The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Three

"Any new information?" Seth asked as he walked into the morgue with Walter.

"Detectives," Nancy said as she wiped her hands dry, "just in time. I just finished the autopsy." She walked the two men over to the body of Emily LaBelle who laid naked on the table with a blue blanket covering her from the chest down. "Cause of death was stabbing to the heart. The first stabbing missed the heart which caused blood to start spraying out."

Seth frowned as his eyes laid on Emily's blue lips and pale skin. "Did she suffer?" He asked.

Nancy stared at him for a moment before nodding. "For a bit, yes."

Walter crossed his arms. He didn't react as much as Seth did. "Anything else?"

"There was some bruising on her chest and left shoulder which means that the killer held her down on the bed. Earlier I said he's probably right handed, but after doing the autopsy and seeing the bruises, I've concluded that he's left handed." She said.

Seth stared down at Emily's left hand, seeing the tan line on it. He rubbed his temples. Walter looked up at Nancy, noticing the sadness on her face. "Davis, what's the matter?" He asked.

Nancy looked down at her hands, cupping them together. "This woman was... she was pregnant." She whispered. "The stabbing on her lower abdomen? It was to strike the fetus. The killer knew about the pregnancy."

Both Seth and Walter looked at her, wide eyed. Seth was by far the most disturbed. He felt a lump caught in his throat when he tried speaking. "H-how far along was she?"

"Ten weeks."

Seth shook his head in disbelief. He felt like throwing up. Did the husband know? Did anyone else know? Did she even know that she was pregnant for a third time? Of course she did, how else did the killer know?

"Seth," Walter said as he placed his hand on his shoulder, "we need to tell the husband." Seth looked at the brunette, nodding his head slowly. "If you'd like, I can tell him."

"Um, please." Walter nodded and gently patted his partner on the back.

"Is that all, Davis?" Walter asked as he turned his head towards Nancy. The woman nodded her head. "Aright then. Thank you." He looked at Seth and sighed as he saw how upset he looked. "Look, we can do it tomorrow. It's late as well. Why don't you go home with your wife and kids?"

Seth sighed. "Yea. I just wanna sleep right now." He lifted his gaze towards Walters ocean blue eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Walter nodded his head. "Of course. Take care of yourself." He gave Seth a strong pat on the back before walking out of the morgue. Seth turned to look at Emily's body one last time before Nancy pulled the cover over her face.

Seth ran his fingers through his brown hair before letting it fall to his side. What a terrible way to die.

-x-

Evelyn Lance peaked her head over to where she heard the front door open. She smiled. "Hi, honey. How was work?" She asked.

Seth unbottoned the only two buttons from his white polo shirt. "I don't know how to answer that," he said, "today a woman was murdered in her house. Guess who was the one that discovered her?" His wife lifted her eyebrows, shrugging. "Her two year old daughter. Two years old." He sighed and sat on the couch. "Worst part of it all, she was pregnant with her third child. Ten weeks along. And the killer knew about it."

Evelyn covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Oh gosh..." she breathed. She stood in front of her husband. "I'm so sorry."

"I just wanna catch the bastard that did this." The detective ran his fingers through his hair. "Where's Sarah and Ervin?" He asked.

"Sarah's in her room reading a book and Ervin is at a friends house." She sat down next to her husband, leaning into him and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Can you believe Ervin is going off to collage?"

Seth smiled. "I know. They grow up so fast." His smile dropped after thinking of the woman and her dead baby. "I wonder if she told her husband."

"Hopefully," Evelyn said.

The room was warm from the summer heat. Seth closed his eyes for a moment, letting his head drop back. He let out a loud yawn. "I'm so exhausted," he muttered, "I'm gonna take a shower then go to sleep."

Evelyn nodded. "Ok. I'll wait for you to get out then." She kissed his cheek before getting up and walking upstairs to their room.

Seth could hear her light footsteps walking around upstairs. He forced his eyes to open as he stared up at the textured ceiling. All he could remember was the blood he saw at the crime scene. All of it spattered everywhere. He'd seen multiple crime scenes, some far worse than the one he saw today. But for some reason, this one was a different kind of disturbing.

-x-

He crawled into the space on the bed next to his wife, feeling her getting close to him. "I never asked you this... but how did you find out that you were pregnant?" Seth asked his wife. Evelyn laid her hand on his chest while her head laid on his shoulder.

"Mm. I squatted on a stick and peed on it." She said. Seth chuckled.

"How romantic," Seth closed his eyes, thinking of the crime scene he saw today. Who was cruel enough to kill a woman with a family? A jealous ex? Or perhaps an angry co-worker. But so far, he didn't know anyone who hated the poor woman. The neighbors described her as extremely likable.

"Honey, you seem tense." Evelyn said. She raised her eyebrows. "Are you thinking of that woman?" Seth nodded. Evelyn sighed. "Don't. It'll just eat away. Especially since you'll just stay up all night thinking about her. Worry about it tomorrow. For now just sleep." She patted his chest gently before turning onto her side and saying goodnight to her husband. Seth turned his head to his wife who was facing away from him. He shifted around in the bed for a bit before finally getting in a position that was comfortable for him.

-x-

The lonely man sat at the bar, drinking all his pain away. He looked down at the glass with alcohol in his hand. He hadn't had a drink in years. His wife had managed to stop his alcoholism. But now that she was gone, he didn't care anymore. He was alone once again.

"Another round, please." He asked the bartender who looked at him sadly.

"Ray..." The bartender whispered. He'd been working at the bar for over twenty years, and during the time that Raymond had an alcohol problem earlier in his life, he always went to the same bar. The Yankee Bar. It was the first time the man working at the bar saw Raymond in four years. He had a streak going of being sober for that long. But he finally broke it. He didn't want to be sober anymore.

"Just get me another drink, please." Raymond whispered. The bartender sighed and nodded, pouring him another drink of scotch. He couldn't deny him a drink. As much as he wanted to help, he had to do his job. He knew all about the lonely man. He knew everything about his past. How his grandparents immigrated from Mexico in search of a better life, how his mother fought one the biggest court cases. Now he knew about how his wife had been brutally murdered.

He placed the glass in front of Raymond, watching him taking sip after sip. The loneliest man sat in front of him, drinking all his pain away.