Chapter 16: Dust and Ashes
Trade City East Police Station, East Circle
The time was a little past one in the morning and the station was in full swing. Even those not on duty were called back due to the death of a fellow officer and the third in a string of arson attacks on East City Hospital, it seemed the attacks would not just stop. Luckily this time there was only a single casualty…unluckily that casualty happened to be a police officer. Jerome had changed out of his bathrobe into a more comfortable set of clothing that were in his locker at the station. He didn't particularly feel anything about the death of Leonard Blake, he hadn't known the man for that long anyway but the fact of the matter was that he suspected that Leonard Blake knew something of this case to have him be killed by the arsonist which was just unfortunate.
***
East City Pathology
2 hours prior…
Jerome Hall walked into the coroner's office which was at this moment occupied by the examining forensics pathologist on this particular case, along with his two superiors, Roy Sharpe and Robert Deacon. As soon as the pathologist saw him come in he stopped speaking.
"Excuse me, you can't come in here," said the pathologist.
"I'm a cop," Jerome pointed out.
"Even so-," the pathologist started but Robert cut across him with weary look.
"It's fine Dr. Yaneva" said Robert. "He's fine to be here."
The woman, Dr. Yaneva gave him a stern look, one that was even more accentuated and strengthened by her own age and seniority. Jerome however chuckled and stepped in behind Robert, casually standing there.
Dr. Yaneva then proceeded to continue, "As I was saying sergeant, all we could retrieve of Leonard Hall intact with his left arm from the elbow up, the rest was burned to ashes and fat stains."
Jerome raised an eyebrow at that, "How?"
Dr. Yaneva seemed about ready to launch into another explanation when she was stopped cold by Jerome's 'how'.
"How…how what?" she asked.
"How is it possible that you found his left hand if the rest of his body was burned to ashes?" asked Roy putting forth Jerome's question for him.
"I was getting to that," said Dr. Yaneva throwing both Jerome and Roy a withering look. "Before you all so rudely interrupted."
Robert coughed at this, "Please continue doctor."
"His left hand was detached from his body using some sort of sharp instrument," said Dr. Yaneva. "The cut was precise and fairly clean so I'd wager a guess on something automatic, I'd go with something like a chainsaw but it's finer so I can't really tell."
"His left hand was cut off and then the rest of his body was burnt?" asked Robert frowning. "For what purpose?"
"Well that's hardly my job is it sergeant?" said Dr. Yaneva. "But what I can say is that cut was inflicted perimortem, there was evidence of blood on the floor and what else we recovered of Leonard Blake was powdered bone teeth and some fat residue."
"Such a strong flame?" said Roy shocked. "It had to have been burning at least a thousand degrees Celsius for the body to turn to ashes."
"Yes," Dr. Yaneva nodded agreeing. "However if you've looked at the crime scene, then it was the basement and there was metal lining all over the floors and walls, what essentially happened was the body was cremated or rather cooked inside it."
Robert winced as Roy and Jerome thought about it curiously.
"The hand is still a mystery," said Jerome and Roy nodded.
"If that was what had happened then everything should have burned, including the hand," said Roy.
"No matter," said Robert shaking his head. "The fact is, it's the third arson attack this week alone and at the same place no less, one of our own is dead and we are still no closer to catching the suspect."
"Was there anything else burned along with the body?" asked Jerome and Dr. Yaneva turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm a forensic pathologist not a crime scene investigator,"she said. "You'd better ask them."
Robert chuckled as Jerome looked at her carefully, examining her body language.
'Eckhard, she's not a mage is she?' he asked his AI.
<
Jerome snorted…brilliant, she could have atleast given him more to work with.
"Excuse me?" asked Dr. Yaneva turned to Jerome who was quickly snapped out of his conversation with his AI.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Did I say something funny?"
He quickly understood what was happening as he noticed the strange looks he got from both Robert and Roy.
"Uh…I apologize," he said. "But is there anything else you can tell?"
Dr. Yaneva gave him another once over before turning to Robert.
"There is a breakage in left arm, his ulna to be more precise and its consistent with defensive wounds I've seen," Dr. Yaneva said turning to her desk and lifting up an x-ray.
Jerome looked at it in slight confusion.
"This is the type of breakage that happens when you raise your hand up to defend yourself from an incoming strike, typically from above," said Dr. Yaneva. "Was constable Leonard Blake left handed?"
Both Roy and Robert looked towards him at that question, putting him on the spot.
Jerome sighed as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."
Roy snorted as he turned whilst Robert turned around with a dejected look.
"Well I suggest you find that out," said Dr. Yaneva before placing the x-ray back on the table.
"When can we expect your official report doctor?" asked Robert.
"First thing tomorrow, say at about nine," Dr. Yaneva said as she went back around her desk to sit down.
Jerome looked around her office, it seemed relatively clear and he could notice no personal possessions on her table, not even a family photo, he also wondered whether she had a family at all. After she sat down Dr. Yaneva stopped paying attention to the three of them as she worked on her computer. They stood there awkwardly in her office for another several moments before she turned to them again.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked and they looked at each awkwardly.
"Uh..no," said Robert with a sheepish smile.
"Can I see this severed arm?" Jerome jumped in and asked causing Dr. Yaneva to look up at him again.
Robert looked at him as well with mild curiosity, "Why do you-?"
"Actually I'd like to see it as well," Roy piped in throwing Jerome a look.
"Down the hall, third room," she said finally after several more moments of them just staring at each other.
As they walked out Robert turned to him to ask.
"Why do you want to see the arm, it's just a severed arm."
"I'm curious," said Jerome. "The entire body was burned up but the arm was left behind."
"Yes that arm is irritating me as well," said Roy and Jerome looked at him curiously, the man was a pyromancer, he should rightly be added to list of suspects for this arson crime, this could of course be Jerome's bias but he just found the man somewhat an unsettling force.
They walked down the hall and pushed open the third room. Entering it, they were met by someone already there. One of them held a container of what seemed like murky yellowish liquid and another held a container of white dust. On the table in front of them was a charred hand.
"Oh…" Robert said suddenly turning yellow and Jerome looked at him strangely.
"Senior sergeant has a weak disposition," Roy said offering up the answer.
Robert nodded at that and stayed back whilst Jerome and Roy pushed forward standing next to the male and female who were gazing at them, both of them surprisingly or unsurprisingly had very morbid appearances from the bags under their eyes to their sleep stature.
"What can we do for you?" asked the female of the two who stood slightly taller than the male.
"We just came by to look at constable Leonard Blake's remains," said Roy pulling himself to full height, towering over the female but still under Jerome.
"Well th-this is all there is," said the man putting the yellowish liquid right under Jerome's nose who gagged and turned away.
'Eckhard, examine that hand,' Jerome said to his AI.
<
Jerome heard the notifications of the scan go off in his mind as he composed himself and looked at the liquid again.
"This is the fat I suppose," said Jerome with a distasteful look and that seemed to be too much for Robert as he suddenly pushed out of the room and they heard noises of retching down the hall.
"Yes, melted from the human, this is all that remained of the victim's primary body, well this and the powder from bones and teeth," said the man with a light smile.
"I see," said Jerome. "Good to know."
<
'Nothing…not even an automatic hacksaw or something?' asked Jerome.
<>
'Dark energy?' asked Jerome, hearing the term for the first time in such a context.
<
Jerome sighed, magic, whilst he had a found a way to bolster his strength, it was really messing with his perception of life. Roy meanwhile was looking at him curiously and Jerome turned to him.
"You found something?" he asked.
Jerome looked at the hand again carefully before shaking his head and Roy sighed.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Roy looking at the two members in the lab who both nodded.
Jerome and Roy proceeded to walk out erstwhile a haggard Robert quietly followed on from the hallway.
***
Trade City East Police Station, East Circle
Jerome sat at his desk watching as a stream of visitors entered Roy's office and left just as quickly. The entire station was highly stressed. The news and media were going to have a field day tomorrow with this and it was clear as day that there was some pressure from higher up solve this case. The good thing was that they were not the primary station on this case, it belonged to north circle, however they had now involved themselves in it rather successfully, having one of their own officers killed on the job. Jerome frowned as he looked through the files he had gathered from Leonard's desk, there was a lot of open cases, some unrelated documents but nothing concrete he could land on to investigate. There was even a file on 'Joe Brock' that informant that had died with him in the graveyard, though nothing had come of it. He sighed as he looked through all the files again when he heard a loud cry at the front and he quickly stood up, his body tensed and alert.
"My son!" a male voice roared and Jerome slowly moved to the reception of the building. "What happened to my son!?"
Jerome walked through and saw a man getting on in his years angrily grabbing and holding the reception staff by the collar as his wife, Jerome supposed, tried to hold him back, all the while crying.
"What happened to him!?" he roared again.
A female constable rushed up to the man and forcefully separated him from the receptionist.
"Sir, you need to calm down," she said as she pushed him back.
"What happened to me son!" he screamed at the top of his lungs again as Jerome slowly approached the family he assumed was Leonard Blake's.
He looked towards the lift to see both Roy and Robert too step into lobby to partake in the commotion.
"What's going on here!?" asked Robert authoritatively his weakness from morgue long gone as he assumed command again.
Jerome paused in his tracks as he stood a fair few feet back. The man now appeared to have deflated like a balloon as he fell to his butt on the ground amidst the sobs of his wife.
"My son," he muttered.
Robert and Roy walked up both putting on the same solemn expression. Roy pulled to the side next to the female constable.
"You're the one that went to break the news to the family?" he asked.
"Yes sir," said the female constable and then she looked towards Jerome. "Since we couldn't find constable Hall."
He was just standing back and he still got slapped anyway, why on earth would he go to break the news to the family.
"What happened there?" Roy asked. "Why did they all rush to the station like this, we already have enough on our plates as it is."
"I'm sorry sir but they just suddenly got in there car and took off," she said. "I followed."
It was at this moment the wife noticed Jerome's presence and it also appeared the family themselves somewhat knew him as well, the previous him anyhow because the current Jerome was clueless as to what kind of people these were and the only thing he knew or assumed was that these people were probably Leonard Blake's mother and father. She got up from beside her husband and approached Jerome quickly and grabbed his arm.
"What happened Lenny?" she asked. "They said that…that he's been…"
Saying that she just burst into even more tears as Jerome stood there awkwardly, now being the center of attention. He lightly placed his hand on hers, unsure of what to do at this stage either. The only person he had lost in his life was his mother and he wasn't there to see her either after that everything he'd ever felt were suppressed by the AI inside him, even if wanted to be empathetic or even sympathetic, he wasn't sure he could do it without it appearing forced or fake.
"Uh..ma'am," he started, he didn't know her name. "I-I'm sorry…"
As soon as he said that she wailed louder as she slumped into his arms. He looked awkwardly at Robert who was comforting the now dead looking father and then he turned towards Roy who appeared to be chastising the constable for her actions. He looked around to see if anyone would help but they all stood there watching the show.
Finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Ma'am I'm sorry to say this but constable Leonard Blake is indeed deceased, we…uh…found his body at the most recent site of arson."
At that she stopped wailing and looked at him, an almost puzzled look, he tried to manage a smile and she fainted in his arms. Shocked he looked at the woman who was unresponsive, then at her husband, who was also unresponsive, then he looked at Robert who seemed to be helpless and finally at Roy, who was avoiding the situation entirely. He sighed as he tapped her gently, trying to wake her up but to no avail.
"Can I get some help here?" he asked clearing his throat and looking around. "To get her somewhere she can lie down."
Nobody acted and he gritted his teeth, it was fine, he would carry her all by himself, she didn't weight that much anyway. He leaned sideways to tuck in her legs when the female constable that had been with Roy came forward.
"I'll help," she said.
He nodded gratefully, "Thanks…uh…constable Lefebvre."
He cringed as he mispronounced the name on her tag, butchering it completely. She just shook her head as she looked at him. They carried the mother way leaving Robert with the father.
"I'm sorry for mispronouncing your name," he said.
"It's fine, you're not the first, you won't be the last either," she said as a matter-of-factly. "The b's silent."
Jerome nodded and then out of curiosity he asked, "Is it french?"
"Somewhat," she answered keeping her conversations short.
In awkward silence they carried her to the break room where there was a couch and laid her down there. She nodded to Jerome before exiting.
'Did you scan her Eckhard?' he asked the AI.
<
He let out a short laugh, "The world's smaller than we think."
He looked at the woman laid out on the couch and shook his head, Leonard Blake did not deserve this, nor did his family, well he didn't deserve what happened to him either, nor did his own mother but things didn't work out in terms of what people deserved in any life. He exited the break room and walked towards the lobby again when he saw Robert walking past him, helping the father to what he supposed was the break room. As he came out into the lobby it had quieted down all of a sudden. He walked forwards to see what had happened when he saw three people in the lobby. The three doctors that were suspects in the arson cases and now, the murder of constable Leonard Blake. There were two nurses on the earlier list but they had been removed, or rather they weren't primary suspects any longer, though their names still circulated on the suspect list. One of these people, if the police had everything right was behind two of the arson cases, six infanticides and the murder of police officer on duty and that person, when the police found out who they were, was royally screwed.