A/N: Sorry this is late everyone. Things have been crazy at work and I've not had time for writing. However, things are looking up to get back on schedule. ;) Thanks!
A/N2: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer. Glad you liked it. A trip to the crime scene first then maybe more from the Corporal. Thanks!
Chapter 27
The soldiers had the crime scene lit as well as they could so that it could be analyzed. They would not have any daylight to assist them as the sun was down below the tops of the nearby buildings. Corporal's Norris and Bock guarded the door while Private Roth, Sergeant Duncan, and Lieutenant Zetti joined the Prince and green woman inside. While the carriage ride had not been very long, Elphaba was feeling better, given the chance to sit and close her eyes for at least ten minutes. Real sleep would come later, now there was work to be done.
"The soldiers' bodies were here," Zetti explained. Elphaba looked at the blood that had soaked the wooden floor. The first one was near the front door – the dead soldier, Corporal Morel, had been the unlucky one to open the door when someone knocked.
The next stain was probably Corporal Zink – it was between the front door and the door leading into the parlor. The man was still unconscious and Elphaba looked around, not seeing a reason for the infection. There were no apparent signs of a bullet ricochet in the hallway.
"Where did you find Kahui?" Fiyero realized that there was not a third stain in the hallway.
"He tried to get away but this building only has one door and it's the front one we came in. We found him over here in the kitchen. There are windows that look out into the alley. One was partially open and we figured he was shot in the back once they found him; never making it out," Zetti led them down the hall and into the last room on the left. There on the wall and floor was more blood.
"Ok something is not making sense," Elphaba spoke up.
"There are no ricochets," Fiyero said.
"Yes that but something else is bothering me," she admitted.
"What is it?" Zetti wanted to know.
"Well poor Morel goes to answer the door. He doesn't seem to hesitate and just opens it. Was he the one expecting someone? Why would he not take the precaution he should have?" She asked.
"Kahui was shuttled to work in a carriage so that he was covered on his way to work. It's possible the shooter was pretending to be the carriage driver," Zetti said.
"Then there must be another body somewhere. Unless the carriage driver was in on it – meaning someone didn't turn up to work this morning," the green woman pointed out.
"I was not made aware of any absences but of course we all got quite distracted," Sergeant Duncan spoke up. It was his job to account for everyone who was supposed to be on shift for protection duty. However, once the deaths were discovered, all plans for the day had been turned on their heads and everyone was moved into different jobs.
"When we get back, send men to find the carriage driver. Elphaba is right – there is either another body or someone decided to take off and not come back," Fiyero said.
"Ok so Morel opens the door, seeing a friendly face, and gets murdered for his trouble. Zink hears the gunshot, tells Kahui to find a way out and is met with a bullet when he enters the hallway. However, unlike poor Morel, the gunshot is not immediately fatal. Instead our killer leaves him to bleed out. In the hall, Zink somehow picks up an infection that traveled very rapidly through his body, though there is no evidence of the bullet passing through anything other than the barrel of the gun…" Elphaba frowned.
"Right. Our shooter made sure that the other two were dead before he left but he leaves Zink to bleed out. Maybe he just didn't like the guy? Figured that a slow death was what he deserved?" Zetti wondered.
"Maybe the gun jammed or he was out of bullets?" Private Roth asked. He'd been brought in so that he could learn from the others.
"Could be. By then he might have been afraid that someone heard him and he took off instead," Duncan nodded. Elphaba could see that as plausible.
"I want a sample of the floor boards taken with us. Perhaps under a microscope or with talking to a carpenter, we can see if what the boards were sealed with caused Zink's infection. Once the blood soaked the floor, it's possible that the sealing material could have come up off the boards and soaked into the wound. Since his heart was still pumping, the sealant could have spread through his body," that was the only thing that the green woman could think of. Perhaps Doctor Talib would have more information when they got back.
"All right. Let's see if we can find a pry bar," Zetti instructed to the other soldiers.
"Let's hope that Zink wakes up. I have more questions than answers," Elphaba told Fiyero. He nodded. Something was still not adding up.
To Be Continued…