All the lights were on in Luke Prescott's mansion, with numerous police cars parked in front and around the property. The flashing sirens painted the scene in a bizarre dance of colors, giving everyone uncanny hues on their faces. Ambulances were parked by the mansion's entrance, their sirens sounding occasionally.
Luke Prescott was dead, had died on the spot, his head facing down. His skull was caved in, brain matter and blood mixed together. He was dressed in a nightgown, with several slash marks on his chest, as if inflicted by a sharp object, creating deep bloody grooves. The blood had already dried, turned a dark brown, which made for a gruesome sight.
"Take the body away. We've finished examining the scene. And get us the autopsy report as soon as possible..." said FBI Agent Bell Jensen, who was accompanied by his partner, Edgar Page. Both of their faces were rather grim. Bell Jensen even pulled out a cigarette.
"Hey, you can't smoke in here!" A voice sounded behind him. He turned to see Sheriff Louise, her brows furrowed as she spoke, "Smoking won't solve anything, but I suggest you speak with Officer Patton. He's been scared out of his mind!"
"I know. I've asked him a few times already. He's rambling," Bell Jensen said, disregarding whether Sheriff Louise was upset or not. He lit the cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke, causing Sheriff Louise to frown and step back.
"A murderous mummy? Does he think this is a scene from 'Resident Evil'?" Bell Jensen snorted, "Unfortunately, there were no cameras that captured such a scene. I think... he hallucinated due to the fear. Are all the cops in Harold Town like this? Oh, and that Santos... Damn, why was I assigned to deal with such a mess?"
"So... how do you explain Luke Prescott's fall? And why did two cops fire so many shots? According to the bullet casings at the scene, they fired twenty-one times. What does that mean, do you know?" Sheriff Louise was not happy with Bell Jensen's comments, "It means they faced an extremely urgent situation."
"So... where is the murderer?" Bell Jensen looked at Sheriff Louise, gave a cold hum, blew out a smoke ring, shrugged his shoulders, "If you can tell me, then... this case is yours." With that, he turned around and motioned to his partner.
"Get the autopsy report to me as soon as possible!"
Before driving away, Bell Jensen addressed Sheriff Louise one more time, saluting her in a mocking manner with a wink before driving off with a smirk.
"Some people always want to shine, like they've found a ticket to promotion," Bell Jensen muttered when they were back in their car, heading towards Laredo City.
His usually silent partner, Edgar Page, suddenly spoke up, "Hey, Bell... I think this case is indeed strange..." Before he could finish, a phone rang.
It was Bell Jensen's phone. He picked it up, and a voice came through, "Is this Agent Bell Jensen? This is Cooper, the morgue manager. I have to tell you something... that woman's body is missing. It happened tonight..."
Bell Jensen's face froze, and after hearing "hello" a couple of times with no response, the voice on the other end hung up. Feeling something was off with his partner, Edgar Page couldn't help but ask, "Hey, mate, what's up? Who was that? What happened?"
Bell Jensen hit the brakes, stopping the car. He turned to Edgar Page, took a deep breath, and said, "We have to go back, dammit... I think we've overlooked something. We're about to face a big problem, and it might make us look bad..."
"What do you mean?" Edgar Page asked.
"The body is missing... that woman's body was stolen. God, who would do such a senseless thing?" Bell Jensen groaned, turned the steering wheel sharply, and the car sped back the way they came.
As soon as the car stopped, Bell Jensen got out and walked over to Sheriff Louise. Seeing Officer Patton about to walk towards a police car, he said, "Do you mind if we talk?"
"Of course, sir, no problem!" Officer Patton was still a bit in shock, but he was better now, so he nodded and prepared to have a chat with Agent Jensen.
However, instead of starting the conversation right away, Bell Jensen gestured to Edgar Page, pointing at another officer named Santos. Edgar Page nodded and walked towards Santos. Clearly, they were about to conduct separate interviews, seemingly out of mistrust.
"Smoke?" Bell Jensen offered Officer Patton a cigarette. Officer Patton reached for the lighter tucked in his pocket, but before he could light it, Detective Bell Jenson had already lit it up for him. He ignited his cigarette and took a long drag.
When he finished the cigarette, Officer Patton flicked the butt onto the ground, seeming to feel a bit better. He then looked at Detective Jenson and said, "I know what you want to ask and say. I'm familiar with the drill. So, whatever I say will be my most sober words, and I'm willing to stand by them."
"That's the way to do it," said Jenson, "So tell me, what happened? Why did Mr. Luke Prescott fall? And how come you fired twenty-one shots?" Jenson cut to the chase.
Officer Patton took a deep breath and then spoke in as calm a voice as he could manage, "It's all like something out of a Hollywood horror movie. Santos and I were ordered by Sheriff Louise to protect that bastard Luke Prescott..." He then recounted the events once again.
His account was no different from his initial one, just more detailed, and he made sure to include the cause and effect.
There was no fresh information in his story, which somewhat disappointed Jenson. But he absolutely did not believe what Officer Patton said. So after listening, Jenson furrowed his brow, glanced at Patton and said, "Have you been taking any psychoactive drugs recently? Or perhaps marijuana... Don't be nervous, everyone dabbles in weed..."
Officer Patton quickly shook his head, "No, no, I don't have any anxiety disorders. And I don't touch marijuana, I have kids... you know, I'm very cautious with that stuff. Of course, if cola could induce hallucinations, then I guess I'm hallucinating right now. What I've said is all true."
Officer Patton knew that Detective Jenson was unlikely to believe his words, so he couldn't help but sneer.
Detective Jenson didn't take the bait, instead, he waved his hand and shook his head. Perhaps he had been too anxious, or maybe the two incidents were not related at all. The body was stolen, perhaps someone used the body to murder Luke Prescott? But that was just speculation.
Sheriff Louise was now almost a bystander. On one hand, she was ordering the police to maintain the scene, on the other, she was coldly watching Detective Jenson's repeated questioning of Officer Patton.
After Jenson left again, Sheriff Louise turned to look at the distraught Santos, his face tense. She walked over, patted him on the shoulder. The sudden gesture startled Santos, causing him to shudder. When he turned and saw it was Sheriff Louise, he was slightly relieved.
"Don't worry, Santos, go home and rest. Leave the rest to me."
"Thank you, Sheriff, but... I swear, everything I've said is true," Santos nodded appreciatively, then anxiously added to Sheriff Louise, "It really was that female corpse!"
"Perhaps!" Sheriff Louise didn't nod, she just patted his shoulder again, the image of Jason suddenly appearing in her mind. Yes, everything that happened tonight, he had predicted.
She looked up at the sky, the chilling moonlight cast down from a perfect round moon.
The ambulance transported Luke Prescott's body straight to the morgue. But now, the morgue was deserted, save for the corpses. Luke Prescott's body was left there, the lights were turned off, and everything in the morgue was engulfed in darkness.