Just a short intro to my new story.
Staggering on unsteady legs a short distance from the horrific scene he'd discovered, he falls to his hands and knees, his stomach churning as he heaves up his breakfast of bacon and eggs. Once the heaving finally stops, he wipes his mouth and sits up, resting his hands on his knees as he tries and fails to compose himself. He had never seen anything so horrifying and the image was likely to be seared into his mind forever.
A shudder racks his body; he felt as if he was freezing in the warmth of the early morning sun. He dares a glance over his shoulder, a small sob escaping his lips as he desperately hoped that he was wrong about whose car it was that he had just stumbled upon.
Fighting tears, his trembling hand reaches into his pocket for his phone. Closing his eyes, he takes a few deep breaths before dialling.
"Yabbie Creek Police Station, Constable Rosetta speaking, how may I help you?"
He didn't really like Angelo, but after what he'd just seen, Angelo's voice sounded absolutely wonderful. "Ah," he swallows hard. "I'd like to report a body."
"It's about time you got here," Senior Constable Jack Holden snaps, not even bothering to disguise the anger in his voice at the two approaching women. "This could be our friend and we've had to leave her here while we waited until you Dee's finally graced us with your presence."
"We got here as quickly as we could," the raven-haired woman replied evenly. The moment the call had come in, they'd quickly gathered their things and driven well over the speed limit to Summer Bay, but the trip had still taken a couple of hours. "I'm Detective Sergeant Susan Holmes and this is Det. Constable Georgie Watson."
"Holmes and Watson, is that a joke?"
"Do I look like I'm a person who jokes?"
Jack couldn't read the detective at all. "Well anyway, I already know Watson."
"Ah, that's right, she has family here."
"Hey Jack," the young Detective greets him with some trepidation. Her father and his father may have been born and bred here but she hadn't been and so she wasn't considered a local, which was why she hadn't been sure how her presence was going to be welcomed here and going by Jack's brusqueness, she was likely to fair as well as Holmes; an outsider and worse, a detective stepping over their territory.
"Watson," he acknowledges her with a small nod before turning his attention back to Holmes. "Now that you're here, do you think you can do your job?"
"Then why don't you start by telling us what we have here," suggests Holmes, her tone showing no hint of annoyance at his attitude. Under the circumstances, she more than understood his frustration at the delays and his anger at the situation.
"The body," his voice caught on the word. He took a deep breath and started again. "The body was found at 8 am by a local teen."
"Name of the teen?"
"Casey Braxton." He points over to a young man wrapped in a blanket and sitting on a fallen log with his head in his hands. "He reported it immediately, we came and sealed off the area and then twiddled our thumbs while we waited for you."
"I can appreciate that this is a difficult situation, Senior, but I'm sure you can understand the necessity for outside officers to take charge if this is indeed the body of Sgt. Charlotte Buckton."