Locking the doors to the Hawk County Medical Examiner's office, Chief Medical Examiner Stacey Richardson walks to her Honda civic thinking abkut today's caseload: 2 "Natural Causes," a hospital death and a homicide victim. Why did the hospital victim die of too much penicillin? Allergic reaction and too much dosage. The "Natural causes" are anything but natural. They're murder-suicide. Both with ketemene and acepromizime. Where they got it? Who the hell know. And the homicide victim? Died of exanguation.
Her thoughts are interrupted by an envelope in her windshield. "What the.." She picks up the envelope and looks at it. "Stacey Richardson" is wrote in a calligraphy pen. She opens the envelope to an invitation. "You're invited to the 10 year reunion of Hawk County High School Class of 20XX. Dress is semi-formal attire, or for the working class, work attire, at The Loft in Downtown Hawk County. Event time is from 6pm to 11pm. 'Just fucking grand... And in a weeks time? I'll have a wholenother workload..'
Stacey drives down the main drag, or known to locals as the Dragway because its a straightaway until you get to the Rural Routes and State Highways. Upon the departure of the town, she comes upon a traffic slowdown. "What the hell..." She passes a traffic stop where 2 State Troopers are searching a car. She looks to the right to see a man with yhe face of pain, looking back at her car. He nods his head slightly as Stacey gives a small wave back. "He looks familiar.. Why do I remember him?" She mutters quietly. Pulling into her apartment complex, she checks her issued mailbox in the cluster other of rusted gray mailboxes. "Shit.. Junk.. Bills... And another invitation?" She says walking up the stairs to her 1 bedroom apartment.
Unlocking the door, she notices roses spread out on her floor and couch. "Come here, Pearl." She calls to her calico cat. The cat purrs at her arrival, as she picks up the roses and throws them away. "If I'm going to this Damned reunion, they said work attire, so I'll go in my Court Duds." She looks at the rose-filled trashcan. "And no one is gonna stop me." She removes the solid black and white dress suit, complete with a red tie and lays them out.
"Stacey, this begins the first day of the rest of your life. Don't fuck it up."
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Cars
RandomComing home from work is every Tennessee State Trooper's goal, as well as any law enforcement officer. But for Lieutenant Kenny McLane, coming home isn't always easy. The only companion he has is a Boston Terrier named Duke. He's been wronged by so...
