Chapter 6 (pt-1)

Samantha watches with eagerness as the doctor stares at her hard. It is as if the young one is missing the obvious. For a while, Samantha felt shivers on her skin. The uneasy feeling that something was missing here made her nervous. She wanted to get the statement of the doctor so she could make the report, but why was Dr. Hayes looking at her expecting something? ‘Is there something she was supposed to do?’ Thoughts invaded her mind, making her nervous in many ways.

“I was waiting for you to ask the questions, but it seems you are not trained yet.” In the end, Dr. Hayes broke the silence.

Samantha finally understood what was going on. The detective is usually the one asking the questions, while the doctor is the one to answer them. It is not like her to make the answers herself. She is not the one leading the case. It is natural for her to stay silent and not to overstep her bounds. Samantha bites her bottom lip in guilt as she addresses Dr. Hayes.

“Forgive me, ma’am, I am still learning. This is my first time being here alone.” Indeed, this was the first time Samantha entered the lab alone. She would be silently noting at the back, occasionally asking one or two questions. The main leader would be Alex.

“Then that maniac should have been down here himself instead of sending a child to do a grown-up's job.” It was meant to insult her. Emily targets all the newcomers as harsh critics. She does not feel that anyone with a weak mind should be in the station. The station is not for the softcore. They should retire rather than completely shatter. However, this reality is something that is only known to a few. Not even the detectives know about this. They only think she is just like that, a sarcastic one.

Samantha cleared her throat quickly. “The thought has completely left my head. It is completely my fault. I am afraid. I am sorry for the trouble I am causing right now.”

“You will not be able to say sorry if the reports are not properly made. There is no place to make mistakes for people like us, Samantha Thompson.” Emily warned her with stern eyes. This was enough to make the girl feel the heat. After all, Emily does not waste any time showing her displeasure.

“I am sorry again, Dr. Hayes.” Samantha apologized again with patience. This time a strange cold feeling covered her, making her calm.

Emily wanted to wait again to see if the child could ask the right questions, but there was more work to do. “Listen carefully then.”

She pointed to the body. “The first questions you ask are how and when the victim died. In this case, it is a stabbing wound in the heart. He bled to death. However, a man with such a body weight would not be standing in the middle to let someone stab him just like that, so you can confirm he was subjugated in some way.”

She opened the blanket to show his bare body hiding his torso.

Ana helped to fold the blanket to hide his private parts, which exposed Liam’s body along with his limbs to everyone.

“You can see there was no bruise around his body, so there might be signs of poison or something that paralyzed him.” She pointed to his face.

“But there is no sign of poison on his skin or his organs.” Emily’s fingers pointed to the stitched area in the middle. This only means to show the person who killed him was strong enough to hold him down or have him in the hold of fear, making him stay in the place.

“Was there nothing else found at the crime scene except for the mask and the knife?” Samantha was writing attentively until the question came into her mind, and she wanted to ask at that moment. There was a silence for a while. This made Samantha question her decision to ask. She was scared she would be scolded again, but Emily nodded her head, approving the question.

“It seems the young one might be slow, but she is learning.” Ana chuckled, trying to mediate the peace between both of them.

“It is good she is learning.” Emily made her tone softer.

“However, there was nothing else found in the mask and even the knife. No trace of DNA. So it only means the one who carried out the murder has cleaned the things, but there is no residue of any cleaning agent.” Emily moved to the small desk on the side.

“I was thinking that the killer decided to use clothes to clean or sweat a bit. However, there was no residue of clothing, except there was a bit of powder on the corner where the knife was found.”Emily moved to open a small oval circular dish.

There was a bit of black powder on it. The visibility was poor to Samantha, but it was clear to the people inside.

“It seems the killer used sulfuric acid to burn something. I wonder what it was used to burn.” She sighed.

Samantha felt her jaw drop at the information. She quickly closed her mouth and swallowed the thought. “She used the acid to surely burn something, but I don’t know what it was. It could be something metallic or something softer. I need to check it more, but it might be hard to figure out what it was.” Emily took a tweezer and took a tiny bit of thread from the small pile of ash. The dish was in front of the microscope. “I think it might be a piece of cloth.”

The words made Samantha curious; she almost got up from the stool.

“However, the state of burning here is very strong. I am afraid there is no clear indication or DNA to find any clue for it.” Emily sighs and puts it back.

“You and your boss have to figure out this. This is beyond what we get.” Emily’s sigh indicated this was the end of the discussion. Samantha sighs as well as the mystery cannot be solved just this. This is too little to find.

She tilted her head and noticed the knife on the side with the mask. “There is nothing there?”

Emily shook her head. “Nothing, not even tiny sweat bits. All I can figure out is this is a common kitchen knife, sharpened before use. There is nothing special about this. It can be found in any common supermarket.”

“There is nothing in the mask as well. This is so well made, I was expecting some kind of artist signature, but there was nothing in this.” Ana took the mask in her gloved hand and tried to check it as well.

“You can think this is made from a theater shop.” She added, with Emily nodding in agreement. “Hold on, that is not made with plastic? I thought it was made by a 3D printer.” Samantha did not think such a light mask was made with plastic.

“But it was not heavy like those clay masks or any of those hard wooden masks in the theater.” Emily shook her head. “We checked for fabric, metal, and even glass, but it is so light one would think this is not ceramic,” Samantha smirked.

“That can be a clue; ceramic places are hard to find, and there can be help if we canvas about this a bit.”

Ana chuckled, “I like your enthusiasm; you can try with that.”

It only took her a few seconds to understand what was going on. She quickly bowed to the two women and walked fast to leave the room. Emily raised an eyebrow as she watched the girl leave. Ana smiled back when she noticed how happy Samantha was. Their eyes followed the girl leaving the room. The rush of the protective clothing being removed can be heard. They somehow stayed still till they both heard the door close.

“I understand why you like to push them, but it does not hurt to be nice to them at times.”Ana took this chance to add as the other assistants came over to help clean up the table.