“You won’t be able to understand a lot of things.” She took a deep breath before untying her hair and tying them once again in a neater knot. Dark curls falling gracefully and some bouncing back up, they hypnotised me into thinking what it would feel like holding them in my palms on a warm Sunday morning.
“Mr. Dandeline,” Valentine’s voice pierced into my fantasy and pulled me out, “has already explained to me the nature of the death as well as the state of the bodies.”
She looked troubled as well. Having brought to your office four bodies and no clue of what happened to them would drive anyone off the edge. But it was a bit remarkable how well she could remain composed. Meeting women in this kind of profession was a rare occurrence. They are strong, some would say stronger than men -and i’d agree- but once they are born they are taught the exact opposite and they stay away from demanding jobs and tasks in fear that the big guy will simply grasp them and smash them. It;s always a relief to come across women like Donna.
“Did the Chief really approve of this?” she pointed at Valentine. The young man was a little taken back by the nature of the question, however I was anticipating to hear it.
“He is well aware of Mr. Soar’s assistance, if that’s what you are wondering.”
“I only want to know I won’t get into trouble for showing around important evidence to-”
“A police officer and his assistant.” I deliberately interrupted her, “I’ve been around here far too little to start acting on my own, ma’am. You might as well call him to validate my word, but as far as I know, he won't be too pleased to be awoken at such an hour for such trivial things.”
The doctor pressed her lips a bit too hard for the expression to go unnoticed. The things she wanted to say to me I could only imagine, yet deep down she knew I was right. No one was fool enough to underestimate Charles and ignore his position as Chief of the Police.
“Alright then, detective.” She walked past me and stood before the refrigerated drawers where the bodies were stored and searched for the right one. “We keep here every single poor soul that has either yet to be identified or their families haven’t decided on whether they should be cremated or buried.” She explained and proceeded on reading aloud the tags on each drawer, until “Aha! There you are.” The excitement in her voice had me grinning, a half-assed smile that quickly got smeared away as she pulled the handle with all of her strength. “Jon Doe, here,”she named him as we approached them, “was a young man of nineteen years old, the least. No physical wounds as you can see, not signs of struggle and even underneath his fingernails there were no signs of resistance. Much like the other three.”
Valentine took a deep breath and released it slowly as he got closer to the poor man. His eyes were trying to read the body, desperately searching for a clue that we might have missed.
“Weird, isn’t it?” Donna spoke with her arms over her chest as she looked first over at Valentine and then threw her eyes on me. “We have four guys, they both died probably the same time, yet nothing screams assault. How is that even possible?”
“Probably they knew the killer. He had gained their trust, that’s why none of them reacted.” Valentine would bet his soul on this theory and damn right I would do the same. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Four boys meet a person, a faceless one, they start talking, having a good time, perhaps a drink or two and he gains their full attention and trust. Then, one by one he kills them and sets that sick display. But to be able to move four bodies all the way to the dance hall…
“But all four? Normally, they should have suspected that something was wrong if they were killed separately.” Donna was right.
“Can I see the others as well?” Valentine requested without averting his look.
“Alright, but there won’t be any differences. I’m telling you, it feels like they just dropped dead out of nowhere.”
She walked to the right side and opened the last bottom drawer. “This one I like to call Ducky.”
I looked at her curiously. “You nickname them?”
She shrugged and stepped backwards towards me, allowing Valentine to examine Ducky. “Calling them John Doe all the time can be pretty mundane even for them. Just because they don’t have a pulse, doesn’t mean they will withstand silly names like this one. And to be clear, this one’s only flaw is the dentures.”
I watched Valentine rising slowly up, straightening his figure and turning to us with the head tilted to the side, as if that last comment of hers awakened him.
“Why do you consider it a flaw?” he asked.
“Has none of you noticed? They are all perfect. Bodies that are well built, healthy as well. They are young, too young and if you ask me i’d assume they were still college freshmen. Look at the skin. No scratches, no bruises, no old wounds. Nothing. Their hairline? My brother would envy that.”
“And what about that one?”
Donna moved to Duckie and pulled his upper lip, exposing the deformed dentures. It wasn’t the most repulsive sight, but I can’t say I was expecting it based on his overall looks. His teeth were a mess; front ones were tilted abnormally to the front while the rest were dancing on their own without any instructions. We both understood her point and also the reason behind the ridiculous nickname.
“I believe I have seen everything that there is, doctor.” Valentine sighed and turned his attention to me. “Detective, perhaps we should leave. I am sure that doctor Rice would like to attend to other matters.”
“Yes, of course.” I replied.
“I doubt that the bodies hide anything at this moment, but if I manage to find anything else I will inform the Chief and you as well, detective.” She extended her hand towards Valentine who softly shook it. “A pleasure, Mr. Soar. And good luck with this case.”
Moments afterwards, we were outside of the hospital. The streets were empty, the temperature as low as it could get yet the humidity was choking me like some invisible hand.
“I know you may consider this a failure, detective, or a waste of time, but thank you for bringing me here.” His voice was filled with honesty and that calm tone was like an annoying ringing in my ears. I desperately needed to smoke and blow that eerie feeling away.
“I don’t consider it anything like that, Mr. Soar. Part of this job is to go back and forth many times until you get the steps right.” Meanwhile I was searching my pockets like a madman.
Valentine took a step in front of me and looked up at the sky. “It’s a silent night. This kind of calmness you won’t find anywhere in the world, I know this.” his eyes met with mine and that sensation of uneasiness returned but at the very same time I felt the calmness he was talking about. “I’ll take my chances and walk tonight, detective. Thank you for everything and we will be in touch.”
I watched him walk away from me, descended in the city’s darkness. There was a murderer on the loose and he was somewhere in this town, sitting comfortably on his chair, full of himself and determined that he won’t be found. He could be anyone actually; he could be that fat man who was locking his restaurant’s door, or the quiet investor who has a perfect life that will never raise any suspicions. It could also be a doctor, one who knows how the human body works and what drugs to use, or even a very intelligent junkie.
I stopped myself from starting the car’s engine. My back fell against the seat and I looked outside the window. Junkies… dead junkies that no one cares about. God or devil, I don’t know what divine power controlled my thoughts at that moment, but my body got out of the car like a jack-in-a-box. Valentine needed to see the four dancers, but I also had another case in my mind and it was better to leave the young man out of it.
My feet moved fast and my thoughts were circling and connecting even faster. Perhaps there was a connection between the two cases. Or maybe not. But I had to clear all doubts and assumptions.
Donna wasn’t expecting me. In fact, she was outside the hospital, her hair messily held up and her delicate fingers were holding a slim one.
“Detective,” she was surprised to see me, and so was I, for I had promised to myself that our second meeting would be in a quieter place, a less crowded one and with the scent of death hidden away. “Did you forget anything?”
I explained myself and she seemed to understand. In fact, she was more eager to show me to those dead junkies than the four perfect college boys.
“I read the past reports. This death craze started a couple of decades ago but with much smaller numbers, that’s why no one seems to bite an eye. Why would they, after all?”
“They are no use to society,” I added as i was waiting for her to find the right drawer. “Why mourn them?”
“Exactly.” she seemed to have troubles with that one so i did my best to help and pull the handle myself. I moved behind her and my hand touched hers; my strength combined with her stubbornness. With a breathless thank you, she revealed the body and it was from anything I was expecting. The skin’s colour was a mix of decaying flesh and vomit-green. Torso and abdomen were stitched carefully while both arms were filled with needle-holes. I took a step back and averted my look. “Not a pretty sight, is it? This one is Cole Hicks. He was twenty two when he died from an apparent overdose. We ran some tests but we are still trying to identify the drug that killed him.”
“A new kind?”
She shrugged and sighed, shaking her head as she pushed the body back inside. “Everyday they come up with new ways of getting high and losing their lives. It doesn’t surprise me.”
I leaned my back against the hard wall and closed my eyes, rubbing them hard as I was thinking. “Was the substance discovered on the first try?”
“We had to run multiple tests, actually. It was as if there was always a malfunction there. Why?”
“What if you do the same with our college boys?”
She stopped for a second. “You think there is a connection?”
“Perhaps.” I replied sharply and bit my lower lip. I really needed that cigarette. “I suppose you don’t treat white college boys the same way as junkies, right?”
“I- wouldn’t put it that way, but-”
“Start doing so, then.”
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