AN: Thank you for all the reviews guys. It encourages me to keep writing.

CaptainK8: I know you have a lot of questions, but be patience because all have an answer

Chelsee6: Yes! It's a drama. Let the story tell you what kind of drama is.

Pole: You're my fan number one! Thank you for your review. I don't consider myself excellent with descriptions but it's like a film playing in my head, and what a camera saw I saw it.

Thak you all for your support specially to SoFrost who's been my beta since this story started.

Chapter 3 – Autopsy of a body

Dr. Al Robbins was one of the best coroners in all the state of Nevada. He was meticulous and took good care of all the bodies that come to his autopsy room. In all his years as a coroner, never cease to amazed him what a human being could done to another . There was a Latin proverb that described perfectly the human kind to him: "Homo homini lupus" – the man is a wolf for the man.

A wild wolf was the type of animal who inflicted all the pain to the man lying on his autopsy table. To him all the bodies were the same. Human corpses that born, grew up and died, and in the middle of all of these was a plenty life, already good or bad, but a life once. But no one never, never, deserved to suffer all the pain that man had suffered.

"Caucasian male between 30 and 35 years old" with those words he started the autopsy to the man stretched down on the table.

Meanwhile Dr. Robbins practiced the autopsy to the dead body, Catherine was examining the clothes searching for any clue that brought the perpretor to justice. The undershirt was covered in blood supposedly from the victim. She took some samples to give it to Wendy. She didn't expect found anything else, but she needed to be thorough. She searched every fiber of the cloth, without success.

After an hour of not finding anything but blood, she went to see Sara and see if she had more luck with the videotape. She was sure this case was going to affect the brunette, but she didn't know how to show her concern to Sara, about the case and how it would affect her.

She found her in the A/V Lab, waiting for Archie. She studied her and saw what seemed like a little concern on the woman's face. She was deep in thought. In fact Sara, was measuring if she was prepared to watch the videotape or not. After seeing the body she wasn't sure. She didn't need to go to Dr. Robbins to know that the victim had suffered and her instincts were telling her that whatever it was on that video it wasn't beautiful or peaceful. She knew deep in her heart that the killer wasn't compassionate.

"Sara, are you all right?" Catherine interrupted Sara's thoughts entering in the room.

"Yeah" She said still absent. Catherine waited for Sara to add something else. A couple of seconds, passed, and neither of the two women moved, both of them watching with a certain tremor and distance the videotape.

After a while, Catherine, addressed to Sara, breaking the contact eye with the videotape. "I'm going to see Doc Robbins, wanna come?"

There was a pause, until Sara looked to Catherine with determination and added. "I think I'm gonna watch the videotape."

"Are you sure? I mean, you could wait until we have Robbins' report. It will be easier to watch it…you know…just in case…you know".

"Someone has to process this" She said a little on the defensive. "We can't lose more time, and I don't think Robbins' report will contribute to give us anything else that we didn't see, except for internal traumas. It wouldn't help".

"Ok" was Catherine replied a little surprised by the young woman's reply. Sara was determinate to see the video at all cost. "I'll be at the morgue"

With that, Catherine left the brunette alone in the A/V Lab, hoping it didn't take long to Archie to arrive, because she didn't like the idea of Sara watching alone what was possibly a snuff movie. She neither wanted to know what was in there, it was scary but at the same time there was curiosity and needed to know.

She arrived at the coroner's office and entered. She saw Dr. Robbing near the body taking a few notes.

"Hey Doc. How it went?"

"Catherine" Dr. Robbins said with a nod . "I heard from David how you found him. This wasn't a good sight, I suppose". He said arching an eyebrow.

"Not the best" She said with a sigh. "What did you find?"

"A lot of thing, but first I would like to show you something" He said cryptically heading to the autopsy table where the body was covered with a sheet till his torso. Doc. Robbins retired the sheet till the waist of the corpse. There was something written in the victim's chest.

"What the hell?!" Catherine exclaimed. "Our bodies are prisons for our souls...". The cuts that formed the words where deep enough to let her read the message without difficult. Geometrical red lines that form an epitaph "This was stabbed in his chest?"

"Yes, there are multiple lacerations in his legs too. His extremities were broken, toes and hands, what makes it difficult for him to cut his arms."

"Discard suicide. I could tell you by the way we found the body" The rage was evident in her voice even she attempted to hide it "What else?"

"The wounds in the chest were made pre-mortem. I don't know how the killer managed to keep him quiet, but maybe he was tied up or induced to take a drug. I send a blood sample to tox to be sure. There are marks of ligatures on what's left of his wrists. Also he was strangled and beated, repeatedly." He said pointing the marks on the cheeks and around the torso. With a serious tone he added "this man was tortured."

"Cause of death?" asked the blonde looking at the doctor's eyes.

"He bled out to death produced by the laceration of the cephalic and basilic veins in his wrists and arms. The cuts are deep and clean. I dare to say, it was made with a sharpe knife" he announced

"This man was beaten, cut and bleed out to death and didn't oppose any resistance?!" Catherine pointed out surprise

"I didn't found any indication of struggle, only the marks in his wrist indicate some resistance. It's possible it was drugged, but like I said we need to wait to the tox report"

"Thanks Doc." With that she was going to exit the room when a question came to her. "How many days was he tortured?" The tremor was evident in her voice, like she didn't want to know the real answer. But Dr. Robbins only had one answer.

Please, tell me it was a few hours, please… she mentally hoped.

"Maybe 3 days" Catherine's reaction was stupor. She couldn't believe that this man had endured 3 days of constant torturing. Seeing the reaction in Catherine's face he added. "It's surprising what the human body can really endure, but even that..."

She was tensed, she didn't want it to be that long, even less after what Al told her. She didn't want either Sara to watch the videotape alone, because now she knew what would be on it, and only thinking about it turn her stomach upside down.

TBC