My apologies for being absent a few days, farmish duties superseded all the fun stuff. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Gates's order had left no room for arguments and Beckett was almost grateful that the captain had chosen her, and her team, to deal with the latest body discovered in the depths of New York City.
This one certainly caught her attention.
Perlmutter had arrived shortly before they did, still going over the corpse in great detail as they entered the secluded site.
Nestled between two equally dilapidated buildings, it looked as though the city had decided to condemn and tear down the old store, but left the walls of the 1st floor intact, causing a labyrinth of debris between each hollow wall or elevator shaft.
With Castle in tow, Beckett had made her way past the piles of crumpled brick and drywall with utmost care, feeling as though she was walking a tightrope trying not to get her heels stuck.
Behind her, the writer had been busy analyzing the architectural structure in reference to a book he read once before, more or less doing small talk to break the oppressive silence that had befallen them since news about the brutal murder had spread.
That all changed when they finally came upon their latest casualty- or what was left of her.
Tucked into the corner of one of the walls; they were greeted by a severely decomposed body leaning up against the barren brick. The victim was decidedly female, fully unclothed, her legs spread apart, her right forearm missing completely.
"What in the…", she started, trying to ignore the strong stench of decomposition filling the entire area.
Next to her, Castle drew in a sharp breath, narrowing his eyes as though he couldn't believe what they'd come across.
"Detective. Mister Castle. Glad you could join the party…"
Omitting an ill-tempered remark completely, the ME returned his attention to the body at his feet, his gloved fingers reaching for the forearm that was still attached.
"Significant amount of mutilation going on with this one.", he explained matter-of-factly and raised the limb carefully, " Thumb and part of her index finger are missing on that side. They were not with the victim when she was found."
Cringing, Beckett risked another step closer, noticing the rugged edges of rotting flesh and scratches where the body parts had been sawn off.
"How long has she been here you think?", she asked and watched Perlmutter look up at the sky for a moment, gathering his thoughts, "Here? Not more than a day. Back farther toward the other building, probably for a few days. Neither site is the murder scene though."
"W…wait a minute. You said she was moved recently?"
"How would you even…? She looks like what happened to Alexis's science project when she forgot about the raw chicken in the fridge for a couple of weeks…", Castle chimed in from behind, taking a symbolic step back.
Sending a stern glare toward the writer, Perlmutter shook his head before facing Beckett again.
"That's right, detective. We found tissue several…rooms back."
"Interesting…", looking off to the left, she could see another group of patrol officers cordoning off a small area near the back of the building, "How long has she been dead? What about cause of death?"
"Multiple stab wounds to the torso and abdomen, I would figure at least thirty, maybe more. Looks like a couple of them came close to the heart but I will be able to confirm once we get her to the lab. Weapon would be a spear-point knife, blade length approximately 4-5 inches, driven into her at a near-perfect 90 degree angle. No defensive wounds on the limbs she has left, so I am expecting some cerebral trauma pre-mortem but I can't tell right now based on the advanced stage of decomposition. Oh, and her feet have been severed above the ankles too."
Perlmutter's blue jacket rustled when he pointed at the outstretched legs partially covered underneath bricks, as though their killer was hoping to hide some of the evidence.
"Caucasian female, early 20's, roughly 140lbs before all her bodily fluids leaked out of her. I'd say she's been dead for at least ten days but that depends largely on where she was kept before she was brought here. Temperature, humidity and submergence in water or other liquids can change that number significantly. The colder the temperature, the better."
"Imagine stopping by to see your friend and finding this in their fridge next to the coleslaw…and maybe that's why he dumped her here, he needed more room for groceries…", Castle added from a safe distance, hands in his pockets as he nervously weaved back and forth on his soles.
"As much as it pains me to agree with non-detective Castle, there is a possibility that the body has been kept in cold storage for up to two weeks prior to it being moved."
"Oh my god…"
Stunned at the sheer magnitude of disturbing facts, Beckett glanced over at Castle, sharing the same sense of foreboding tragedy.
When the breeze came up enough to allow her to come closer, she crouched down next to Perlmutter, looking into the hollows where her victim's eyes had been, then at the stumps that were her legs.
Ignoring the saliva building up in her mouth, Beckett wondered how the last moments of her life had unfolded and what unfortunate circumstanced had led her to end up here now.
"Let me know as soon as you are able to come up with an ID please. Gates has put a priority on this case.", she explained quietly and watched Perlmutter nod, before resuming his stoic business.
By the time she got back to her feet, Castle had taken several more steps back, his head cocked upward, his gaze shifting from their crime scene to the neighboring buildings.
"What do you think?"
"I think he wanted her to be found soon. That's why he moved the body several times. I wouldn't be surprised if we find the rest of her limbs in either one of these abandoned buildings…"
"Then let's go and take a look around, Castle."
