Nicole arrived at the Harwood Plaza where the GoodLife Fitness Centre was located. "I don't have the psychic paper since the Doctor is not here so I will have to do things the fun, but hard way. Hmm… how can I go in undercover? Ah! I know what I can do! I can go in as a potential member and sign up." She walked up to the fitness center, went through the doors, and approached the main desk. There was a woman in her early thirties with auburn hair and green eyes talking on the phone. The woman signaled Nicole to indicate she would be one minute. Nicole waited at the desk and noticed that her nametag read Lucy.
"Have a good day Mr. Patterson!" Lucy hanged up the phone. "Sorry about that. How can I help you today?"
"Hello, my name is Nicole and I am interested in signing up as a member here at the gym."
"That's great Nicole! All you have to do is fill out these forms. You have a 3-day pass so you can decide by the end of the three days whether you want to become a full-time member or not."
"Sounds great!"
"How did you hear about us?"
"A friend of mine recommended this gym and the fitness classes led by Abigail Summers. When does her next class start?"
"We have been using a substitute instructor for Abigail's classes since she has not been here the past couple of days. I will let you know when Abigail returns."
"Okay. Thank you." After finishing the paperwork, Nicole drove back home and had a quick dinner before heading over to Abigail's house to find out why she was missing work.
Nicole walked over to Abigail's house, which took about fifteen minutes. She walked up to the door and knocked four times. Hearing no response, she tried knocking again. There must be someone home since there is a car in the driveway. She peered into the window that was located by the door. Inside, she could see a hardwood floor and the walls in the hallway were lined with photos of Abigail with either friends or family. Then, Nicole noticed something out of the ordinary. On the floor, she noticed a pile of white bones and a skull right beside the pile. She took out her phone and dialed 911.
"What is your emergency?" asked the operator.
"Someone was murdered at 37 Love Crescent. I think it may be Abigail Summers since I was just visiting her house to ask her a few questions. When she did not answer the door, I looked inside the window and found a pile of bones."
"Some police officers will be there shortly. Stay at the residence so a police officer can take your statement."
Nicole put her cellphone away and waited for police officers to arrive. About ten minutes later, two police cars arrived along with an unmarked van, which she assumed was the forensics team. The first officer Nicole saw getting out of the vehicle was Officer Gordon.
When Officer Gordon looked up and saw her, he grinned and said, "Miss. Hughes! What a surprise! You must have been the one who called 911."
"Yes I did."
"Where is the Doctor? Is he here with you?"
"No, he has gone missing. I have been trying to find him by tracking down what he was last working on which led me to Abigail. If she is the skeleton inside that house, then I am at a dead end. Hang on… what are you doing in Ajax? I thought you were an officer in Toronto."
"Ever since that incident with the Adversus Monstrum, I have been promoted to detective in order to solve strange and peculiar cases that may involve alien life. My work involves a lot of travel."
"Congratulations on your promotion Detective Gordon! I am guessing you are here because it makes little sense of how Abigail's body can decay in a couple of days with no sign of flesh, just bone."
"That is correct Miss. Hughes. So far, there have been two other cases just like this one. We have found a peculiar substance from the two cases, but we have no clue what it is. All we know it is not part of the victim but of the perpetrator if he or she is human."
They heard one of the forensic technicians shout from the inside, "Detective Gordon! You should come and see this!"
"Come along Miss. Hughes! Maybe you can help solve what the mysterious substance is."
"Sure and maybe if I know what this substance is, I'll be one more step closer to finding the Doctor."
Nicole followed Detective Gordon into the house and approached the set of remains. She was a bit overwhelmed by the stench of the decaying body to the point where she almost threw up. "I guess this is your first time seeing a fresh dead body," smiled Officer Gordon when he saw her cover her mouth. She nodded as he continued to speak, "From my experience, you never get used to seeing a dead body. Ah, here is the strange substance." Officer Gordon knelt down, brought out a cotton swab and took a sample of a brown, sticky substance. Nicole also knelt down beside him to get a closer look at this mysterious substance. He said, "This is the one thing that boggles the whole forensic team. We cannot find this substance in any of our databases. This substance is not found anywhere on Earth. Just wish Sherlock did not leave Canada a few weeks ago otherwise we could use him on this case."
The mention of Sherlock peaked her interest, so she turned towards Officer Gordon. "What brought Sherlock to Canada?"
"It was a case he was working on in London that led him to a culprit who was smuggling drugs from London to Toronto. Getting back on track, what is your take on this substance?"
Focusing her mind on the task, Nicole inspected the substance. "This reminds me of something I can't put my mind to. Something I have read about." A few minutes later, Nicole knew what the substance reminded her of. "I don't know what this substance is, but if the substance was clear and sticky, it would be morphic residue."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"Well, morphic residue is a fluid that gets left behind from certain species when they shape-shift into something else because it is part of their genetics. For example, the Doctor encountered a species called the Vespiforms, which is a race of giant wasps. However, they can become human since it is part of their DNA to shape-shift. However, this brown fluid is not morphic residue." Nicole took a sample of the brown fluid and smelled it. She turned her face away from the smell. "Well, I know who caused this fluid, and it is the Gwanzulum. They can only shape-shift only if they have a telepathic link with someone and feed off that person's life energy until they are dead. When the Gwanzulum changes into someone else, their original bodies produce this brown excrement. I assumed that happens. I won't know for sure until I can find the Doctor. Can I keep a sample of this for further testing? Maybe it can help me find the Doctor."
"Sure, you can Miss. Hughes. Hope you can find him soon. Before I forget, here is my card if you need to reach me if you have questions about this case that will help assist you in your search for the Doctor." They both said their goodbyes and Nicole headed off towards the TARDIS hoping to find answers.