chapter 49

Deputy Joseph Hanes POV

The call came through the sheriff's department at about 5:22 am. Some poor homeless guy looking for a place to crash for the next few hours came across the body. Had to go to the liquor store to use a guy's phone to call it in. Good thing he did. The morning traffic of kids going to school don't need to be seeing something like a dead body.

When had I arrived, I stepped out of my car and slammed the door shut. All those stairs going up to city hall were very daunting. I remembered the doughnuts I'd had back at the station and looked at my gut. Damn, this was going to wind me.

Bright red from the exertion, I met the other three sheriffs that were there. Barely glancing down at the blue tarp, I shook my head and in a frustrated tone, I asked them, "Alright boys, what have we got?"

A pale Sheriff Tanner that was on his knees opened up the blue tarp with his latex-gloved hands."Female, about early twenties, and uh..check out the handiwork." Briefly, he pulled back the blue tarp to show me the lengths of how the body was stitched up. The air left my lungs in a quick burst like I'd just been punched in the gut. Pulling out a small ziplock plastic bag, he held it up high with his thumb, middle, and index finger. "These two Rice Chex Cereal squares had been placed over her eyelids like diamonds. I got some great pictures."

Bent over I squinted my eyes at the Rice Chex Cereal squares. They'd been used like coins over the eyes from ancient times. Only less weight to them. To pay Charron the boatman to ferry one across the river Styx when one died. I shuddered at the thought. Thoroughly horrified and pissed off, that this kind of thing was happening in my town. "Shit... I want this whole area of the front steps and along the side of the building, taped off. Finish collecting evidence, we need to get this body to the coroner's office now. Notify the Undersheriff to get his ass outta bed. Come on, you boys know the drill. But above all, keep the kids and the press at bay! I got calls to make. Let's get to work!" And they do. Thank God.

As I made my phone calls, I stared sideways at the body lying horizontal to the glass doors. How could a person do such a thing, to such a lovely young woman? This shit was gonna give me nightmares for weeks.

Rubbing my forehead, I put my cell phone back in my front shirt pocket while I took a look at the scene closely. "It looks like our boy was either looking for justice or gave justice to her." Reaching into my back pocket I pulled out some latex gloves from my back pocket and lifted her right hand to inspect her hands. "Tanner, bag these hands, her feet too. Maybe we'll find something under her nails." I passed him her hand and Tanner got to work. Her long brown hair was perfectly brushed out, makeup and nails painted. But the big letter "X" in red lipstick on her forehead taunted me. "Shit! I gotta call the mayor about this one. Let's get all the damn pictures we can of the entire crime scene so we can get this body moved. Hurry up, now!" All agitated, I went back down the steep stairs of City Hall to my black Chevy Nova and sat back waiting in the driver's seat for the medical examiner to arrive. So the shit could hit the fan.

That was when I saw the two black SUVs and a silent ambulance following behind. I groaned and sank down in the black leather driver's seat not wanting to be a part of this oncoming storm, but having no choice in the matter.

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Jenna Tierney's POV

Feeling my cell phone go off, I looked across the cancer corpse I was working on with Joy Kenwick, my medical examiner, raising a brow. She knew exactly what it meant and nodded. "You take that. I got this." she smiled as she turned back to her work on the cancer corpse. Usually, we don't have to do ex-cancer patients but there was an insurance dispute. What can you do?

Pulling off my latex gloves, I reach around my surgical gown to get my now silent phone out of my pocket. Pulling down my mask, check my phone to see that Joseph Hanes called. Calling him back, He answers the phone with a gruff tone. "Yeah?"

Frowning slightly I look back at the cancer corpse. "Yeah, you called me? Don't tell me you got another death out there. That would be five this month? Your population of less than 10,000 is dwindling. You kn--" he cuts me off.

"Damnit, shut up Jenna! This one is bad, I mean really bad. Is Joy there too?" Frustration is coming out of him so I can tell this is going to be no ordinary case.

Straightening up, I start walking toward my office, all business now. "Go straight past reception and bring the body straight into the morgue. The doors will be unlocked for you. We'll be waiting."

The relief in him was evident by the released breath I heard. "Thanks, Jenna. We are about two minutes away. I owe you for this one." The relaxed tone if his voice was good enough payment. Anything for a friend.

Calling out to Joy, I let her know we had a top priority case coming in. Immediately she cleaned up and pushed the metal slab of the cancer corpse back into its locker. Both of us put on fresh hospital gowns, caps booties over our shoes, masks, and gloves. By the time we had done this, four deputies came crashing through my doors with a body bag set down on a gurney. The body bag seemed overly stuffed. I looked at John and he shrugged. "Before we transfer the body up onto your examination table, we need to remove the tarp that the woman is wrapped up in for evidence." I nodded and started passing out the latex gloves.

Once the body bag was removed, we all went to lift the body from the tarp. Two deputies at each leg, with John and me at the shoulders. As we lifted, the torso completely separated into two halves shocking us all. John almost jumping back. "I take it you guys didn't know about this?"

John shook his head as he looked at the intestines that wanted to spill out, swallowing hard. "Hell, and I thought all them damn stitches was bad enough. Her skin must have been held together to make it seem seamless or somethin'. Shit. Sorry, Jenna." He scratched the back of his balding head as if doing so would help him to think better.

Adjusting the upper part of the torso on the steel table, the other two deputies lifted the lower half then both rushed over to vomit in the small trash can against the wall. By the counter shelf.

Stopping to look at the young woman laying on the table, I gasped. Never have I seen anything like this before! My stomach churned for the first time, just from taking in the sight of all the damage, yet twisted treatment of the body. I raised my eyes and turned around to glance at Joy, nodding to let her know it was all up to her, for now. "John, I believe that it's time for all of us to go to my office so the paperwork can get filled out. Joy can handle this." I said as I he added them back toward my office of which they were all happy to go. Me, I almost ran.