I rolled my eyes at the unintelligible sobbing echoing from the woods as I climbed out of my car. I had hoped for a peaceful and quiet morning, but that was obviously not going to be the case.
My training officer grumbled as I approached, "Took you long enough to get here."
I shrugged. "I was on the other side of town, so sue me." The truth was, I stopped for coffee. In a small town such as this one, there was rarely a need to rush on scene. But I wasn't about to tell him that.
"Anyway," he continued on in that annoying, wheedly voice of his, "I've already taken a look at the scene. The coroner's preliminary report should be along pretty soon, but you can take a look at the body if you want." He jerked a thumb at the trees.
I shrugged again. "Might as well."
"I know nothing's ever certain, but everything points to suicide," he answered, even though I didn't ask, as I followed him deeper into the woods. "No signs of struggle at all."
"That'll make our job much easier, then," I answered, wishing he would just stop talking. I would have asked for someone else to work with, but the problem was that we were the only two detectives in town. I was looking to transfer bigger city with more interesting crimes to investigate, but I was stuck with him for the time being.
"It's sad, too. She was only a young girl." I don't think he ever learned the definition of silence, much less the value of it.
I responded with just a nod.
He stayed silent as we approached the body, an answer to my prayers. I only spent a moment to glance at her body, hanging limply from a noose tied to a tree. Her facial expression was oddly serene, as if she didn't mind—loved, even—the fact that she was dead.
"Suicide, all right," I commented. At the look on my superior's face, I quickly added, "But we have to wait for the coroner's report to be sure, of course." His expression relaxed. I heard the incessant wailing once again and turned to it. "Who's crying?"
He turned in the same direction and answered, "The young boy who found the body hasn't stopped sobbing since before I arrived. From what I gathered, it seems the noose was his. He was planning on committing suicide when the girl stepped in and convinced him otherwise. From the looks of it, she had planned to do the exact same thing."
"Weird that she would stop him but not herself." I faced my partner with a smile. "So, do you think you can handle the rest?"
He cocked an eyebrow, incredulous. "This is important for your training—"
"I've got something I need to get to soon," I cut in sharply.
He took a moment to think. "Yeah," he replied, shaking his head, "I can take care of it. All I need to do is wait until the body is moved to the morgue for further examination and get the boy to the station to calm him down for further questioning."
"Sounds like a plan." I gave him a curt wave as I returned to my car. I had better things to do than to stare at a dead girl's body or babysit a suicidal brat. With a hearty breakfast calling to me that morning, I felt no need to see more dead people.
Perhaps it was what she became to you.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
