The Orange Body
By
Rapunzle1980
Doctor Grace Foley had not even reached her own office before the deep baritone voice of her friend and colleague roared throughout the bunker.
"Grace!"
"You summoned me, my master," she smiled as she stopped just inside the door to his office, not even stepping into her own to leave her coat and bag.
"Not funny, Grace," he told her walking towards her, picking up his coat as he went. "Come on, possible crime scene. Spence, Felix, and Stella are already there. I was just waiting for you."
"How very kind of you," she told him, following him out to his car.
"How do you fancy a trip to the countryside, Grace?"
"Does it look like I`m in anyway dressed for a day in the countryside, Boyd?" she asked as she seated herself in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.
"I have some wellies in the boot if needed," he told her as he steered the car into traffic. "Nice weekend?"
Grace looked at him sideways before answering. "I had my grandson for a sleepover. We had a nice time."
"Liam?"
"Declan."
"Emma`s boy?"
"Yeah, he`s six now."
"So, what did Declan and his grandmother do, then?"
She turned her head and studied his profile. "Why all the questions, Boyd?"
"Just showing an interest, Grace," he smiled at her before returning his eyes to the road ahead. "So?"
Grace just shook her head as she looked out the window. "Well, we went for a walk in the park on Saturday. Declan likes ducks, and there's a pond there where we could feed them."
"So, you were the little old lady feeding ducks," he smirked.
"Are you calling me old, Boyd? 'Cause you are not that far behind, you know!"
"Of the two of us, I`m the one still in my fifties," he pointed out.
"And coming up awfully fast to sixty, mind you," she smirked back at him.
"Yeah, well…"
Grace leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. Being in her early sixties, looking after a six-year-old boy with the same energy as the man now sitting next to her had left her feeling a little less rested after the weekend than she had expected. But she loved the little boy dearly.
"Fuck!"
At the same time as Boyd`s exclamation, the car stopped abruptly, causing Grace to open her eyes and look straight ahead. There, in the middle of the country road lay a white cloud.
"A sheep."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Grace!"
Boyd tried the car horn, but the animal barely took any notice.
"Christ, I hate sheep," he grumbled as he got out of the car, throwing his coat and his suit jacket onto the back seat. Grace had to cover her smile as she watched him trying to make the wretched animal move. It took him three attempts, and a pair of ruined grey suit trousers before the sheep was out of the road and Boyd was back behind the steering wheel.
"Not a word," he warned her. His expression had turned into a thunder cloud.
"Want to borrow my comb?"
Dark eyes met hers. She could see how he was counting to ten, taking deep breaths as his knuckles turned white holding on the steering wheel. Slowly he let go, giving her a short nod and holding out his hand.
Grace picked up her bag, rummaged around in it, and magically, when her hand came out of the bag, had a comb. "Here you go," she smiled.
Her eyes followed his movements as he rearranged his silver-coloured hair. "So, Declan likes ducks?"
"Loves them, actually," she answered as he gave her back the comb. "Then, after feeding them…"
"What did you feed them?" Boyd interrupted as he put the car into motion again.
"Sorry?"
"What did you feed the ducks? They shouldn`t have bread, you know."
"We gave them some nuts and some rice," Grace smiled at him. "Afraid you have to arrest me for killing some ducks by feeding them bread?"
"Not something I'd worry about," he returned her smile. "What else did you two do?"
"Well, I had a couple letters I had to send. Did you know that Declan didn't know you could send someone a letter?"
"Well, they use emails for that, you know, Grace," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but still. He`s seen those red post boxes, but he didn't know what they were. So, I had him write a letter to Emma, and we had another walk yesterday to mail it. There is a post box not so far from my house."
"That's all you did this weekend?"
"Of course not. We played some games, watched the telly and we baked some cookies."
Boyd turned his head and looked at her, a hopeful expression on his face. "And where are those cookies now?"
"In Declan`s stomach, I`m afraid," she laughed.
"And yours." It was not a question.
"That too. Sorry. Next time, Boyd, I promise," Grace giggled as he took a left turn and then she noticed Spence`s car. "This is the place?"
"Yep. And according to Felix, the body is… well, she said it's orange."
"Orange?"
"That's what she said," he confirmed as he stopped the car. "Stay there, I`ll get the wellies," he told her, getting out of the car, taking his coat with him. "No point in both of us getting our clothes ruined today."
A few minutes later they walked over to where Spence and Stella were watching as Felix was still examining the body. A body that was indeed orange.
"What do we have, Felix?" Boyd asked as they stopped next to Spence.
"Female, probably in her early twenties. And like I said on the phone, she is orange. I don't know why. I'll have the soil around her tested to see if there are some chemicals that could have done it." She looked up at them. "I`ll know more when I get her back to the lab."
Boyd nodded, turned to Spence and Stella. "You two talk to the landowner. See if he or she has seen or heard anything. How long do you think she's been there, Felix?"
"Difficult to say."
"Guess?"
"Weeks rather than years," Felix said reluctantly.
"So, probably not a cold case, then," Boyd nodded. "Grace and I will head back. When will you be able to get the body back to the lab?"
"A couple of hours, probably." Yet another reluctant answer.
"All right, we`ll have a team meeting at the end of the day. See you all back at CCU."
Spence and Stella walked over to the house not far from the place of discovery, Felix turned her attention back to the body, and Boyd and Grace headed back to his car.
Just as they reached the car, Grace suddenly slipped, causing a chain-reaction as she took hold of Boyd`s arm making him lose his footing as well. Seconds later they found themselves lying on the ground, the air knocked out of them both.
"Grace?" Boyd managed to whisper as he managed to inhale again.
"I`m good," she whispered back. "Nothing broken, I think."
Boyd got up slowly, finding his footing before helping Grace up. "Look at the state of us," he grumbled, taking off his coat. "My car won`t like this."
"You mean, you won`t like this in your car," Grace mumbled as she took her own coat off.
Boyd took their coats and placed them in the boot. Then he returned to retrieve the wellies Grace had borrowed. "Good thing the coats got most of the mud," he said as he seated himself behind the steering wheel. "How are you doing?"
"I just want to go back to London, Boyd," she smiled. "Maybe you could drive me home first? I need a shower and a change of clothes."
"You and me both," he agreed as he turned the car around. He gave her one of his boyish grins. "Shower together?"
"Peter!"
"Might save time." His grin grew wider as he put the car into gear. "Time and water."
"In what universe do you think that's true, Peter?" She just shook her head at him, knew that when they got back to London, and her house, they would indeed share a shower and probably more as well.
By the end of the day the orange body was deemed not a cold case. And the reason for it`s colour? A case of too many carrots in the dead woman`s diet.
~The End~
WtD-challenge September 2023:
- 1.500 word limit
- Sett post S4 onwards
- Must features:
o Old lady feeding ducks
o A sheep
o A post-box – the red one for sending mail
o Colour grey
o Orange – colour or orange peel (not the entire fruit)
o A chain of some description
o A comb