So I just came on to publish a new chapter and I noticed that somehow/for whatever reason, my story has been deleted?! Sorry to those who were following it... I have posted it again (obviously).
TRIGGER WARNING! Just putting it out there that this chapter and possibly some of the others will contain mentions of self harm and suicide, so if you have a problem with that I recommend that you don't read this story.
So I've noticed recently that the amount of new Forever stories being posted have dropped... I also know that I haven't posted anything in a reaaalllyyyy long time, so I started writing a new story! Hope ya like it :)
The young woman lay on the table in the morgue with Henry leaning over her when Jo stepped out of the elevator. Her hands were at her sides palm up, displaying the ugly red cuts and slightly faded scars that decorated them like distasteful bracelets.
"Hey, Henry." Jo called as she crossed the room towards him, Henry looking up to nod a greeting to her. "What have you found?"
"My conclusion is that the cause of death was strangulation." Henry handed the report across the body to Jo who stood on the other side of the table, as he pointed at the bruises on the victim's neck.
"So it was suicide?" Jo asked thinking back to the crime scene, the woman hanging from the top of her cupboard by a scarf, swaying slightly. Her eyes drifted down to the woman's wrists. "I mean…" she trailed off, gesturing at the cuts.
Henry shook his head. "Murder." He said simply, offering no explanation. Jo waited for him to continue, and when he didn't she looked taken aback; slightly confused.
"That's it? You're not going to give me a detailed explanation on why it's murder like you usually do?" She waved the report at the body in front of her.
Henry looked up, a small smile on his face. "If you look carefully at the patterns of the bruises, you'll see that they are straight across. If our victim had hung herself the bruises would be in a more diagonal pattern." He traced a line on the victim's neck with a gloved finger before continuing. "Also if she had hanged herself I would expect there to be marks on her neck from her trying to get her fingers under the scarf; most suicide victims regret their decision or are overwhelmed with panic. Based on the lack of those I would guess the murderer drugged her or held her down in some way so that she couldn't struggle."
"How do you know that?" Jo asked, puzzled. "About the…" she trailed off, gesturing at her neck.
"Trust me, detective, I just know." Henry's voice was loud in the quiet room, startling Jo slightly. Henry never talked like that. Henry saw her reaction and was silent for a moment, a faint blush creeping up his neck that Jo almost missed as he turned away from her. "It's common knowledge amongst Medical Examiners." He finally spoke, turning back around. Jo saw that he had managed to get whatever emotions he was experiencing under control, with his demeanour cool, calm and collected like normal, and no trace of the blush she had spied earlier.
"I'll go tell Hanson." Jo narrowed her eyes slightly at Henry, but he was looking down at his copy of the report, sending her a clear message that he didn't want to talk. She headed towards the exit, pushing the button for the elevator and sighing in annoyance as she heard it slowly whir towards her.
As she waited her thoughts turned to Henry. He had seemed a little down, in no hurry to share his theories and his smile had seemed strained, not quite reaching his eyes. Not to mention his strange reaction when she asked about his knowledge of suicide victims clawing at their necks in panic.
She turned to look back at Henry as she waited for the elevator. Henry was seated at the desk Lucas normally sat at, his back hunched over slightly. He looked very small in the large, crisp white room. Very small and very alone, with the rest of the morgues staff out for their lunch breaks.
Henry's shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath, before Jo saw him lay down his head on his arms. Weird. She thought to herself as the elevator chimed behind her as it arrived, the doors sliding open.
When Jo got back to her desk she sank into the chair, dropping the report Henry had given her before her and frowning at it. Something was of with Henry, that much was obvious, but before she could dwell on it too much Hanson stood beside her holding two mugs of hot, steaming coffee.
"What did Henry say?" He asked, handing one mug to Jo who took it gratefully.
"Murder" Jo replied grumpily as she took a gulp of the coffee, wincing as it burned the roof of her mouth. She briefly thought about telling Hanson about what Henry had said how he had acted, but as soon as the thought entered her head it was gone again, a fleeting shadow in the back of her mind.
"Great." Hanson was musing beside Jo. "I was hoping to be able to go home early today, spend some time with the wife and kids. Nothing like a good old murder to change my plans."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Come on." She said. "Let's go get Henry and go talk to the victim's family and co-workers." As she said this she was almost hoping that Henry would decline their invitation to accompany them on their trip. Since she had begun working with her and Hanson, Henry had been the one who she knew she could always count on. Whenever Sean was on her mind or a particular case had got her down Henry was the one she went to, or who came to her even when she didn't know she needed him to be there for her. His behaviour in the morgue had scared her a little; he wasn't the normal Henry she knew.
To her slight disappointment Henry took her and Hanson up on their offer, and within half an hour the two detectives and Henry were seated in Jo's car, driving down the road away from the Precinct.
When they arrived back a few hours later Henry quickly excised himself back to the morgue, saying he had some paper work to complete. Jo and Hanson watched his back as he strode away from them before jabbing at the elevator button with a ferocity that Jo had not seen Henry exhibit before. Looking closer Jo could also see a tightness in his shoulders.
Hanson seemed to be able to read her thoughts, voicing exactly what she was thinking. "Something's up with Henry. Don't you think he seemed bit weird?"
Jo raised her eyebrows at him, hoping to put him off his train of thought. Whatever was wrong with Henry, she wanted him to tell her because he wanted to, not because the entire precinct knew something was up. "Weird?" She questioned.
"Weirder than usual." Hanson classified. "He just didn't seem like himself."
"I didn't notice anything." Jo shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner, beginning to walk towards the elevator Henry had just entered moments before. "Coming?" She called to Hanson as she pushed the button, turning to see if he was following her.
As she did so she saw Hanson quickly school his features into a neutral expression, but not before Jo saw his incredulous look and frown. She knew Hanson knew that she also thought something was wrong with Henry.
Whatever it is, Henry, I'll figure it out. Jo thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator.
So far so good? Review pleaseeeeee!
Also if you were reading my old story that never got past the second chapter I'm sorry... I wasn't really 'feeling' that story. I guess I'm not good at writing the crime solving part.
Anywayyyy I hope you enjoyed this chapter and this story will (hopefully) be a lot longer than my previous one...
