Temple: A New Journey Begins
Please see the disclaimer on the Synopsis page.
*Warning Somewhat Graphic Material. If you can't stomach it, best skip this chapter and wait for the next one. *
The coroner arrived just as the body was being placed on his examine table.
"What have we got?"
"Woman was found dead in her jail cell at the Braniff city jail. There was no one else in the cell, and the door was locked. No weapon could be found. There wasn't much else found at the scene. She was just found dead lying on her cot. Sheriff wants to know what killed her so he sent her to you."
Snapping on a pair of surgical gloves, the coroner went to his computer, opened a file, then placed a headset with a microphone on his head. He typed in a few commands then began his examination.
"Victim is a woman. Victim was found dead in her jail cell . . . What time was that approximately?"
"6:00 PM last night."
"Last night? This body is pretty stiff. Rigger begins to set in after twelve hours. Why didn't you bring her in last night?"
"We put her in the freezer to keep the body from decomposing too fast."
"Amateurs. You're supposed to bring in the body right after the forensic team has examined the crime scene. And since I am the only person qualified in this area of the county, I should have been called. Well it can't be helped. Put on a pair of gloves and hand me one of those plastic bags. She's going to have to be stripped and her clothes will need to be examined for anything unusual."
"Are you sure you want me to help you with this?" the officer who came with the body asked the coroner.
"I could do it myself, but it's easier if there are two of us so the body can be moved properly and nothing else is disturbed."
Both men carefully removed the woman's outer clothing. There wasn't much, just the jumpsuit that was given to the victim at the jail and her undergarments. The officer hesitated when they started to remove her bra and underwear.
"Umm," the officer licked his lips as his mouth went suddenly dry.
"We must remove everything. You don't have to stay for the rest."
The coroner shook his head as the officer helped to strip the victim, placed the rest of the clothing in the bag, then left the room. Once he was alone with the victim, Nicky Elder began his work.
"No unusual marks on the body. No bruises, or punchers. There appears to be one faded tattoo in the shape of a claw on the woman's right shoulder and one brand on her left hand in the shape of a snake. The brand appears to be newer than the tattoo. Other than that, this woman looks in excellent shape for her age, which I would estimate it to be either mid to late 60's. Except for the mysterious way you died, by all appearances, it could have been from natural causes. But we know better. Let's take a closer look shall we."
Nicky Elder continued to dictate his findings into the microphone. His words showed up on the screen of the computer that sat on the desk at the head of the corpse.
"Okay, let's take a closer look at the region of the head."
Nicky turned the woman's head in his hands. "Don't see any trauma to the skull. Everything looks in tacked there."
Looking more closely at the woman's face, he noticed a small dark smudge along the side of the woman's mouth. Prying the jaw open he began to explore the inside of her mouth.
"Looks like there's something stuck to your teeth. I bet whatever you ate didn't agree with you."
Nicky scraped some of the dark brown material from the corpse's molars and placed the material into a small plastic bag.
"Well I really hate to do this on such a lovely figure, but we're going to have to examine your stomach contents."
Nicky walked over to where his surgical instruments were stored. He pulled each one from their drawer and placed them on a nearby mobile tray. After he was done selecting his tools, he moved the tray next to his examination table.
Nicky selected a scalpel and made the first incision. Very little blood welled up in the wound, which was expected. He quickly reached over and turned on the vacuum and brought the hose to the opening. After clearing away the blood he was able to proceed with the next incision. It wasn't long until he had the ribs and organs exposed. Observing their condition, he placed each of the organs in a pan to be examined later. He then pulled out the stomach, being careful to also remove the small intestine also for further examination.
Turning away from the now opened cadaver, Nicky moved to another exam table and placed the stomach under a large magnifying glass. He then proceeded to cut into the lining to view the contents.
Nicky gave a deep sigh as he examined the contents of the woman's stomach. He took some of the contents and placed it into a container to have it analyzed. Taking both the small bag and the container to the lab, Nicky got to work analyzing what he took from the woman.
"Hmmm, that's curious. Since when do prisoners get chocolates? Chocolate covered cherries to be exact. It's not Valentine's Day. A secret admirer perhaps?"
Then Nicky discovered something else.
"Remind me never to buy chocolate covered cherries ever again."
Continues with Part 41
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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