Chapter 3

Jordan was placing Little Fred in the morgue's freezer when there was a loud bang, followed by a thump, and then the motor ground to a halt as the lights inside went off. She was startled for a moment, but then remembered the last time the freezer had gone on the blink. It was just after Garret had taken over the department. It was down over a day, but they finally got it fixed and things went back to normal. So, she had no reason to believe that this time would be any different.

Leaving the room quickly and closing the door tight behind her to keep as much of the cold air in as long as possible, she went to report the problem to Garret.

After a resigned sigh and several pithy comments as to the bad timing of the unit to break down in a blizzard, he turned to the phone to get the repair people on their way. Jordan quickly left so as not to garner any of her boss's wrath. It was going to take longer than he expected.

Bug was tasked with keeping an eye on the temperature controls of the freezer and as the day wore on, with no repairman showing up, Garret went back to the phone to repeat his demand to be moved up on the list as their need was urgent.

By 5pm it was clear that they would not see a repairman that day. The temperature in the freezer was slowly but steadily climbing. They were going to have to do something to keep the bodies inside at the temps they should be. The staff remembered bringing in dry ice the last time this happened, but it was Nigel that came up with the controversial, but brilliant idea that saved the day!

The morgue occupied the top floor of the building they were in. Right above them was a perfectly good roof, covered in snow. The air temp outside was even colder than they kept the freezer, and the weather man claimed that it was going to stay that way for some time to come. Nigel suggested quietly moving the bodies to the roof until the freezer was fixed.

It was truly a great idea, but rules and procedures prevented Garret from being as enthusiastic as the rest of the staff when he came up with it. He grumbled and protested for over an hour until he came to the conclusion that there was no other option.

Everyone donned coats and boots and began to move the bodies outside. Covered in the white sheets they typically used, the bodies on the roof presented an eerie sight as the sun started to set over the city.

A strong wind kicked up during the night and combined with the six new inches of snow that fell, this made for some pretty bad drifts in some areas of the city. Jordan arrived at work to find not the typical pre-work calm, but instead, a scene of chaos. People were scurrying everywhere, all with frantic looks on their faces. She made it to the break room before finding anyone not in a panicked rush that she could inquire as to what in the world was going on. Bug was there putting his coat and gloves on in between grabbing gulps of hot coffee.

"What is going on?!" she asked him.

"We've lost a body," he gasped out.

"Lost?!" Jordan practically squeaked. "Does Garret think we had a break in? And how would they have known to look for the bodies on the roof?!"

"I have no idea!" he informed her. "All I know is that when Nig and I got here this morning and went up to check on them, one was missing. It's the homeless guy you autopsied yesterday, Little Fred."

"Who would want to steal his body? Or maybe it was that friend of his that Lily was trying to get information out of!"

"I don't know, Jordan. All I do know is that Garret is ready to kill all of us! First we put them on the roof against any kind of regulations! Then we lose one of them! Lily is in his office trying to calm him down now and I am going back up to the roof to look once again. If I were you, I would go to my office to search for Little Fred and stay there until he is found!"

To be continued…