"What you need to do is what I tell you to do," Mayes reminded sternly. "You're the Detective. I'm the Captain. I'm the one giving the orders, and you're the one following them. Under no circumstances are you to get anywhere near this case. This is your first day as a Detective, but if you don't follow these orders, it will be your last day on the Force. Understood?"

"I hear you, Captain," I acknowledged without agreeing to leave the case alone.

"Good," Mayes said. "Now get back to your paperwork."

"Yes sir," I replied.

While leaving the office, I heard Mayes pick up the phone on his desk and start dialing. Walking quickly, I took a sharp right turn and entered the conference room. The Captain's office and the conference room shared a common wall and air conditioning vent. Getting only half of a conversation was problematic as the sentences overheard were out of context. Nevertheless, I heard enough to make my blood run cold.

"The body turned up this morning," Mayes said into his phone. His voice had a slight echo due to the metal conduit of the vent. "It was dropped off right on our doorstep. Of course, he saw it! Everyone saw it. No. The medical teams removed it before any evidence could be collected. It's been taken to the morgue where it will be incinerated. Security cameras will be wiped and made to look like a malfunction caused the loss of the footage at the time. Don't worry Governor. We'll clean this mess up."

Mayes hung up the phone, but I couldn't move. The Captain knew what was going on, and it was somehow connected with the Governor. I didn't know what to think. Why did the dead body have my face? How did the Captain know about it, and why was he working to cover it up? How did the Governor figure into it? Was someone trying to kill me and got the double by accident? Was dropping the dead man on the steps of the police station a warning that I would be next?

I had more questions than answers, but I did know one thing for certain. I couldn't leave this case alone. I had to find the truth. Deciding on a course of action that would probably land me in jail or on a slab next to my double, I left the conference room and took the back stairs down to the morgue.

Crouching in the stairwell, I waited until the doctor on duty vanished into his back office before making my move. I slipped inside carefully, ducking behind the stainless steel exam tables. Darting from cover to cover, I approached the black bag where my double had been zipped up inside. Because my position was out of line with the door to the back office, I stood up without risk of being immediately visible. I knew what I was doing was stupid and reckless, probably even criminal, but I was committed.

Taking the body bag off the wheeled cart where it was currently stretched out, I set it on the ground out of sight and slid it toward the door. It was probably only my nerves playing tricks on me, but the noise of the bag being dragged across the floor sounded deafening.

When I reached the stairwell and got the bag inside, I closed the door behind me and hoisted the bag onto my shoulder. Moving as quickly as I could manage with the extra weight, I headed up the stairs and to the back door. Borrowing a van from the motor pool, I drove away from the station with my appropriated cargo.

I knew it wouldn't be long before the body was found missing, and an even shorter time before I was noticed missing. Mayes would have the entire police force looking for me, but since the Governor was involved, there was no telling what kind of response I could expect.

During my time as a street cop, I'd made a few contacts I could call upon to help me hide while I looked over the body and searched for clues. I realized it wasn't just the law I was hiding from. Someone had killed a man with my face and might try again. I could only hope and pray I'd find what I was looking for before the cops or the killer found me.