to them. They hadn’t passed the buck; that definitely wasn’t Ray’s style. They’d pounded the pavement and talked to every source they could, but at present the brick wall Morgan had built around him was pretty strong. On the streets they had even heard a rumor that Morgan might have committed the crime, but again, he had an alibi, and no matter how hard they dug they couldn’t find any chinks in his armor.
While Ray didn’t like it, it wasn’t the only unsolved homicide in the city’s history they were sure Morgan’s organization was responsible for, but couldn’t prove. That just seemed par for the course. At the same time, he and Bryan had a more intriguing crime to solve, that of Leonard Cabot, a stock broker and divorcee who had somehow managed to get cut to pieces in a deserted warehouse.
Ray and Bryan stood off to the side, as the Medical Examiner, Shelly Bertrand, uncovered the assembled parts of Leonard Cabot.
“I’d say the killer used a small chainsaw to dismember the body,” said Shelly in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “It’d take a lot of work to do this manually, even with a proper knife, and the tissue surrounding the cuts wouldn’t be as ragged as it is. Definitely not performed by someone who knew what they were doing from an anatomy standpoint.”
She paused momentarily to see if the Detectives were paying attention.
“Luckily for Mr. Cabot, the dismemberment was performed after he was dead and had bled out, which accounts for the volume of blood we found on the floor of the warehouse. This killer was patient. I’d say he’d scouted the location well in advance to even know that he would have that much time to perform this grisly task.”
“So Mr. Cabot was lucky,” said Ray.
Shelly looked at him.
“I guess you’re a glass half full kind of gal, huh Doc?” he said.
“Even in death there are small mercies, Detective. What I found interesting at the scene were the eyes, removed from the body and impaled on nails, each one specifically through the retinas.”
“The significance?” asked Bryan.
“I really can’t say. It was a methodical move. That’s the interesting thing about your crime scene and victim, Detectives. At times the killer seemed to be working in a methodical manner, planning his moves, arranging the body, specific rituals, like removing the eyes and destroying them, while at other times we have evidence of rage, the kill itself almost primal in many ways.”
“We talking about a split personality?” asked Ray.
“Unlikely,” said Shelly, “but definitely a truly disturbed individual.”
“What would be the significance of the eyes?” asked Bryan.
“Sorry, I digressed. I can’t really say with any certainty, but throughout history the eyes have played a big part in all of our death rituals. Take for instance the tradition of placing coins on the eyes of the deceased. It was believed those coins would be used to pay the Ferryman who would be transporting the deceased to the great beyond. No coins, no Heaven, I guess.”
“And the destroying of the eyes?” asked Ray.
“In some cultures it is believed that if you remove the eyes or destroy them, you doom the deceased individual to wander forever in the afterlife, their bodies incomplete and unable to find the way to the Promised Land.”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Bryan.
“I’m not saying I believe that. You guys ever seen The Searchers with John Wayne?”
Detectives Ray and Bryan just looked at her.
“Great film. Wayne should have won an Academy Award. A daring role. His character held so much hate; would be considered a racist towards Native Indians by today’s barometer. Anyway, there’s a scene where his character comes upon a dead Indian covered in rocks; a makeshift grave. He shoots the dead Indian in the eyes to blind him for the sole purpose of making him wander forever in the afterlife, he hated them that much. I can’t say that’s what this is all about,
While Ray didn’t like it, it wasn’t the only unsolved homicide in the city’s history they were sure Morgan’s organization was responsible for, but couldn’t prove. That just seemed par for the course. At the same time, he and Bryan had a more intriguing crime to solve, that of Leonard Cabot, a stock broker and divorcee who had somehow managed to get cut to pieces in a deserted warehouse.
Ray and Bryan stood off to the side, as the Medical Examiner, Shelly Bertrand, uncovered the assembled parts of Leonard Cabot.
“I’d say the killer used a small chainsaw to dismember the body,” said Shelly in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “It’d take a lot of work to do this manually, even with a proper knife, and the tissue surrounding the cuts wouldn’t be as ragged as it is. Definitely not performed by someone who knew what they were doing from an anatomy standpoint.”
She paused momentarily to see if the Detectives were paying attention.
“Luckily for Mr. Cabot, the dismemberment was performed after he was dead and had bled out, which accounts for the volume of blood we found on the floor of the warehouse. This killer was patient. I’d say he’d scouted the location well in advance to even know that he would have that much time to perform this grisly task.”
“So Mr. Cabot was lucky,” said Ray.
Shelly looked at him.
“I guess you’re a glass half full kind of gal, huh Doc?” he said.
“Even in death there are small mercies, Detective. What I found interesting at the scene were the eyes, removed from the body and impaled on nails, each one specifically through the retinas.”
“The significance?” asked Bryan.
“I really can’t say. It was a methodical move. That’s the interesting thing about your crime scene and victim, Detectives. At times the killer seemed to be working in a methodical manner, planning his moves, arranging the body, specific rituals, like removing the eyes and destroying them, while at other times we have evidence of rage, the kill itself almost primal in many ways.”
“We talking about a split personality?” asked Ray.
“Unlikely,” said Shelly, “but definitely a truly disturbed individual.”
“What would be the significance of the eyes?” asked Bryan.
“Sorry, I digressed. I can’t really say with any certainty, but throughout history the eyes have played a big part in all of our death rituals. Take for instance the tradition of placing coins on the eyes of the deceased. It was believed those coins would be used to pay the Ferryman who would be transporting the deceased to the great beyond. No coins, no Heaven, I guess.”
“And the destroying of the eyes?” asked Ray.
“In some cultures it is believed that if you remove the eyes or destroy them, you doom the deceased individual to wander forever in the afterlife, their bodies incomplete and unable to find the way to the Promised Land.”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Bryan.
“I’m not saying I believe that. You guys ever seen The Searchers with John Wayne?”
Detectives Ray and Bryan just looked at her.
“Great film. Wayne should have won an Academy Award. A daring role. His character held so much hate; would be considered a racist towards Native Indians by today’s barometer. Anyway, there’s a scene where his character comes upon a dead Indian covered in rocks; a makeshift grave. He shoots the dead Indian in the eyes to blind him for the sole purpose of making him wander forever in the afterlife, he hated them that much. I can’t say that’s what this is all about,
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