Part of her large bowel is evident and I can see what I am
only assuming at this stage is part of a placenta hanging
out.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ!” Jay blurted out.
When he looked up, all three men were staring at him in
dismay.
“Doesn’t this get to any of you? Don’t you feel like
screaming or punching the air? Anything?”
Their blank expressions told Jay they’d seen it all before
and had learnt how to distance themselves from it.
“Jay, do you want a break?” asked Augie, his words soft
and steady.
“No, I don’t want a break. I want to catch this bloody freak!
That’s what I want.” His eyes pleaded with the men to find
him something valuable to work with. “I can’t understand
how you can all just stand there with your cameras and
notebooks, working away as though you’re inspecting
some prime piece of meat for sale. This woman was
pregnant for fuck sake!”
“Jay…” Augie began.
“No, no. You don’t understand. I have a girl, she’s
pregnant. That could be her lying there.” Placing his
hands on his hips, he bowed his head and stared at the
boot covers on his shoes. “What if it was her? C’mon guys,
find me something here. We gotta nail this son of a
bitch!”
Ed and Pete looked at each other in amazement and then
looked back at Jay. They had never seen this side of him
before. He had always been so solid, impenetrable. Now
here he was practically falling apart right before their very
eyes. Augie walked to the water dispenser and poured a
small amount into a tiny paper cup. “Here,” he said,
handing the cup to Jay. “Drink this.”
“Thanks,” he whispered, taking the cup from him.
“We’re doing what we can, Jay. You know that don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. Look I’m sorry, Augie. It’s just too much,
y’know?”
“I understand, I do, but you have to let us concentrate and
do our jobs here. Can you do that?”
Jay nodded his head and then took a sip of water. Augie
returned to the gurney and recommenced his
examination.
“Okay, gentlemen. Let’s continue shall we?”
Ed and Pete nodded in agreement and re-turned to their
duties as though nothing had happened.
“Sexual assault appears to have taken place. No fluids are
immediately present, however there is deep bruising on
the inner thighs and vaginal tearing. Rape kit has been
carried out for further evidential value. Legs show multiple
scratches, cuts and a handful of small bruises, I count
one, two, three, four… five. Yes five small bruises. Feet
have fared similarly to the hands, nothing extraordinary or
noteworthy here.”
He stepped aside and motioned for Pete to help him roll
Marla onto her stomach,
“That’s it, nice and easy. Thanks.”
Jay stared at the display, his mind racing. He just
couldn’t shake the anger and fear welling within him.
Pulling off his gloves, he walked to the door and through
to the wash-room. Turning the cold water tap on, he
splashed his face and ordered himself to get a grip. His
face dripping with water, he watched Augie through the
observation window and suddenly felt very foolish for his
little outburst. There was a man, who came face to face
with life’s cruelties and atrocities everyday and never
complained or lost his cool. Jay couldn’t understand
what skills Augie possessed for dealing with it that he
didn’t.
His mind was a scrambled mess, and he chided himself
harshly for allowing his deepest inner thoughts to spring
forward. His professionalism had been compromised and
he was ashamed of his behaviour. Maybe he should have
let Ben take this one. All he could think about was Danni.
She was carrying his child. It could be her splayed out on
that cold, metal table. It might be her that they are poking
and probing and speaking about in those cold and flat
terms. Never had Jay experienced fear such as he was
now, he’d never had anything to fear for. It had always
been him and no one else, but now… Now there were
three people he was to worry about.
Naturally he was happy about the baby. It may have been
unplanned and come at the worst possible time due to
the particular case he was working, but he was happy.
Danni was a great girl and he was falling for her, their
relationship was only young but she was good for him.
She gave him something to care about, something to
belong to. That’s why he had felt such dread and
undeniable helplessness in the autopsy suite. He was up
against a killer he didn’t understand and what’s worse
was he had absolutely no idea who it was.
He peeled the boot covers from his shoes and threw them
in the waste bin by the door. Before he left, he took one
last look at Augie and secretly prayed that he would find
something of consequence for him to work with.
Although it was afternoon, the corridor seemed much
darker and much colder than he had remembered. Even
the elevator felt smaller and more confined. When he
reached the exit to the street, Jay pulled out his
cigarettes and headed for the footpath. The odour of the
nicotine teased his senses. The taste was even better. It
felt like a lifetime since his last cigarette. He inhaled
deeply, wanting to fully experience the smoke filling his
lungs. As he exhaled, the phone in his pocket vibrated,
causing the sensory numbness he had felt in the autopsy
suite to subside.
“Jay Marnotti.”
“Well hello there, Jay Marnotti,” a sweet voice replied.
“Hey, Danni, you don’t know how good it is to hear your
voice right now.”
“My, my… Is that a compliment?” she asked, teasing him.
“What’s so odd about that? There’s plenty more where
that came from too, but I don’t think you deserve em
now!” Jay chuckled.
“Oh stop being such a tease, I had planned on telling you
how much of a wonderful time I had last night but I don’t
know if I’ll bother now.”
“I’m pleased to hear it. I had a pretty good time myself.
Maybe we should do it again sometime?”
“Sometime?” she asked.
“Yeah, how’s tonight?”
“I’d love to but I have to work. I only get one night a week
off and last night was it.”
“Maybe I could swing by when you finish and drop you
home?”
“Yeah, sounds great. I’d really like that.”
“What time do you finish tonight?”
“Usually around ten or ten-thirty.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
“Jay?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
“You’re not hanging around just because of the baby are
you?”
“Danni, I asked you out on that date last night before I
knew abo
ut our daughter didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.” she paused for a moment before adding.
“Who said it’s a girl? It might be a boy.”
“Nah, not my kid… She’s gonna be a beauty just like her
mother! See ya tonight, kid.” With that Jay ended the
call, a smile perma-nently fixed on his face. He threw his
cigarette to the ground, crushed it out with his foot and
began the short walk to Café Cino. Paula was waiting with
Anna’s file and it was time to uncover any skeletons she
had hidden in her closet. He pulled his phone from his
pocket and searched for Paula’s number.
“Yeah, Paula. It’s Jay.”
“Hey, Jayy. You on your way?”
“Sure am. See you in a few.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Paula assured him before he ended the
call.