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Having completed his work, he stands in the rain, a black umbrella giving him some cover.
He watches as men and women move to and from the scene of his masterpiece…first the brother. The latter runs out of the home, gagging and vomiting in the rose bushes that line the side of the house, and then the local police show up…then the forensic people and now…finally plain-clothed investigators.
No one pays him any attention; he blends in and is thrilled that he can hide in plain sight.
He watches as the SI techs set up tents, and Sergeant Lukela works on setting up a perimeter and a command post to keep track of the comings and goings.
An hour passes, maybe more before a van pulls up. A local woman steps down from the driver's side, followed by a local man. He opens the back doors and pulls out a gurney, dropping a big bag of equipment on top of it and follows the woman to the house.
She is beautiful, and he thinks maybe…
The two plain-clothed investigators come from the house, talking to each other before the darker haired man goes to the car that they came in and pulls away.
The blond, Danny, he overheard earlier, went to the ambulance to talk to the brother.
James.
He knows James, sure he does.
James has been in the house.
James has been in the house having drinks with the lovely and beautiful Ashley while he was walking around the halls upstairs, listening to their conversation.
The idiot had been too drunk to know what was happening that night not too long ago.
Ashley, a little less drunk. Still, it was funny to him that they looked and looked for one of the bottles of beer he moved from the living room to a table on the Lanai before slipping out that evening.
Later, when he had reviewed the tapes, he saw that they had found it and that Ashley had hit her brother on the arm as if James had taken it out the back door and not remembered where he had put it.
That's a part of the fun…a big part of the game he likes to play.
He likes to submerge himself into the life he will ultimately take.
Break into the house…spent hours looking through personal items…he especially loves it when he finds a journal or diary.
Not all his masterpieces keep one, but when they do, his artwork comes out so much better...more complete and then he is satisfied…or at least until someone new and beautiful catches his eye.
Just then, he overhears the brother talking about the boyfriend. Still, he knows that is one lane of investigation that will go nowhere…not everything is art, after all.
He is intrigued by the gentle touch to the idiot's arm, a small kindness, and what a beautiful picture it makes in his mind's eye. Still, before he can think about that too much, his phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it from his pants, checking the display, closing the umbrella as it seems to have stopped raining.
He really shouldn't answer it, but how can he not, with that sweet angel face looking back at him from the display.
"Hello?"
"Daddy!"
"Hi, baby…why are you calling? You know I am at work and can get in big trouble for talking on my phone, so it better be important."
"I just missed you," he hears his daughter say, but his eyes follow another beautiful sight, and he thinks, maybe…just maybe…
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Noelani helped her assistant, Akamu, roll in the stretcher, holding the decedent into the examination room, telling him, "Get her weighed and measured and x-rayed."
He nodded, carrying out his duties as she went to suit up for the post-mortem and grab the camera equipment.
By the time she returned, Akamu had the body on the examination table, gloved up, and prepared to unzip the body bag.
He flipped the switch on the hanging microphone that would pick up and record her voice for later review as she determined the mechanism of death and completed her official reports. And that would hopefully aid in the capture of the murderer, but would undoubtedly document the last hours of this poor soul's life.
Once her assistant stepped back, she began to speak, "This is Doctor Noelani Cunha, Forensic Pathologist. My assistant is Akuma Kalani. Today is Monday, June 24, 2019. The time is 10:23 A.M. The decedent is Ashley Wilmore Fern, positively identified by her brother, James Wilmore.
Based on rigor, lividity, and body temperature, the time of death is estimated to be between 2:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.
The decedent's date of birth is April 15, 1987, she is a Caucasian female, blue eyes, mid-length blond hair, weighs 124.7 pounds and measures at 5 feet, 6 inches.
The decedent was found nude, so there is no clothing to detail.
I am beginning my visual examination and documentation of bodily injuries."
The snick of the zipper was loud in the room.
Between she and Akuma, they got Ashley's body removed from the bag, and he began to take pictures where she directed as she made observations toward her pathological process.
"The cause of death appears to be Asphyxia and Hypoxia, caused by ligature strangulation. I will confirm with the physical examination of the lungs and brain.
There are no other wounds or trauma to the body, except premortem bruising.
She appears to have been bathed and her hair cleaned and combed, and makeup applied.
There are no identifying scars or tattoos."
Akuma took several digital pictures of the woman's bare neck, the stocking having been removed by SI Supervisor Choi for testing.
"The circumference of the neck is eight inches compared to the average measurement of 13.5 inches for a female.
I do not note any scratch marks on the face or chest, indicating restraint or binding of the hands. There are also ligatures on both wrists and ankles."
Her tech took more photos. Including the marks around her wrists and ankles. She inspected each bruise, thinking that something course, perhaps rope, was used to bind them, not a stocking, like the smooth lined bruising on her compressed throat. Also, given discoloration of her arms and having noted earlier pooling of blood at her back, it was likely her hands were over her head. Perhaps restrained and lying in her bed.
As Akuma took the photos, she marked each bruise on the body diagram clipped to the board to be reviewed later, along with her recorded observations.
"I note additional bruising on both thighs, possibly indicating sexual assault."
More pictures were taken, and when asked, Akuma displayed them on the screen that hung off to the side of the examination table.
She was able to magnify specific photos. See if any patterns in the bruising suggest what may have been used to bind her. Or perhaps even finger or palm prints bruised into her skin by her assailant.
After a few more notations, she declared, "manner of death, homicide.
My assistant and I will now collect toxicological specimens. Samples of tissues and fluids for histology. Collect nail scrapings and swabs for trace evidence using the UV light. I will now begin the physical examination."
She flipped off the switch to the recorder and moved to prepare the instruments needed to complete the autopsy.
Akuma removed the bag from under the body and placed a plastic wedge under the back, between the shoulder blades to elevate the chest, making the removal of organs easier.
Once ready, she flipped the switch to the recorder and said, "I am making my Y incision." Putting words to action, her scalpel quickly cut through the flesh from each shoulder joint, to under each breast to meet mid-chest, and then down to the pubis.
In this factual dissection, unlike what people may assume was a Y incision based on movies or television shows. Noelani would be able to completely open the body cavity, get the breasts out of the way.
She had already been examining the victim for at least forty minutes. She knew the actual physical examination would take hours. The testing of tissues and organs could take days or even weeks, but the hope was that by the time she was finished, she would have something definitive that would help find the killer.
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