Serial- Part 19

            “Sorry guys. I, um, have low blood sugar and I ran out of the house without eating. It was dumb and I know better but I feel better now.”

Color burned on Seth’s cheeks. He wondered whether they’d truly bought his story but he had to say something. Pull yourself together, man! They’re looking at you like you’re losing it.

            “No need to apologize,” Kim insisted. “I’m sure I’ve got a pack of crackers or a candy bar in my desk. Wait here and I’ll get you something to eat.”

            “That’s okay, you really don’t have…Okay, I guess she’s not listening, huh?”

Angela and Bill laughed as they watched Kim disappear inside the building and return seconds later with an assortment of snacks: a pack of peanut butter crackers, an apple, at bottle of water, a banana, and a candy bar.

            “Here, eat however much you need. No one is allowed to pass out in my morgue!”

Under threat of being force fed, Seth munched on the crackers between sips of water. In spite of his insistence that he felt much better, both ladies made him polish off the candy bar also.

            “Okay, I ate it all-gone now, Mom. Can I go play now?”

Seth’s words dripped with sarcasm but the girls laughed anyway and agreed they could all go back inside. Once everyone was gowned and ready, it was time to get back to business.

            “So, before Seth almost did a crash and burn into the dead guy,” Angela teased. “Bill, you said you could explain why tongue-less Trevor didn’t spit out the blood. What were you talking about?”

            “Well, I noticed a few things when I was looking over the body and, now that we have more information, it all makes sense. For example, see right here on his cheeks? Something was gouging into them on both sides. I think it was a bite block with a cheek retractor…they use them in the dental offices sometimes but usually the dentist doesn’t clamp it on so tight that it digs into the flesh.”

            “So our murderer is a dentist?”

            “No, not necessarily. Anyone can buy that stuff on Amazon or Ebay nowadays so it could be anybody. What’s interesting is how there is also a small puncture wound, right here.”

Using an instrument, Bill pointed to a spot right along the recently deceased’s hairline. The others leaned in to see exactly where he was pointing.

            “I might be wrong but I think our killer rigged up some kind of harness to keep the victim’s head up and back. Think about it. If you were strapped down and your mouth was forced open so you couldn’t close it; meanwhile, your lips and cheeks were forcibly retracted, it is already going to be difficult to swallow. Now, the tongue has pincer marks so it is safe to assume that the killer used some sort of tongs or maybe even a pair of pliers to pull that sucker out as far as he could before getting in there with a knife and hacking it off. Unlike all of the other pieces that were removed, the killer didn’t heat the implement to cauterize the flesh as he cut. He…or she... wanted, Mr. Burbridge to drown in his own blood. I can’t prove it but I’d be willing to bet money that ole tongue-less Trevor, as you so charmingly nicknamed him, had something blocking his nose too. It could have been something as simple as a clothes pin but with the inability to breathe through his nose, he’d have been forced to breathe through his mouth. When panic or pain sets in, what is one of the first physical responses we have?”

            “Rapid respiration,” Seth interjected.

            “Exactly! So, our victim was inhaling at an accelerated rate when a tidal wave of blood poured down his throat. He couldn’t put his head down to let the blood flow out of his mouth so... the only thing he could try was coughing hard enough to expel the blood but you need air in your lungs to cough. With that much fluid pouring down his throat, it wouldn’t take long for him to die. This was mostly a superficial amputation of the tongue so it was more about the symbolism since he didn’t eat it.”   
         “What do you mean, eat it?”

Serial- Part 18

Further examination of the body showed that the deceased, Trevor Burbrige, was otherwise intact minus a cauterized strip between the bicep and triceps. An excess of blood lodged in the throat and lungs proved the victim drowned on his own blood during his tongue removal.

            “So, let me get this straight,” Seth muttered. “Our coffee-maker drowned; in his own blood, no less, when the killer cut out his tongue? That doesn’t make sense to me. Why wouldn’t he just spit out the blood?”

            “I can answer that.”

Seth, Kim, and Angela all jumped. They’d been so focused on the body and cause of death; they never heard Detective Crash slip silently into the room.

            “Argh! You have got to stop doing that to me, Bill! How would it look if your MDI died while working on the case?” Kim reprimanded. “Especially if you were the cause of death?”

            “Sorry, Kim, I didn’t realize you didn’t hear me come in. I thought I’d stop by and see how things were going. One of my guys said you thought you’d found something under the victim’s fingernails so I figured it was best to hear the facts from you instead of playing Whisper Down the Lane with the officers.” Bill answered.

            “I guess I’ll let you slide, this time.” A playful smile cut across her face as she gave him a wink. “We did find some skin cells under the victim’s finger nails but I might have been his own. There were gouges in the palms of his hands and in his thighs.”

            “That’s disappointing. I was hoping…Oh my God! Seth, are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost. C’mon, let’s get you outside for a little fresh air.”

Bill tugged Seth out the door and into the sunshine. A cool breeze tugged at their lab coats and returned some of the color to Seth’s pale cheeks. Seconds later, Kim and Angela followed.

            “Are you okay? One second we’re talking about a lead on the murderer and the next you’re ready to face-plant on the slab, next to the corpse.”

Serial- Part 17

As Seth slept, visions of massacres and mutilations skipped through his dreams like psychotic demons frolicking through the inner recesses of a tortured mind. The snotty punk from the coffee shop, no longer smug or arrogant, pleaded for help. With arms outstretched and agony etched on his face, he reached for Seth and screamed. The scream grew louder and higher in pitch until the Coffee Nazi disappeared into the mist. A feeling of dread filled Seth’s heart until something jarred him awake. A sharp pain jabbed him in the ribs and he heard a woman screaming. His cell phone on the nightstand was lit up and bouncing from the vibration. Melanie was facing him and even in the dark he could tell it was a death stare.

            “Seth, I love you but I swear to God if you don’t change that damn ringtone I am going to divorce you and take Malachi with me,” Melanie groaned. “At least turn off the damned thing when you come to bed, would ya? I have to be up in an hour and I’ll never be able to fall back to sleep now.”

            “Sorry, babe. I’m changing the ringtone right now to something less gruesome…and I’m turning off the ringer.”

Melanie grunted and rolled over, hoping to catch just a little more sleep before starting another work day. Though he’d never admit it, Seth was relieved that his phone had gone off when it did. He did not enjoy having murder victims traipsing through his dreams. Cupping his hand over the screen to block the light, Seth checked his missed call log. Kim’s number was on the screen and she’d left a voicemail. He gently eased out of bed and crept to his office to listen without disturbing his wife. Kim’s voice sounded weary as she told him they’d be getting a late start because she wasn’t able to leave the crime scene until the wee hours of the morning. Yes! I can grab a few extra hours of sleep. He slipped back into bed thereby forcing Malachi to scoot over. The dog’s cold nose pressed against Melanie’s exposed spine forcing her to leap forward. It was the thud of Melanie’s body hitting the hardwood floor that made both Seth and Malachi stretch out to see what happened. Furious, Melanie stormed out of the room and, moments later, running water trickled against the shower tiles. When Seth finally awoke, Mel was long gone and Malachi was anxious to venture outdoors. After a leisurely shower and a little writing time, he headed to the morgue.

            “Good morning, Angels of Death! Long time, no see.” Seth joked.

Angela and Kim, who were just gowning up, laughed as he strolled through the door. I must be getting used to it in here. The smell isn’t even making me gag anymore.

            “Well, well, look who’s back, Kim. Hey, where’s our coffee, trainee?”

            “Nope, I got promoted to Detective Crash’s sidekick but I figured I could spring for lunch since I’ve upgraded my pay scale.”

The laughter grew louder until Kim called him over to see what they’d uncovered the night before.

            “Care to see what we uncovered last night?”    

Seth leaned in just as Kim pulled the cover back on the corpse. At least he doesn’t smell as bad as the body that had been rotting in the river. Kim had placed a small plastic tray near the victim’s feet that contained personal effects, such as his wallet, watch, cell phone, and gray blob that looked a little like silly putty that had spent some time inside a pocket. With a gloved hand, Seth pointed at the wad and asked what it was.

            “Well, Seth, that would be Mister Trevor Burbrige’s tongue. Care to take a guess where we found it?”

            “Um, I guess… not in his mouth. Do I want to know where you found it?”

The girls chuckled and Angela shook her head, “no”, but being told no made him want to know even more. Despite repeated warnings, he continued to pester them until Kim finally broke the news.

            “I’ll give you a hint,” she said as she and Angela carefully rolled the body up onto his side. “Take a look at the clue our killer left for us.”

Seth leaned in to read the words that had been carved into Trevor’s back, only it wasn’t words. Instead, he saw symbols.  

 A rude tongue is full of shit

            “What the hell is that?” Seth asked.

            “Yeah, that’s what we wanted to know. In truth, we found those markings carved into our victim’s back before we even looked inside his mouth to realize the killer had cut the tongue out.”

            “So, who figured it out and how?”

            “Actually, it was a freak accident,” Kim answered. “I was typing some notes into my laptop and I hit a button that changed the font. The shapes and symbols kinda looked like what was carved into the guy’s back so I kept playing around with the fonts. As it turns out, those marks are actually the Marlett font in Word. I have the picture of his back on my tablet and the same markings on the Word document on my laptop over there on my desk. Take a look.”

Seth stepped over to the desk and compared the picture of their victim and the marking on the Word document.

            “Looks like the same thing to me.”

            “Now, highlight the symbols and change the font to Arial or Times New Roman or something like that.”

            “Okay, gimme a sec here...Let’s see…A rude tongue is full of shit. So, where? Oh no, don’t tell me it.”

            “Yup, that’s where we found his tongue and maybe it wasn’t full of shit but it was certainly covered with it.”

            “Oh my God!” Seth exclaimed. “That’s just nasty. Yeah, the guy was rude but damn!” 

Serial- Part 16

The outline of her captor grew fuzzy as her eyes filled with unshed tears. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as he sneered at her. When the familiar sound of him igniting the flame of his handheld blowtorch filled the small room she could no longer project a fearless façade. A muffled scream penetrated her gag as her bladder voided, dribbling off the table in a stream to puddle on the floor.

            “Well, that’s just disgusting. I suppose you learned that in some sort of self defense class, yes? That’s only for a rapist, my pet. I assure you; I have no interest in that, whatsoever.”

His cruel laugh sent shivers up her spine. She could hear it fading as he left the room. For a brief, shining moment, she hoped he was too disgusted by her to continue whatever hateful plans he’d concocted. His footsteps receded up the stairs. Twelve steps in total, she’d come to learn. After the twelfth step, the door slammed. 

    Elated she took a breath and exhaled slowly. Seconds later, loud voices sounded overhead followed by canned laughter, a sitcom. Hearing his television click on had always meant he was finished with her for the night. Tears of anguish were replaced by tears of joy. She even relaxed enough to listen; a rerun of her favorite television program where the ditzy waitress, who lived across the hall, bantered with her super genius neighbors. When the show cut to commercial, he flipped channels. Just then, the horrifying shriek of a woman in distress ripped through the surround sound, making her jump. Just a horror movie, she told herself. She closed her eyes, trying to calm the jackhammer staccato of her heartbeat. Before her sense of calm could be restored, an icy sensation blasted every cell in her body. She tried to scream but could not. Her nose flooded with an odd smelling fluid that burned her eyes and inflamed her nostrils. Unable to breathe, her ears thudded with the sound of her own suffocation. Every cell in her body screamed out for oxygen but she could not clear the obstructing fluid. Woozy and blinded she prayed for death’s embrace. 

    Instead, she toppled to the floor and a tremendous force slammed into her chest. Sputtering and disoriented, another wave of icy-cold shock assaulted her. By the third time, she realized he was dumping freezing cold buckets of water over her. Before she could recover, he’d grabbed a handful of her sopping-wet hair and hauled her back onto the table. Face down this time; she feared not being able to see, even worse than being face-to-face with her torturer. The shackles bit into the tender flesh of her wrists and then her ankles.

            “Keep this moment in mind, the next time you decide to piss all over the place. I’m sure that bleach stung and I was kind enough to dilute it…this time. Next time, I won’t be so nice. Now, is there something you’d like to say to me?”

He ripped the duct tape from her mouth and she was certain her lips had gone with it. Using every shred of restraint in her body, she resisted the urge to scream or hurl insults. Instead, after coughing more of the bleach-water from her lungs, she gave him what he wanted.

            “Yes, I-I-I’m s-sorry and thank you for, uh, cleaning me up.”

            “That’s better, my pet.” He replied as he stuffed a clump of fabric into her mouth and applied new strips of duct tape. “You see; if someone had taught you manners before, you wouldn’t be in this predicament now. Instead, we’ve got a whole generation of mouthy, self-entitled, jackasses who think the world owes them something, just because their mommies and daddies told them they’re so stinking special. Seriously, you’re in your mid-twenties; you should have figured out that you’re no different than everyone else your age.”

He continued ranting about laziness and poor work ethic as he ignited the blowtorch again. She fought to keep silent, knowing anything she said or did would only make it worse. When the blade was hot enough to cauterize her flesh, she felt it searing along her spine to remove the “tenderloin”. In an act of kindness, her body shut down. She'd slipped into unconsciousness before he'd finished removing the choice cut of meat. 

**In honor of the holiday, the next installment of SERIAL will be Tuesday, September 2^nd. Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend! See you in September**

Serial- Part 15

            “Okay, Seth, when I hit the record button; you’ll be able to give your statement, on the record. I’m going to do the whole official sounding bit, first, but don’t be alarmed. Just tell us what you know about the deceased and that’s it. Okay?”

Seth nodded but part of him wondered if he ought to have a lawyer present. He’d heard horror stories about how everyday people get duped into confessing a crime they didn’t commit. He decided to word his statement very carefully to avoid any chance of having a random stranger’s death pinned on him, especially being a horror writer. Bill gave the signal and, after a deep breath, Seth spoke.

            “Okay, I briefly observed the victim for the first time, the other day. Let’s see…My first day gathering information for my next novel was Tuesday so it would have been Wednesday, the eighth. It was in that little coffee shop over on the corner of Main and Vine. I forget the name of it because I never go there. Well, I’d never been there before, I should say. It has a really funny name though.”

            “The Dark Side of the Spoon?” Bill interjected. “Is that it?”

            “Yeah, that’s it! I had gone in there to pick up some coffee to take to Kim and Angela. He was a jerk to everyone in line and believe me, it was a long line. If he acted like that every day, I’d bet he made a whole lot of enemies. It’s never a smart idea to piss people off before they’ve had their coffee.”

Bill hit stop on the recorder before allowing his laughter to escape.

            “While that’s quite true, I’m going to remove that last part. Just stick to the facts. If he got into a verbal confrontation, if someone threatened him, that’s factual and feel free to give us the low down but any personal observations open you up to attack so leave that out, okay?”

Seth completed his statement quickly and Bill replayed the recording to ensure everything was correct. Afterward, they used some of the station’s equipment to filter out the sound from Seth’s video at the restaurant. By the time they’d finished everything, it was closer to morning than bedtime. Bleary eyed and yawning, Seth shuffled to Bill’s vehicle. He envied Melanie, cuddled under the covers, undoubtedly with Malachi at the foot of the bed. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open while giving Bill directions to the house. More than anything, he wanted a good night’s sleep but, since he agreed to meet the reporter at 9AM, there was no way he’d get enough sleep. I’ll be better off staying up. Some extra-strong coffee and whatever is left of the cheesecake from dessert, and I should be able to get some work done.

 vvvv

            “I’m home. Did you miss me, my pet? Guess what… Aw, not in the mood for guessing games, huh? Fine, I’ll just tell you. Another body was found tonight. Since those bumbling fools are taking their sweet time finding my presents; I get to keep you around a little longer. Between you and me, I’m delighted. You’re absolutely decadent.”

Tears welled in the bound and gagged woman’s eyes before spilling over and trickling down her pale cheek.

            “Are those tears of joy, I see? No? Well, that’s downright rude. It seems you haven’t learned a thing. Rudeness is what landed you here in the first place. I’ve been too lenient. It’s time I teach you a lesson.”

Struggling against the binding cords, she squealed in agony. Her captor glared at her with sheer malice in his eyes. His favorite moment was rapidly approaching, that flash of terror when he raised the blade for her to see. He could feel his pulse quicken and his breathing grew erratic. When he could no longer stand the anticipation; his fingers curled around the stainless steel handle. Cool to the touch, the brushed finish was not as sleek as the blade but it felt perfect in his palm.

            “Hmm, what would be the most effective punishment? I could cut out your tongue but I’ve used that one on that little shit from the coffee shop. No, I don’t want to overlap and give the cops any similarities. What would you miss the most?”

Serial- Part 14

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Seth. He hadn’t intended to speak as loudly as he had but it was too late to take it back. When am I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut? The expression on their faces proved he had just uttered one of the stupidest remarks ever, when invited to a crime scene. Even Detective Crash had on his “official police business” face. He was no longer Seth’s new buddy, Bill.

            “You knew him, Seth?”

            “Well, kind of…I didn’t really know him; know him, if you know what I mean. I saw him at the coffee shop the other day. He was really rude to me…to everyone, really.

            “Maybe you should just stop talking now, Seth. I’ll get your official statement at the station.”

Seth’s stomach knotted into a pretzel as beads of sweat formed on his brow. The body was barely cold and he’d just offered the police a motive. Even Angela and Kim had cast sideways glances at him. Trying to look less conspicuous than he felt, Seth used his phone to key in notes about the crime scene. Anything was better than looking up at the accusatory faces of the officers. When there was nothing left to annotate, he slogged through the pages of spam in his email inbox. Moments later the gut-wrenching shriek of a woman carried on the breeze and, again, all eyes were on Seth. Nearly dropping his phone, he was thankful for the dark of night. His face would have matched a strawberry.

            “Sorry,” Seth muttered. “I have got to remember to change that damned ringtone!”

The text message was from Angela. Go down to my car. It’s unlocked. Pop the trunk and look inside the silver gift bag. There’s a flask. (it’s a thank you gift from a friend) TAKE A DRINK!!! You need one.

To offer the perfect excuse, Angela shouted over to Seth and asked him to retrieve her camera bag from the trunk of her car. Jumping at the chance, he was already ducking under the police tape before she’d finished her sentence. The others were too busy doing their jobs to notice his departure and Seth finally exhaled. Just as she’d said, there was an engraved flask wrapped inside several layers of decorative tissue paper. Not caring what was inside; he tipped the metal opening to his lips and let the liquid flow over his tongue and down his throat. Sadly, not hemlock….worse…it’s peach schnapps. Ugh! His phone vibrated inside his pocket and Seth was relieved he’d put the damned thing on silence. He’d expected a snide remark from either Angela or Kim but it was from his agent, Ethan Rosewood: Just checking in to see how the book is coming. Sighing, he put the phone back in his pocket and heaved Angela’s heavy camera bag from the trunk. At least if I get arrested I can call Ethan to post bail, thought Seth.

    After a couple of hours, Detective Crash gathered his things and walked over to the visibly nervous writer.

            “You ready to head back to the station?”

Seth nodded glumly and followed Bill to the car.

            “Relax; no one thinks you killed that guy. I’ll let you in on a little secret. We all get a kick out of torturing anyone new to the ranks. Rookies, trainees, and even authors eventually say something and we just pounce on it. But, seriously, if you do think you might know who this guy is; it will help. Besides, we need to make sure there’s no audio on that recording so let’s get to work.”

Serial- Part 13

Back at their table, the Detective commended Seth on his quick thinking.

            “Not only did you help out my cousin; you’ve saved other restaurants from the same fate. I wonder how many other places he’s scammed.”

            “If you had been facing this direction you would have done the same thing, Bill. It’s no big deal. I just feel like he’s getting off easy.”

            “Nah, I don’t think he is. That reporter caught his name when the scumbag handed over his credit card to pay. Imagine that hitting the evening news and posted all over the internet. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. He won’t be able to buy a damn cup of coffee in this town.”

            “Yeah, I supposed you’re right. Um, can they really pull out the dialogue from my video? We were talking about some stuff at the morgue and it could mess up your investigation.”

            “Good point, Seth. Tell you what; let’s run this through at the station first just to be safe.  That way we can…hang on a sec. I’ve got to take this.”

The detective’s phone had been set to silent but it bounced across the table top demanding attention. Seth noticed the caller ID read Station.  

            “No, you did the right thing. I’m on my way. Folks, I’m sorry to eat and run. It seems they’ve found another body.” Bill announced as he flagged the waitress. “Melanie, it was my absolute pleasure to meet you. Would you I lose your good favor if I stole your husband and brought him along? I figured I could show him the crime scene and then we can stop over and get that recording cleared.”

            “I won’t mind as long as you make him promise not to give me any gory details, Bill, and if you’ll agree to drop him off at the house. I have to be at work in the morning and I don’t want to have to drive out to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m not so pleasant when someone wakes me from a sound sleep.”

            “She’s not kidding. I have to stand at the opposite side of the room when her alarm goes off or I could lose a limb.”

Melanie scowled at her husband and waggled her finger at him. Her stern façade cracked within seconds as she burst into laughter. While Bill was gathering his things, Seth whispered in his wife’s ear, double-checking that she wouldn’t mind but Melanie’s reply had been genuine. She was relieved that her husband was gaining both knowledge and inspiration. He was always happier when he was writing. The two men escorted her to her vehicle before they set off for the crime scene. 

    By the time they arrived, Kim and Angela were already on the case. Seth waved to his friends as he followed Detective Crash past the police tape.

            “He’s with me,” Bill called out.

The officers nodded and went back to their duties. Angela’s flash temporarily blinded Seth but he managed to stumble over to say hello.

            “Look what the cat dragged in,” teased Kim. “Just when you thought you were out we sucked you back in, huh?”

            “You know you missed me, Kim. Couldn’t bear to carve up another corpse without me, could you? Actually, I didn’t expect to be here. I took my wife to that restaurant and we bumped into Bill. Can you believe that same jerk showed up and tried to get another free meal? Anyway, we were just finishing up dessert when he got the call so he asked me to come along for the ride.”

            “You know what’s really funny? I was going to call Angela and see if she wanted to go grab some dinner over there too. If we’d all gone at the same time that would have been hilarious.”

            “Aw, I wish you had…Mel would love to meet you two. Say, do you think I’d be in the way if I got a closer look?”

Kim smiled and motioned for Seth to follow closely. They stepped in directly behind Angela as she snapped her next photo. The flash illuminated the scene and the body.

            “Oh my God!” Seth gasped. “I know him.”