Promises

Chapter 2

18 Hours Ago: Body Found

I made my way to the crime scene at Alabama Avenue. Pulling up, I was greeted by flashing blue and red lights and cops. I flashed my badge at a group of cops as I made my way up the long, uneven drive way to a two story brick house. Entering the house, I stepped into a horror scene. It was every investigators and parent's nightmare. Blood smeared almost every surface in the bed room and the joined bathroom. A body of a female lay sprawled out across the bed. She had been brutally beaten and was naked from the waist down. Her blonde hair was matted with dried blood and the bruising and gashes were turning a sickly green color with infection. I turned away and headed back outside, into the cold, snowy night. My stomach was in knots. Seeing these kinds of things always bother me.
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Kate Westman was the head of Forensic Pathology, examined the head of the unknown woman. The doctor's glossy black hair was tucked up in its usual position under a blue surgical hat.

"How do you suppose she died, Kate?" I asked.

"My best guess, right now anyway, is head trauma."

"How long do you think she's been dead."

"Hard to put an exact time of death. This time of year, tissue breakdown is slowed down by the cold. We've had some fairly severe frosts over the past few weeks. A bit like being kept in a freezer. If I had to guess, I'd say two, maybe three weeks. She's still in pretty good shape, but as I said, the cold weather would have something to do with that."

This girl matched the description given of sixteen year old Marie Cast. All I had to do was get ahold of her mother or relatives to come and identify her as Marie. Two people entered the morgue, a man and woman. They were escorted by a cop.

"Detective Samuels, this is Bill and Sally Cast. Marie's grandparents. They are here to identify the body."

They approached and Sally immediately burst into tears.

"It's Marie." She sobbed into her husband's chest. "It's her."

Bill tried to console her but, he too was in tears.

"Just promise us you'll find the person responsible for this." Bill said.

"Don't worry, I will."