by T V Scribner
Minutes later, the Medical Examiner sauntered in, followed by another detective, who’d also been briefed on the situation. He brushed by the ME and Paisley, to join the others in the freezer, which was filling up fast! She stayed by the doorway and watched, as the ME shambled into the freezer and nodded, to acknowledge those present. A moment later, all but one officer left, heading towards the front, to interview witnesses.
Pinecrest had two medical examiners, and Dr. Hyde, the head ME, was the lucky one to get the call. He was a perfect prototype of what one might expect a medical examiner to look like, who bore the name, of Hyde. An older man of average height, he appeared shorter, because of a slightly hunched-over back. With a thin, corpse-like face, his black bushy eyebrows, appeared rather startling on his pallid face. He dressed in an out-of-date, drab-brown suit, with wide lapels, and the top button on his shirt, was unbuttoned. He peered at those in the freezer, over small round, wire-rimmed spectacles, which rode low, on his hooked nose, and with his thin, tightly closed lips, it all served to create a grim visage.
Dr. Hyde shambled towards the rear of the freezer to access the alcove where the body rested, to determine its condition. A minute or two later, speaking in a scratchy voice, he said, “This man is deceased!” then he stood back, seemingly satisfied with his pronouncement. Paisley, watched closely, and was majorly under-whelmed, and could not help but role her eyes, as the ME continued to gaze at the body. Presently, the technicians, a tall man and an older woman, brought something resembling a tackle box, into the freezer…it was their crime kit. Dr. Hyde stepped towards the corpse again and proceeded with his examination, while the two technicians scurried about, gathering samples from the freezer’s interior.
When Dr. Hyde stepped back to pen a few notes, the technicians swooped in, to check the body, pulling invisible evidence from its clothes with tweezers, and putting the particles in small test tubes, or plastic packets, to take back to the lab for analysis. Included, were dried blood samples from the cement floor, from under the protective plastic sheeting. All surfaces were dusted for fingerprints, and the photographer was directed to take more pictures of the space, from the doorway, to the corner, where the corpse resided. Resuming his examination, after peering closely at the corpse’s eyes, the ME ordered more photo close-ups of the face, marks on the neck and each hand.
Dr. Hyde cleared his throat, noting aloud, “Since the body usually cools one degree an hour, it obviously cooled more rapidly in the freezer, and rigor mortis set in.” He stopped to clear his throat again. “Because the eyes are still open,” he continued, as he viewed the body from different angles, “a thin, cloudy film has formed, which usually happens two or three hours after death.” Stepping back once more, he jotted down a few quick notes, tapped his pen on his notepad and stared at the corpse. A moment later, wrapping up his cursory examination, he was ready with more pronouncements, and just as Paisley, growing weary of this man was about to exit, he started up again, so she paused.
“The victim,” he said, “is/was a Caucasian male.” Dr. Hyde declared loudly, as if the room were packed with people. But by this time, the only ones still in the freezer with Paisley, were Officer Smith, and one technician…the other tech had escaped to the PBCA van. The volume of Dr. Hyde’s voice was out of place and Paisley let out a sigh, as he continued, “…he was approximately twenty-five to twenty-eight years old, perhaps of northern European decent, approximately five feet, ten inches tall, weighing somewhere around a hundred and sixty, to a hundred and seventy pounds.”
This is unbelievable, she thought…this is torture! Officer Ryan was shifting from foot to foot, and the technician was only staying, in case there was another task she’d be asked to perform.
“Death probably occurred sometime last night, after 11:00 p.m., and before 2:00 a.m., this morning.“ He droned on, “The male may not have died of natural causes, and therefore, I will request an autopsy.” Paisley and the other two in the freezer, waited impatiently for him to finish, but he forged ahead, “Most likely, the body hit the cement floor with the back of his head, and either scooted, or was dragged to a sitting position on the box in the alcove, in which case there is some evidence of attempted strangulation. Death could have occurred from either one of those events…or perhaps he was still alive and froze to death? This needs to be determined.”
“Are you finished, Doctor?” the female technician finally asked.
Ignoring her comment, and to everyone’s consternation, he had more to say! “In the meantime, as soon as you people finish with him, make sure to bag his hands, and call in the paramedics to wrap him up, to be transported to Ramsey County Coroner’s Office, for the autopsy. Good day!” He said this in a cheery tone, volume up, and shuffled towards the freezer door. He glanced at Paisley, as he passed her, and stopped for a second to stare, giving her what she considered to be, the evil eye!
“That, was creepy!” she thought, and shuddered. Realizing she was chilled to the bone, she decided it was time to leave the freezer. The weird performance of Dr. Hyde, would probably haunt her, she thought, as she carefully edged her way through the door into the cooler, where it seemed at least thirty degrees warmer.
Paisley headed through the kitchen into the outer dining room and sat down at a table, in time to see the paramedics drive around to the back of the building. Glancing out the front windows, she was momentarily shocked to see the conglomeration of police vehicles, the ambulance, and the PBCA van. Turning her gaze to the dining area, she noticed several detectives sitting at tables in the corner with notepads and pens, busy conducting interviews.
Julia approached her table. “I made you another Diet Coke, Paisley…I can’t believe what’s happened! Everyone’s saying it was Gregore, who froze in the freezer! How did it happen? Poor guy…I didn’t know him very well, because our schedules rarely overlapped, but still, it’s a horrible thing to have happened—and at my work place!”
Paisley, half listening to Julia’s rambling, said, “I’m sorry. I don’t have answers for you right now. The police are busy, trying to determine what happened and how, so when the facts are uncovered, everyone will have the information. The authorities will probably be here for a while, so don’t be surprised if they want to take a statement from you, too.” Paisley put her arms on the table, and leaned back in her chair, attempting to relax. It seemed as if she’d been here for hours, but in fact, it had only been forty-five minutes.
“But I don’t know anything? I barely knew him!” Julia said.
“Well, they’ll even want to know that! I’m sure they’ll take statements from all the employees to find out as much as they can about him,” Paisley added. Just then, Ben Wister, the owner, came around the corner, and when Ingles spotted him, she hurried over to express her sympathy for the devastating occurrence.
“Paisley, I just arrived…all the police vehicles outside…I can’t believe it! All I know is one of my employees is in the freezer, and he’s dead—is that true?” he asked in a distraught voice.
Chapter 4
"I'm afraid so, Ben. I was here when the body was discovered, and there's not much to tell yet, except according to Steve, his name is—was," she corrected herself, "Gregore—not sure of the last name.”
Ben was shaken to hear an employee died, and in his fast food establishment! "Excuse me, Paisley," he said, "I have to check this out," and he headed for the freezer to see for himself what had happened.
Paisley followed, but a tall, lanky police detective blocked their way. "I'm sorry sir, no one is allowed back here just now," the detective said firmly.
"But I'm Ben, the owner, and I demand to see what's going on!"
"I'm sorry sir, but there's an on-going investigation. One of the detectives will be out soon to talk with you, so it's best to return to the dining room and wait for an update."
Ben would not acquiesce, causing Paisley to intervene and explain, "Ben's's the owner, and I'll be happy to escort him, as I'm a detective on the f
orce, also." The officer regarded this request, and looked at her, with doubtful eyes, as he noticed her unconventional attire. “You can ask Officer Ryan for corroboration.”
The officer was one of the late arrivals, and hadn’t been introduced to her yet, so he left them standing, as he went to talk to Officer Ryan. Upon returning, he said nothing, but led the way to the freezer, and when rounding the corner to the cooler, he reluctantly stepped aside. "Please stay close to the freezer door, so as not to get in the way of the investigation," and he returned to the dining area.
Ben was about to see for himself, as a gurney entered, and the paramedics said, "Excuse us! Please make way...!" The gurney rolled through the back door, through the cooler, and into the freezer. The attendants began gingerly retrieving the victim's body, lifting it onto the gurney, placing it in a body bag, and zipping it up, ready to go.
Cobbling back across the freezer's cement floor, the gurney passed by Paisley and Ben, then bounced over the door jamb, and exited the freezer, into the cooler. There was a crinkling and crunching sound, as the gurney, with the body aboard, rolled over the plastic, which the technicians had also laid on the cooler floor. The gurney was pushed through the back door, as quickly as possible, to avoid gawking customers and employees in the main dining room. From here, the body would be taken to the Ramsey County Coroner’s Office, for the autopsy requested, by Dr. Hyde.
Both Paisley and Ben, returned to the dining area, and sat at a table by the side windows. Ben, put his elbows on the table and his head in hands, and covered his face for a moment. When he looked up there was concern in his dark eyes. He Straightened in his chair, "This is horrible! Gregore is dead! Such an awful thing to happen! I'm sure the employees are scared and upset!"
He ran a hand over his wrinkled forehead and across his closely cropped, thinning hair, then sat back in his chair, as he looked around his establishment. It almost looked normal, workers carried on with their work, and the delicious smell of burgers and fries wafted into the dining area.
Paisley sympathized, "Ben, there's really nothing to do right now. The authorities are just beginning the investigation, so just keep the employees calm, and take care of business as usual. The police will do a thorough investigation and get to the bottom of this,” and she sat back in her chair, too "In the meantime, as I was telling Julia, the police will interview you. They’re questioning some of the employees now, in order to obtain information, about Gregore. Maybe someone knows something that will help us find out what occurred?”
"I'm sorry Paisley, but this is so difficult…I’m upset! But of course, I'll make sure things run smoothly. I’ve been worried about other things which have been happening here lately too—and this is just the clincher!"
Paisley started to ask Ben what these things were, but the image of Gregore, involuntarily flashed into her thoughts, and she momentarily relived the sight of him sitting on the container, with his pallid complexion, blue lips, bulging eyes, and even ice crystals on his eyelashes! She couldn’t shake the sensation of feeling Gregore's skin, while checking for his pulse, and suddenly, she felt chilled, shuddering involuntarily.
Noticing this, Ben abruptly stood, in case she needed help, saying, "Paisley! Is everything all right?"
"Oh, I'm sorry…it all caught up to me for a second...I've been running on adrenaline since I arrived this morning, and I switched into clinical mode when I saw the body. After sitting for a minute, it kind of hit me, but I'm okay, thanks." Still feeling chilled, she zipped up her hoodie a little more, as she struggled to gain her composure.
Policemen were putting up more yellow crime-scene tape, now that the PBCA technicians and ambulance were finally gone from the freezer area. The employees were instructed not to cross the tape, as it was now an official crime scene. Paisley, still pondered the events of the morning, when a detective strolled over. He recognized her, said hello, and turned to Ben, to introduced himself. Sitting down at the table, across from Ben, he extracted a small notebook and pen, from his jacket pocket, then proceeded to tell Ben what little information was available, concerning the death of his employee.
While Ben and the Detective talked, Paisley retreated towards the tables at the front of the fast food place. With the paramedics and the medical examiner gone from the freezer, there was more room for the detectives to take a closer look at the entire back area, so a more careful determination could be made as to how a murderer was able to enter, commit a murder, and escape. Paisley, was deep in thought, as to her own ideas about the incident, when Julia surprised her by appearing at the table.
"Hey Paisley! I've been trying to get a to you all morning! Here's a fresh one!" and she set down another Diet Coke.
"Oh, my gosh! Thanks, that's so sweet.” Paisley took a long sip, “Ahhh!" Suddenly, she was aware of someone tapping her shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
Turning to see who was there, she was surprised to see a man she didn't recognize, standing behind her, and said, "Oh! Are you speaking to me?"
"Yes, I am." His tone was business-like. "I was told you were one of the first people to arrive on the scene when the employee called for help."
This man wasn't in uniform like the other officers, but before she had a chance to ask who he was, he said, "I'm Detective Boone, with the Pinecrest Police Department, and I wonder if I might ask you a few routine questions?"
"Well, I..." she stammered. This morning had been stressful and her reply wasn't coming out clearly. “I…guess so?" Paisley tried to gather her wits about her, which wasn't easy, because right now all she really wanted to do was relax a moment and quietly enjoy her Diet Coke. To make things worse, hunger was now rearing its ugly head, and of the two drinks Julia had served, she'd only managed to take one sip! And now, here was this detective!
At first glance, she had to admit he was a nice looking man, and obviously, he wanted whatever information he could get concerning the murder. Immediately, however, she was self-conscious, as she realized her appearance was one of a rumple-haired, sweaty woman, dressed in an old faded T-shirt and sweats, with a worn-out hoodie—and wouldn't you know it—her dirtiest, mud-stained, used-to-be white tennies! Knowing the interview was inevitable, she restrained the temptation to roll her eyes.
Detective Boone, suggested they move to different table near a larger window, which faced the parking lot, further away from customers, as it would offer more privacy. She followed him. "Have a seat," he gestured, an pulled out a chair for her.
Glimpsing out the window, she noticed most of the police cars had departed, the ambulance was gone, along with the veritable traffic jam of emergency vehicles, which had littered the parking lot earlier. The scene had dissolved into a typical mid-morning parking lot, for Ben's Burgers. Only two police cars remained, to bear testimony, to the morning's events.
The detective seated himself on the opposite side of the table, and she turned her attention to him. But before he could speak, Julia scurried up and deposited another drink in front of Paisley, saying, “It was on the other table—it's still cold, and I thought you'd still like to have it!" What a welcome sight for her, and she took a long drink.
Julia had barely stepped aside, when a pushy photographer ran up to the table and began snapping pictures."I'm from the Brainerd Daily Newspaper, and was told, you were the one who discovered the body...is that correct?" There was an eager look on his face as stood there, waiting for an answer.
Before she could say anything, the camera was clicking away, causing the Detective to stand, and say, “Could you please come back later? Right now, I'm conducing an interview concerning the investigation.”
A Pinecrest Gazette reporter was standing next to the cameraman, and heard the rebuff, ”Sure! Sorry...," the photographer said, and he and the reporters backed away apologizing for the interruption, then scattered to collect pictures and comments from the workers.
The Detective sat down and began again. "I'm sorry to detain you, and I'm sure you have things to do
, but I'm Detective Boone, and was told you were the first person onsite after the employee yelled for help.” Taking out a small notebook, and flipping the pages, he slid a pen from his pocket and looked up at her, with the most penetrating eyes she'd ever seen. His eyes were the color of blue denim, and in a business-like, tone-of-voice he continued, "May I have your name and occupation?"
"Certainly,” and Paisley found herself flustered, by his formal demeanor. The Detective's hair was slightly graying at the temples, blending into darker, somewhat curly hair, with a casual, unruly look. It was difficult to discern his age, but because of his rugged look, she guessed he was in his mid-to-late thirties, or maybe early forties? Considering his deeply tanned face and hands, it was obvious he spent a great deal of time outdoors, in much sunnier climates. His stern countenance was slightly intimidating and, she decided his eyes might crinkle at the corners, if he ever smiled.
He even dressed in a conservative manner—dark jeans, a dark, well-worn leather jacket, and sunglasses hanging in the V-opening, of a light blue T-shirt, and without looking, she'd bet he was wearing cowboy boots, too—he just seemed the type. Suddenly, she was aware of questions being asked, and taking a guess, quickly offered what she hoped was the right answer,
”Oh…uh…my name? It’s Paisley, Paisley Ingles." Stammering, as she continued to gaze into his blue-denim eyes, which were busy sizing her up, she said, "I'm also a detective for the Pinecrest Police Department, currently working, as their Computer Forensics Specialist." How embarrassing! She was actually aware, of how much her attire did not speak to the position! She wanted to crawl under the table.
His eyebrows rose slightly, and with a touch of surprise in his voice he said, "Oh! I'm sorry, no one mentioned your connection to the department. So, Ms. Ingles,” he paused a beat, “would it be possible to obtain a statement later this morning at the precinct? It would free me to help the rest of the officers here with employee interviews, so we could wrap up, sooner rather than later…I’m sure you understand."