Waking from hibernation

驚蟄 [13] / [20]

"So what exactly do we know about these 5 people?"

Alexander was curious that they had 5 bodies but no identities for them.

"They were all in advanced stages of decomposition when they were found and, as expected, the bodies were dismembered and mutilated in such a way as to render identification difficult. We have DNA samples for all 5, but with nothing else to go on, identifying them that way will be like searching for a needle in a haystack."

Alexander was combing through the pictures, when he spotted something.

"Wait, is that a tattoo?"

Alexander squinted at the picture. It was hard to see given the state of decomposition, but there was what looked like a faded tattoo of a flower with a name, and, possibly, a date, written underneath on the upper left arm.

"That's a rose,"

Alexander said.

"What? Do you see something?"

Cynthia asked him, looking at the picture.

"A rose tattoo,"

Alexander repeated.

"Did forensics record what the script said beneath it?"

Cynthia drew out the report, and glanced down at it.

"No, it just says 'tattoo, high right arm.' What do you think?"

she looked at him.

"I'm thinking dead relative, or someone close to him. But see there. There's something written underneath the name. I can't make it out at all, but it looks like a sequence of numbers, like a date. I'll tell you what, why don't we take a trip down to the morgue to see?"

Alexander suggested. Cynthia shuddered a little at the thought. She never liked being around dead bodies, even though she was a cop, and it was often part of the job.

Alexander laughed, "C'mon, we can get a bite to eat after. My treat."

The thought made Cynthia feel queasy. It wasn't the look of them, but the smell.

The morgue was a block and a half away from the station, so it was an easy walk. When they approached the building, they signed in at the front desk, turned right, went down the hallway, and approached the metal door leading to the actual morgue. When they walked in, a chill ran through their spines as the frigid air, tinged with the smell of disinfectant and formaldehyde, gave off a sense of cold death.