Academy Murders: Clung

The exhumation ran into some snags. First, the tractor didn’t start. Then, the state issued a disapproval notice right when the teeth of the claw was about to bite into the earth. In an hour, they rescinded it. With her most recent wound healing vigorously, Kim felt pain from headaches more than anything else.

Finally, Susan’s casket saw the light of day once more. The men at the site wanted to cheer after all of the hiccups, but refrained out of respect for the dead. They had already done this before and knew that the state was fickle and machines don’t work all of the time.

The medical examiner met up with Kim at her laboratory. She was slightly taller than Kim. Not so much eccentric than fastidious. She arranged her pens by a color coding system and constantly washed her hands. Her name was Dr. Lisa Shoar. Her long white fingers and jet black her that was cut in a bob made her look like a starlet just on the cusp of winning an award.

But she had done this for years.

“I’ve done this for years. I even had the task of being Susan’s examiner. I see that you’ve recovered nicely. I just need to know what was different for her to be exhumed?”

“My totally unique position granted me authority to have Susan’s body reexamined.”

Lisa looked at Kim like she was an old college buddy. A tiny smile crept at the corner of her mouth.

“Well, it is the taxpayers who are footing the bill for all of this. Not to mention keeping you in check with your acquittal and this case,” She extended her hands, palms facing upward.

“Dr. I need you to show me the toxicology report and explain these lines around her neck.”

Lisa scoffed. “Detective, you are wasting—”

“Dr.! The report please and shine a light on the ligature marks here. Please,” Kim said it with authority but also like Lisa was a pal from school.

“It appears that I may have missed the back of her neck. There are bruises that should account for her homicide. Come here, feel right there.”

When Kim moved closer to the body, she noticed that the marks were around Susan’s entire neck. This hinted that she was bound and gagged.

“I’m going to do a full report, this time with the marks included at the base of the skull.”

She said it almost timidly, like she had upset a cart of apples and desperately tried to pick up all of them.

As Kim exited and found residence at a nearby hotel, she undid the buttons to her blouse. She stood naked in front of a mirror. Her left hand traced where the scar from the letter opener sliced into her flesh. She showered and readied for bed.

Before that, though, she chose to look over her notes and not just connect the dots but color in the facets of the murder.

She didn’t expect a confession again any time soon. What she did expect was for the professionals with who she worked to be on their A game. How could someone so tidy and just right about everything miss the marks on the back of the neck? Did she do it on purpose? When she turned off the light, she felt her wound and a tear welled in her eye but did not fall.

An ankle shackle still clung to her leg for what reason she did not know. What was she going to do? Was she going to run? The thought made her snigger. All of the strength in her petite frame made her want to keep fighting. Her throat begged for her to scream.