It was quarter before 3, Thursday afternoon, when Colonel Riva arrived at the morgue for the examiner's briefing. The young forensic Jorge Velez was already waiting at the morgue entrance and was first to greet him.
" Good morning, Colonel."
"Good morning, young man," the Colonel replied.
The bearded sixty-year-old doctor-examiner wore a lab gown and look exhausted from what seems like an apparent lack of sleep. He was heavyset and moving about is slow from an aching joint in his knees. Even though he was tired, he was glad to see the Colonel beside him. He immediately started the briefing after opening the thick plastic covering on the cadaver. The dead body was even more grotesque looking as it lies on the embalming table.
"I have taken to considerable length to examine the nature of the injury fully. The multiple stab wounds were fatal, and it collapsed both his lungs. The heart, too, was hit. But I saw this in his hands. Look closely. It bore marks of a rope. It seems like he was tied both arms and feet, possibly to a chair. And these round punctured wounds were probably the result of stabbing by a pointed screwdriver. You can see that it is too numerous to count. Look like a cigarette burn. "
The colonel looked closely at the numerous black round spots.
"Yes…. looks odd."
" The killer is probably a sadist. But that's just an opinion. "
The examiner has many personal opinions to say, perhaps from years of having examined many dead bodies.
"But…what is genius here…" He continued as he showed the forensic photos. "See, … there this probability that he did not die on the car you have shown me."
The examiner gave a sheepish laughed as if to denote the killer fooled them.
"My conclusion is that he could not possibly be stabbed inside his car. The wounds don't speak from its difficult angle, considering he was found on the driver's seat. Looks to me…."
The colonel cut him. They locked eye to eye.
"It was staged… waiting to be found?"
"Right." The examiner said.
"But to judge if it is a serial Killing? Hmmm.....that's part of your job... you two
....to either prove or disprove it. I am done."
Jorge was in the corner looking at them. He heard what the expert had to say about the body.
Colonel Riva tried to visualize in his mind how the deceased could have died. And it played on his mind like he can saw what truly happened. He closed his eyes, and he felt dizzy for a moment.
"Colonel Riva, are you okay?" The examiner asked.
He motioned he was okay.
The examiner replaced the cover on the cadaver. "I will send a copy of the report to your office, Colonel. For the rest of the details, you can ask your forensic guy Jorge here."
"Thank you, doctor."
Colonel Riva left the morgue with Jorge behind him.
"Colonel, I am sorry this has to happen."
"Why do you say you are sorry young man?"
"My report. It is rather late when I submitted them. Have you read them?"
"Yes, I received them yesterday, and I reviewed them too."
Colonel Riva was amazed by the young man's meticulous attention to small details. He read before coming, and the findings seem to conclude that the car was either too clean or the body was placed there like what the examiner concluded.
"I would be thrilled to discuss with you, colonel, the similarity of this case to the body found submerged inside a car four weeks ago."
"What is it about this case that made you think this is similar?
"It is a symbolic, Colonel. I am not referring to the stab wounds which bore similarity." The Colonel stopped.
"What do you mean symbolic?"
"It has a pattern, Colonel."
Jorge invited Colonel Riva to his office to discuss the case further. And in his small room, the colonel saw photos posted on the whiteboard -all of the two recent murders. Every photo has a string attached to it, and it has a link to another series of multiple photos to denote a strong relationship.
Colonel Riva took hold of the string attached to the recent murder, and it was attached to the previous first victim.
"Why the string to this one?"
"It might sound outlandish, but I want to reference the power of mysticism, Colonel. I know, it doesn't provide many clues. We have no fingerprints. Just this strand of fake hair and some dirt on the scene. I read some of your previous cases, Colonel, where you predicted numbers to solve a crime. That doesn't seem to apply here. The locations were odd. The evidence seems out of place. It doesn't tell much. But researching about the victim might be our best chance of learning what it is all about."
Colonel Riva was impressed. He was amazed that the young forensic seems to have gone far enough to identify the basics. Why didn't he think of that before? It must have been his ego that is getting the best of him. He doesn't want any other to outdo him or make him a fool. But the changes in his 'f_cked up' mind was palpable. It could be the drug his doctor had given him that's fogging up his mind. But he was ready to give in and let others think clearly for him.
"About the pattern?" The colonel examined the direction of the strings. He followed them with his fingers. "What is it?"
"Colonel, you are standing on it." It's earth.
The colonel looked down. He did not grasp any of the words the forensic said. His mind was probably somewhere else, or he did not understand where he is. He needs to go back to Dr. Molina. Ask what the f_ck is happening to him. But Jorge Velez was alluding to something. Something that can provide clarity to the direction of the investigation. What am I standing on? Is that even an answer? But he doesn't want to clear it up. His ego is too big to declassify some words that should have been clear in the first place. His phone made a soft alarm on his palm. It was a text message from Rey.
"Call me ASAP."
The colonel replied." Maybe tonight. Still got doctor appointment."
The colonel received an immediate reply from Rey. "Ok."
Then he walked towards the door.
"I have to go. Here's my number, young man. Call me."
"Yes, sir, I will. I am requesting a lot of case files, and I might need your approval."
The colonel was alarmed. But he composed himself.
"I like your inquisitive behavior… err..."
"It's Jorge, Colonel."
"Jorge, tell me if you find any of the missing puzzles."
"Thank you, Colonel. I will."
When Colonel was inside his car, he immediately called up his office.
"Is there a request for case files?"
"Yes, Colonel from the crime lab. What would you like me to do?"
"I want to check it first. Have it on my table."
"Okay, Colonel. Will do. Are there any more concern?"
"None Amanda. Thank you."
"Good day, Colonel."