"You're late again."
Ashwin slammed the door shoot and looked at his boss, Aravind. He shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry. You know how traffic is."
Aravind raised an eyebrow, "I know. But a dead body should speed up your routine."
Ashwin straightened his suit, "So where's this dead body?"
Aravind led him behind, ducking under the yellow police tape. Cameras of the crime scene unit flashed, people dusting for taking fingerprints and other DNA. He's used to this. This was his life now. The familiarity of death and everything that comes with it. They ended up in the middle of a forest.
They passed by a bunch of bushes and trees, huddled close and the leaves crunching under his shoes. They finally reached a large tree, under which a girl was laid. She was wearing a thin midnight blue nightdress, frilled at the collar and sleeves. Her hair was twisted and in a half-do. And in her hands, she held an apple. Red and shimmering under the blazing sun.
Ashwin walked closer and crouched down, scanning her posture. She was laid down, her eyes closed. She looked peaceful like she was sleeping.
He looked at his colleague, Rakshan, "Do we have her name?"
Rakshan shook his head, "No. We don't know who she is."
Ashwin inspected her closely, "No gunshot wound or stab wound. How did she die?"
Rakshan looked past him and beckoned the medical examiner, Pavitra. She looked at Ashwin, "Oh hey, Ashwin."
Ashwin asked, "How did she die?"
She let out a breath, "Well, I didn't know at first. There's no visible trauma. But,"
She crouched down next to him and gently lifted the head of the girl, to see the back of her neck. "There's a small puncture wound there. I assume she was injected with something and that killed her."
Rakshan asked, "Do you know what?"
Pavitra shook her head, "I have to bring her back to the morgue and run toxicology tests to know."
Ashwin looked down, "She's barefoot."
Rakshan asked, "So?"
"Well, that means she either ran from somewhere or someone took away her shoes. Either way, it means she was under the hold of someone. Her feet aren't that dirty. She was probably kept somewhere near. I don't think she was from here anywhere."
"How do you say?"
Ashwin glanced at Rakshan, "She's not wearing undergarments. I highly doubt you'd leave your house barefoot and half-dressed. It's also 11 in the morning, if she was from around here she would've been dressed, not wearing a nightgown. No, she was kept somewhere."
Rakshan looked around, "This is mostly an industrial place. There's a lot of abandoned places."
Ashwin stood up and sighed. Rakshan asked, "What?"
Ashwin hesitated, "It's just...The way she's placed. Whoever did that had something very particular in their mind."
There was silence before he said, "Start canvassing the place. See if anyone around here remembers her or heard anything. Let's check traffic cams to see if we can know where she's from. If we can figure that out, we'll know who she is."
Rakshan nodded and walked away blaring into his walkie-talkie. Pavitra glanced at Ashwin, "What do you think the apple is about?"
Ashwin stared at it, "I don't know. Everything about this is peculiar. Why hold someone, then let them run away and then kill them, and then give them an apple? It's confusing."
