The hospital morgue was located in the basement of the local hospital. Due to the high level of criminal activity, gang fights, traffic accidents, unhealthy lifestyles, and elderly seniors reaching their end time, there were a high percentage of mortality in the city population. Doubling the size of morgues and mortuaries was a standard in the big city.
Sergeant Leo and Constable McLamb would push open the heavy double doors. They felt an arctic chill hit their skin as they walked into the morgue. They held the doors open, to allow the designated family to follow them inside.
The husband walked in alone. The hall outside was empty, no one would be waiting for him. The second he entered the large morgue, he was hit with a violent chill and he kept patting his arms to warm up. Despite the chill, a cold sweat grew on his forehead, his eyes darting around at the different locker bodies he passed by. The steam from his breath kept puffing out clouds that would freeze in the air around him.
Constable McLamb heard the shuddering and turned to the husband, “Will you be alright, Mr. Tucker? Do you need to call anyone to be with you or?”
“N-no.” The husband shook his head, rubbing his arms to fight off the cold, “Neither m-my wife and I have any relatives in the city. N-no kids, s-since we’re always busy with work. Even if we have friends, n-none of them would be close enough to come here, you know...I mean...” He made a small gesture with his eyes looking around the morgue, at the body lockers.
McLamb’s jaw clenched for a brief moment, “Right. Well, if you need anything, please do not hesitate and ask for help. Alright sir?”
“Th—” The husband choked after breathing in cold air. “Thank you, officer. I will m...try to manage.”
It would take the group a couple of minutes to walk through the vast chamber, their feet wading through a thin layer of frosty mist spilled across the floor. Sergeant Leo would count the labels on each storage unit, until he spotted the one they were looking for. He and the Constable would stand flanking that unit, and they turn to the family member.
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“Mr. Frank Tucker,” Sergeant Leo nodded, “What you are about to see is someone close to you being dismembered into pieces. We have yet to find a head. The sight itself may not be something you could stomach. We know it will be difficult, but we’re counting on your cooperation to confirm the victim’s identity. Do you understand?”
The husband hugged his body with his arms. His hands would clench at his elbows as he takes slow and steady breaths. His feet would shift, and lean their weight to one side after another in the mist of frost on the ground. He would suck in his lips, turning them white as he clenches them, and he returned a hesitant nod.
“I am ready, detectives.”
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Sergeant Leo took a step back to give the husband some space. He then gestured to McLamb, who blinked back and pointed to himself with dreaded realization. Hiding his reluctance with a cough, McLamb approached the storage unit and opened it.
The lid popped back, sliding out a railed gurney supporting a body bag on a makeshift locker bed. A plume of frosty clouds spilled out from inside and the cold bit harder into McLamb’s skin with the precision of a leaping viper. After taking a short breath in, he pinched the zipper and give it a slow and gentle tug.
Although the corpse was preserved in low temperature to prevent further decay, McLamb could still smell the body. Not wanting to flip his stomach inside out, he would open the bag a little wider and stepped back, gesturing the family member to witness the body.
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Frank Tucker kept shielding his body with a wrap of his arms. His body turned away when the storage unit was pulled open. He could not stop facing the wall, waiting until the Constable was done. When he heard silence, his jaw clenched and he began to turn his head.
The husband would make shuffling steps, to inch himself closer to the open gurney. He would try and tip toe to peer over the ledge, to spy into the black body bag. He saw a severed arm, causing him to clench his eyes and braced himself.
After a 5 minute pause, he inched closer with his body turned away and his one eye peeking from an angle. Seeing the torso, he couldn’t handle it and shut his eyes to turn his back around.
“It’s her,” Frank Tucker breathed, doubling over and gripping his mouth a bit, “It’s my wife.”
Sergeant Leo would glance between him and the body, “I apologize for formality. Could you confirm her full name for the record.”
“It’s Sarah. Sarah Anne Tucker.” Frank Tucker’s face started to cringe up, nose flaring, lips quivering. He gripped at his heart as he stumbled, tears falling out from his eyes. “I-it’s definitely Sarah. She, she has a birthmark, r-right here.” The husband would reach a hand over his shoulder, tapping a finger across his left shoulder blade.
“An-anything else, sir?” McLamb would ask, keeping his head away from the open bag, “this is your wife we’re talking about. Any other defining features you wish to confirm?”
“She,” The husband sniffed back tears, wiping them from his eyes and nose and rubbing it on his sleeve, “she has a surgical scar, on her leg. It’s her. Terrible...just terrible. Oh my god, I can’t breathe.”
“Do you need a minute to--”
Before McLamb could finish his sentence, Frank Tucker was already shuffling towards the exit. Head bowed, gripping his forehead in rejection, tears drenching his palm. With a coughing heave, he pushed his shoulder against the door, but struggled to push it open.
Sergeant Leo ran over to use his own weight to heave the heavy doors. He watched as the husband stumbled out into the hall and ended up sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. Knees to his chest, making haggard wheezes, he fumbled for his pocket.
Mr. Tucker pulled out an inhaler and his shaking hands slipped from pulling the cap. Once he opened it, he shoved it into his mouth and pressed the button with a white knuckle thumb. A sharp inhale. Several breaths, in and out, and color started to return to his face.
Leo could only watch in silence as the husband curled up to hug and rub his arms to fight a cold only he knew.
== TO BE CONTINUED ==>