Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
When I’m not at work, I can focus my attention on Knight and pretend like none of the bullshit is happening, but the minute I walk through these doors, it always comes right back.
With a heavy sigh, I push through the door, wondering what fresh hell I’ll be hit with tonight. The morgue is still buzzing with people, but it doesn’t take long to realize they’re all starting to pack up after their long shift.
“Ahhh, Dr. Madden. How are you doing tonight?” Dr. McKullan asks, looking worse for wear.
“Good,” I say. “Ready for a busy shift.”
“Oh, you better be,” he says, running his hand back through his hair. “It’s been a busy day, and I suspect it will be an even busier night. The criminals of Blackstone must have been out and about this past weekend.”
“Oh?” I question, striding deeper into the morgue and dropping my bag on my desk while glancing toward the bodies lined up on the tables. Shit. It really is going to be a busy night.
“Had three here waiting for us this morning. Another two came in at midday, and we’ve just had another one an hour ago. Preliminary reports have been started on all except the last body in bay six,” Dr. McKullan tells me. “If you could get started on that, that would be much appreciated. Then once you’re done there, I’ve organized everything into what I want prioritized. I doubt you’ll get through too much, but any kind of dent you can make will be helpful.”
“Sure thing,” I tell him, already feeling overwhelmed by everything on my to-do list, but that’s just the luck of the draw, right? “I’ll get straight to it.”
I don’t even bother waiting for everybody to finish filing out before I crank the music and start reviewing everything that needs to be done tonight. I quickly get lost in my work, focusing on the preliminary report for the man in bay six. There are signs of injury across his knuckles, looking as though he had been involved in some kind of fight, but the injuries are a few days old. Apart from that, there are no obvious markings to determine if this was a homicide or just nature taking its course.
A thrill shoots through me. This is just the kind of case I’ve been needing. There’s nothing I love more than a challenge, but unfortunately for me, Mr. Bay Six isn’t at the top of my priority list.
I get him bagged up and deposited back into the refrigeration unit until he’s ready for a full autopsy, and I have to admit, with everything else on my list for tonight, I doubt I’ll get the chance to completely dive headfirst into this particular mystery. One of my colleagues will probably be awarded that honor during tomorrow’s day shift. Then come my next shift, I’ll be faced with a whole new array of bodies to challenge me. I hope.
Wanting to keep the ball rolling and smash out as much as I can, I jump straight into the first autopsy of the night. It’s a woman, and unfortunately, she looks as though her death was brutal.
My heart breaks for her as I document the finger-shaped bruises along the inside of her thighs and the scratches left across her chest. I have a good idea what happened to her, but it’s not my job to make assumption or declarations of rape. I just report on the facts.
As I complete the external portion of the autopsy, I go to reach for my scalpel when the sound of someone swiping their access key at the door sounds through the morgue. I’m too focused to worry about freaking out, and after my stalker left me alone all last week, I’m confident that it’s not him.
My gaze shifts back to the woman, and as I press the scalpel down at her shoulder, the door opens, quickly followed by the sound of the cleaning cart. A small smile lifts the corner of my lips, and I look up to say hi to Vincent, and just as the words are about to fly out of my mouth, I find the scowling face of Vincent’s replacement.
“Just great,” I mutter under my breath.
I give him an awkward hello and keep working, knowing how uncomfortable dead bodies made him last time, but when his eyes linger on the woman’s naked body, I can’t help the protective instinct that comes over me.
I shift around the woman’s body, immediately covering her up. “There’s nothing for you here,” I tell him, moving quickly to place her back in the body bag. Last week, the janitor was here for almost an hour, and I’m not about to have her on display to be gawked at by the likes of this asshole, especially not for an hour.
He scowls at me, thankfully deciding to keep his mouth shut, and without skipping a beat, I pack up her file and notes and move on to the next item on my list.