Dust to Dust (A UK Youtuber Story)

Chapter 8 - Anguish

Two more months had passed since Mara had caught Jaden Cole. She had been assigned another case, another burglary, which she promptly solved. Her line of work however, was not for the faint-hearted, as she knew very well. Things were only going to get tougher and this became apparent on a cold January morning. Mara had been called to the site of a body on a warehouse estate. The victim had been beaten so badly that his face was unrecognisable.

It was the first time she had seen a corpse in a long time, the stench attacking her nostrils and the violent sight putting pressure on her mentally. Mara went to the side to get some air, she wasn't sure she could face up to this.

"Detective Bloom, are you ok?" asked a PC

"I'm ok, I just need a minute." she replied with a stressed tone.

She composed herself.

"What have we got?"

"Young male. 20-25. Blunt force injuries to the chest area, neck and head. He's been beaten with a blunt object." said the coroner, his proficiency in his profession enabling him to deliver the factual information in a straightforward manner.

"Time of death?" asked Mara.

"Well, due to the nature of the injuries and temperature, I would make an educated guess at Midnight to 2AM."

"Any murder weapon?"

"Nothing has been retrieved. The size and shapes of the wounds would suggest to me that the most likely object would be a hammer."

"Christ."

The detailed description became too much for Mara and she violently threw up on the outskirts of the crime scene, concealing this from other officers, not wanting to show weakness on her first homicide case in her new position. The body was taken away for further examination.

Arriving back at the station, Mara slumped in her chair, barely able to contain her emotions, contemplating her chosen career path now that she was higher up in the pecking order. Mara had chosen to become a police office for a reason, to help people. She was good at it and her determined character led her to have a mental pep talk with herself. She had a great responsibility now that she was a detective, to society and currently, to the deceased man's family.

*2 days later*

"Ma'am, DNA has come back from the victim" said PC Harding.

"Who's the victim?"

"A Zach Harrison, seems like he was popular online. Had a Youtube account known as ZH Gaming" replied Harding.

Mara froze.

She knew Zach. Stephen had introduced her to him at a party. He was an up and coming Youtuber and had just recently hit 100,000 subscribers. He was very popular in the circle of people Mara had come to know. She had had multiple chats with him and they had got on really well, his life being snuffed out preventing their potential friendship from blossoming. She started to sob profusely.

"I know him! I can't believe it!" she said distraught.

Harding consoled her, he was under Mara's tutelage.

"I don't mean to overstep the boundaries of my rank Ma'am, but don't you think it would be better if someone else took over this case? Your personal link to the victim might cloud your judgement." said Harding carefully.

Mara knew he was right and that it's what she should do both ethically and for her own sake, but her driven personality wouldn't allow it to happen at the start of the new chapter of her career and it would not quell her overwhelming desire to bring Zach's killer to justice.

"No Matt, I've got to take this one on."

"It's against protocol though Mara, I mean Ma'am" replied Harding with caution.

"I owe it to him Matt." she said continuing the battle to speak through her tears. She was becoming increasingly worried she was too emotional for this job. She knew however, that her emotion could drive her onward to get justice, she had to use it as a galvanising tool.

"I understand. I won't say anything." replied Harding

"I know." said Mara.

"Did forensics recover anything else?" asked Mara still in emotional discomfort.

"Nothing yet."

Mara considered what she had to do next in the hunt for Zach's killer. She had to search his closest links. His family and friends.

What this event would be the catalyst for, would not ever be conceivable in her mind. What she would uncover would haunt her. The online community was about to be dragged even further to the forefront of Mara's life.

Hi, it's been a while again! I'm going try once again to back into writing, so hopefully I'll be able to update consistently for once! Thanks - Riak64 :)