Chapter 4
Judy rubbed her hands together, and her frozen breath floated behind her. The silent corridor they traveled down for what felt like an hour was seemingly endless, the conformed monotony broken up only by sets of double doors in front and behind, or the smaller office doors that occasionally dotted the sides. The temperature had taken a dive as soon as they'd left the waiting area, and Nick could tell that Judy wasn't as fond of the cold as he was.
"Should have brought a coat, eh Carrots?" Nick smiled.
"I d-didn't think I'd need one. It's supposed to be s-summer." Judy shivered, and Nick laughed as the coroner rolled his eyes. He quickly turned the corner; the first deviation from a strait line since they'd came through the first doors. Judy couldn't take much more of this, and she prayed that each door they went through would be the last.
"We just transferred the subject from the lab this morning." The coroner was flipping through the clipboard, and Nick casually looked over his shoulder at the papers attached. "We've gotten the autopsy, and we've been told to give you a quick look at it before we transfer it. So…" His voice trailed off, as he turned around and handed them surgical masks and rubber gloves. "What's left of the victim's various limbs are under the sheet on the left, belongings on the right in the bins. Have fun." He looked at them with an apathetic gaze, and Nick and Judy both took a mask and gloves, following the coroner through the steel doors.
Judy began to walk beside Nick, but she turned away at the last moment, needing a minute of mental preparation before examining the victim, so she focused on the victim's belongings and prints, along with other varying degrees of paperwork on a table nearby. Judy looked at a few pictures and records before turning to the bin of items found on the body. Judy took a deep breath, and looked towards Nick, and the white sheet he stood over. He looked back at her for a moment, and motioned for her.
"You might want to come see this." She mentally reassured herself, and walked to Nick's side, keeping her eyes half shut, anticipating the worst. She wasn't disappointed. The coroner spoke abruptly.
"Deep lacerations to the facial area and snout regions, left arm severed, left leg missing, and…" Judy noticed the coroner's reluctance to elaborate, but he continued. "Split chest cavity, with multiple pieces and whole organs missing." Nick looked at the chest area; but there was something off-putting about the erratic nature of the wound. He squinted for a second, looking closer.
"What were the cuts by the face caused by?" Nick asked, trying to get a complete picture.
"The multiple lacerations were most likely caused by a knife, or some kind of blade. That's what we think caused the stomach opening. The coroner began to look at his clipboard again. "That's what it says here, and that's about it." Nick scratched his chin and looked closer, his face a couple feet from the mangled corpse. His eyes scanned the tears in the flesh.
"Something's off here. These organs are too shredded for a knife." Judy looked at them for a bit, and decided the same. The coroner looked disturbed.
"What are you implying?" He said, curious.
"They look like…" Nick studied it for a moment, and arrived at his conclusion. "Bite marks." Judy nodded, silently. The coroner's eyebrows rose considerably.
"You're implying cannibalism? Am I hearing you correctly?" The coroner began to stifle a chuckle.
"Do you know where the missing parts of the victim are?" Nick said sharply, turning to him. The coroner's face returned to a scowl.
"They'll turn up. They're not eaten, if that's what you're implying." He flipped through the clipboard one last time, and turned back to them. "Have you seen all you need to?"
"Yeah. What do you think Carrots?" Nick asked, removing his gaze from the body.
"Definitely. Unless you still-"
"Nope." Nick began to walk out of the room, Judy running to catch up.
Nick shut the door to the squad car, as his phone buzzed. He casually opened the text, and his eyes widened.
"What's wrong? Is that Delgado?" Judy asked, looking at Nick's phone.
"Remember those missing pieces?" Nick said, shakily.
"Oh God…" Judy's mind raced, horrible images racing through her mind.
"They just found them in a bin near the crime scene, but there's something else. They found an envelope or something, they said they didn't open it." Nick started up the car, and they pulled out of the parking lot.
"Nick… What does all of this mean?"
"Well Carrots" Nick sighed. "We're in for one hell of a ride."
(Side Note: It's going to be awhile, probably around 2 weeks until the next few chapters, but they're coming! So, thanks for your patience!)