Chapter 5
A few hours later, Jackson went to the murder site with his forensics kit. When he got there, there were several policemen taping off the area. He noticed a long pine box next to the ambulance and the body of the now deceased Rama Kandra that was covered by a sheet as officers were surveying the area. Jackson noticed his body was moved. He was slightly annoyed by this. The Architect, who also served as the coroner of the matrix noticed Jackson and walked over to him.
"Why was the body moved?" Jackson asked.
"We had to move it to place it inside the coffin." The Architect explained.
Jackson nodded as he surveyed the area. He noticed that on the ground were footprints of the same style shoe he wore but only slightly bigger. He crouched down and open his bag and pulled out his insta-matic camera as he snapped pictures of the footprint. He also took out bottled water, a small bowl and small bag of plaster of Paris and a spoon. He mixed it to where it was the right consistency for plaster and poured it into the foot print to make a perfect mold. They others just watched and whispered.
"What the hell are you doing?" It was Merv.
Jackson looked up the Frenchman and spoke.
"You're a connoisseur of fine Italian shoes. Ever see shoes with soles like these?" He said as he handed Merv the snapshots that he had taken just moments before.
Merv just looked at the pictures and shook his head.
"No, Mr. Jackson. I cannot say I have. If so I would have remembered."
Jackson looked in the direction of Jason Locke was also a part of the investigation.
"Mr. Locke, can you show us the exact spot where the body was found?" Jackson asked.
"Yes I can." Locke answered.
Both Merv and Jackson watched as Locke took out a cigarette and lit it. Jackson rose to follow him taking his bag with him. They walked over to where the body was found.
"It was right here, in front of the swings, the body was facing north. It was horrible." Locke told the Agent.
"Can you tell me, to the best of your memory where did the body fall?" Jackson asked him.
Locke pointed at the spot where the neck would have been and where the blood would have been spilt. Jackson put on a pair of latex gloves, took out a spray bottle of luminol and, a black light. He sprayed where Locke said the wound was before they moved the body. Once he finished spraying, he shined the black light where it would show traces of the blood.
"There wasn't much blood, was there?" Jackson asked Locke.
"To be honest I didn't see any." Locke answered.
Jackson got up from the spot and walked over to the pine box where the body was. He took off the sheet revealing Rama's headless corpse. Others couldn't look, while others couldn't help but to look. They all kept their distance from the Agent as he examined the body. He looked closer at the neck wound, he poked the surrounding flesh and even looked closer at the spinal cord where the head had been severed.
"That's weird, no bleeding at all." Jackson said.
"What?" The Architect raised an eyebrow at the Agent's observation.
"He got his head chopped off, so that means he should have lost pints of blood. So his neck should have gone off like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. So whatever weapon was used, there was instant cauterization to make this murder nice and neat. It burnt the wound shut." Jackson told the old man.
The very next day was the funeral. Sati and her mother wept as Rama's coffin was put into the ground. The Oracle after giving her eulogy stepped forward and threw the first handful of dirt into Rama's grave. Some people at the funeral whispered and some stole glaces at Agent Jackson.
Later that night Agent St. James and The Oracle cleared the table after a big dinner and later joined Persephone, Merv, Sati and her mother for an after dinner drink. Outside the building funeral goers were walking the streets and whispering quietly. Jackson excused himself and headed back up to his apartment to retire for the evening. He was half-way up the stairs until he was confronted by a very brooding Sati.
"Listen, I'm not here for any type of vendetta. I just want to bring the killer to justice." Jackson told her.
"Yeah sure, whatever. You're going to need an assistant anyway." Sati told him.
Jackson took a deep sigh.
"I work alone." He said.
"Maybe you're not getting how much this means to me dammit! He was my father... and he meant so much to me." Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she spoke.
His heart went to her but he couldn't just bring her along. He knew deep down it would be on his conscience if something bad were to happen to her too.
"Listen Sati, I'm very sorry about your dad. But I can't risk anything happening to you."
Sati sadness turned to anger.
"You know what Agent Jackson? You can go fuck yourself!"
And then she left. Jackson stood there impassive to her response.
The next day, Jackson went to see The Architect and Seraph.
"Hello Agent Jackson. How are you?" Seraph said.
"I could be better. I was cussed out by a young girl who just lost her father last night."
Jackson noticed that The Architect was looking out in the distance at what appeared to be an older gentleman of Native American descent.
"Who's that?" Jackson asked.
"Oh him. He's been around since the first matrix. He lives on a reservation in the mainframe. Sometimes he will venture into our part of the matrix and do some exploring." The Architect said.
"If you ask me, I think he is our killer." Seraph said.
"Now why would you assume that?" Jackson asked.
"Well, these programs in particular tend to be more savage than we who are more advanced." The Architect said.
Jackson had never seen an Indian program up close but he couldn't help but think that maybe both Seraph and The Architect were being a little ignorant.
"Just because they are less evolved programs doesn't mean that a killer could be among them. Besides from what I understand, they are a simple group of machines. Besides when was the last time an Indian program wore expensive Italian shoes?" Jackson asked them.
"So what are you saying?" Seraph asked him.
"That the killer could easily be a program who is just as advanced as we are." Jackson told them.
"Touche'." The Architect said.
"Anyway what will become of Sati and her mother?" Seraph asked.
"They will be taken care of by Merv since he has agreed to take them in for the time being." The Architect explained.
Jackson went to the cemetery a few hours later to speak with Niobe.
"You want to what?" Niobe was angry at what Jackson had suggested.
"Listen, if we want to catch the killer I have exhume the bodies of the previous victims." He told her.
Niobe looked to the men with shovels and then over to Locke.
"Jason, please don't tell me you're not going along with this." Niobe begged.
Locke just looked at her with a helpless expression.
"This is bullshit! I can't allow this!" Niobe said angrily.
Jackson pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her.
"You can talk to my bosses if you want, I have them on speed dial." Jackson told her.
"Fine you win!" Niobe said in frustration.
Jackson motioned for the crew to unearth the victims. Niobe just stood there seething with anger and then finally walked away.
Jackson opened the first coffin and he became shocked at what he saw and then his shocked turned to anger.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" He asked the crew.
It was the first victim, Christa Henry but her belly looked like that of an expectant mother and she looked very far along. He noticed a tear in her maternity dress as he placed his hand on the stomach. He stood up and was now deeply troubled by what he had just seen.