Strings

I

It was one of the colder winters I had suffered through in Minnesota. Dry, frigid winds chafed my skin as I completed my solitary journey to work through the soulless, soundless, cold. Due to my untamed male pride, I wouldn't allow myself to shiver, though the blusters begged me to. I clenched my teeth shut- grinding them out of habit- and took step after aching step with chest puffed out, even when there was no one around to see. I was the head of the force here, goddammit, and just because I was from Virginia didn't mean I couldn't bear the seasons in this small town any worse than the natives.

    Dusty flakes of snow- clinging on for dear life- had woven themselves into my black hair by the time I arrived, and I shook them loose before grasping the chilled handle, and flinging open the door. Heat coursed outward to the harsh world, and I jumped within, slamming the oak back in place before the boundary-less freeze could follow me. At last still, I relaxed the tension in my body and began removing my outer layers.

    "Finally, warmth." The words slipped from my mouth before I realized the implied weakness. Luckily, the only one who had caught me was George: my lead detective and a portly man halfway through his life.

His grumbling voice leapt from his barrel chest as he lumbered toward me. "Don't get too comfortable, we're going out."

"Since when do you give the orders?" My left eye twitched, an occasional and hardly noticeable tick that developed around the time I moved here, six years prior.

George's milky brown eyes were midnight black. "Since a dead body was found in the church."

I re-buttoned my coat.

My deputy accompanied George and me to Saint Peter's. We'd been told the priest who discovered the body was severely shaken, and young Jane provided a far more comforting and gentle presence than I or my detective could ever give. I entered the building first, anxious to escape the bitter bite of the breeze, and was nearly toppled by the overwhelming coppery stench of blood and rotting flesh. Gaze stretching over the pews, I observed the celestial hues of the stain glass windows ironically illuminate the gruesome, hellish scene. At the front of the church, below the altar like a failed sacrifice, were the mutilated remains of an old man.

He seemed to be left in a pile, as if every joint was broken and he was able to fall on top of himself, the skin of his limbs folding like the fabric of a dropped rag. The blood leaking from his countless wounds and lacerations didn't pool normally. It cascaded along the grain of the hardwood floor in ribbons, thin and long, as if someone had stuffed him with crimson strings until finally his seams burst. I'd seen corpses before, but this was a ghastly vision unparalleled by the darkest recesses of my mind.

In the following minutes, the world moved around me, frictionless, as I gradually approached the body. Behind me on one side, Jane was consoling the man of God and taking down his story, on the other George stood rigid with a ratty handkerchief over his nose, not daring to come an inch closer. Maneuvering around the blood, I crouched down, only a forearm's length from the mess.

I never figured out why I didn't cover my face. At that proximity, the odor burned my nostrils, then crawled higher into my brain, scraping against the innermost parts of my skull. It was so complete in its invasion, so unabashedly penetrating, that the stink remained there for weeks. Staring in that moment at the limp husk of what used to be a human being, I couldn't tug my attention from his face. The skin around the eyes- permanently stained red- had deflated, leaving him forever wide-eyed with terror. But his lips- a tight bitten-through line- spoke of untethered fury.

I lost to a shiver, and rose to my feet. When I turned back toward my team, their stares gravitated to me. They held their fear in check, but were desperate for my decision. Murder didn't happen here; that's why they needed an outside guy in charge, someone with experience, someone like myself. What would their Sheriff do?