Hi! I'm going to have to start posting a bit more frequently to be able to finish this story in time for the Wattys but I hope that I will manage! Please leave a comment or vote or prehaps do both =) This chapter is dedicated to my new editor Libeika, Thank you so much for everythig!
As I walked into the morgue, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The Dr. Setwell stood in between two steel tables. On both slabs of steel, there lay two deathly pale bodies of two young women. I made my way towards the body of a long haired woman with ugly black and blue bruises around her neck that Dr. Setwell was currently facing towards.
“Well, I can confirm asphyxiation.” She began, “And the weapon was actually her own hair, so she wasn't throttled to death like the papers are saying.”
I groaned, “So you’ve heard about that already?” I said as I stepped further into the white washed room and surveyed the body on display under the white and flimsy plastic sheet. The usual smell of mustiness and the slight scent of rot invaded my nostrils. I wrinkled my nose at the unpleasant smell.
“Of course, I do read, you know. Anyway," she continued, "the bruising is localised in both cases around the neck and abdomen. From that we can tell from the position of the bruises, the killer is right handed. See here?" she asked as she gestured towards the woman's abdomen, "The bruising across the abdomen is the length and shape of a forearm and the bruising from the fingertips appear on the right hip-“
“So how does that prove that the killer was right handed?” I asked, regretting immediately as the words left my mouth. I mentally shook my head. My lack of sleep was definitely affecting my brain.
“Tommy?” Jane peered at me closely and continued slowly, “You do know that a killer uses their strongest arm to commit the act and their other arm to hold their victim." She shook her head disapprovingly. Then continued, "Thomas, when was the last time you slept through the night?” She took a few steps towards me and began to examine my face.
Her face said it all. I was a mess. I had a few days of stubble of my cheeks and chin and severe dark circles underneath my eyes along with the redness of my eyeballs, signifying sleep deprivation.
“Jane, please, this isn’t about me." I said quickly, trying to divert her attention from me. "This is about the death of a young woman. So please, get on with your report.”
I knew that what I had said was harsh and slightly uncalled for, but I knew that she would press me and try to convince me to leave the case with Turlock and Peters to go home and get some proper rest.
“Fine!” She snapped, pursing her lips at my tone before continuing, “Her windpipe was crushed but that wasn’t the main cause of death." She took a deep breath, then continued, "There is haemorrhaging in the brain that caused her to have a stroke. This, coupled with the crushed windpipe are what killed her. There are no marks to indicate that she was sexually assaulted nor are there abrasions from a struggle. So I'm guessing that the killer had indeed taken her by surprise from behind. The skin cells under her finger nails are her own. This would account for the smaller angular bruising around the mark made by the strangulation.” She used a gloved hand to point out the markings, “There are no signs of any other markings or interference.”
“If that’s all then…” I started to turn around when she grabbed my arm to drag me back. Somehow in those few seconds, she had managed to take her gloves off, I realised as I felt her cool hands on my arm.
“Tommy, I’m being serious. You need to sleep, and soon. It’s obvious that you haven’t slept much since the start of this case and, if you don’t take better care of yourself, I'm guessing that you'll be taken off the case for your own good.” Her concern shone through her eyes, causing me to sigh and my shoulders to slump forwards. "Besides, if you're running on an empty tank, I don't you'll be able to go far anyway. Rest, instead of those few hours being wasted, I'm sure that it would have quite the opposite effect. You'll be able to think better."
Then her voice softened and she continued, “It took four years for me to see my old friend back in you, and I really don’t want one case ruining that. Please Tommy, just think about it.” She then pulled me into a hug.
I sighed yet again as I held her close. We both knew that I was far too stubborn to leave this case. I knew that if I wasn’t careful it would destroy me and reopen the wounds that my wife had left behind. Although it was only one cut, it was definitely a deep one. It had taken years to heal but I could still almost feel my mind twisting and retreating into the dark place that Mary had left me in. But I knew I had to put up the brave front for the people around me, least of all for my sons.
“Don’t worry for me Jane.” I whispered into her ear as I let her go, “I’ll be fine once this is all over.” I tried my best at a convincing smile. She shook her head at me, obviously not buying my act, but didn't stop me as I once again turned around and continued out of the room.
When I reached the office the place was in abuzz with activity. We were now being forced to work with the Public Relations Department to clean up the mess that The Valiant had caused. Peters bumped into me as I made my way through the room but he quickly pushed past me, walking out the door before I could say anything.
“What’s up with Peters?” I asked as I reached the incident board where Turlock and Carter were standing.
“Not sure sir. He got a call a few minutes ago and he’s been acting oddly ever since.” Carter replied
.
“It is a little odd I admit." Brushing the incident aside, Turlock continued, "But moving on, we have some progress on the case. A witness has come forward and we have a description of a Caucasian male who is around 6 feet tall. The witness said that he had dark blond hair and he was seen walking away from the house where our victim was found around the estimated time of death of our victim.”
“Well that’s-” I was about to continue when a young PC came over with a grave look on his face.
“Sir, I have some bad news." He took a deep breath before continuing. "There’s been another murder with a similar cause of death as the previous murders.” He blurted out.
And for the second time that day all hell broke loose.
YOU ARE READING
To Catch A Killer
Mystery / ThrillerFour years after the death of his Ex-wife DCI Thomas 'Tommy' Smith is investigating a murder that is extraordinarily similar and not just because the victims were both women. Questions arise when another woman is found strangled by her hair. Was the...
