In the beginning
Agent Elizabeth Barron, Beth to her few friends, stared at the broken body of the young girl and wondered what brought her to such an end. She was far too young to be propped up against this tree, In her red coat, and her black cap, like a lifeless doll. So many years clearly ahead of her, now wasted by the depravation of someone who thought they had the right to choose for her. Despite her years investigating cases such as this, Beth could still find no sense behind the tragic circumstances.
With no immediate ID, there was no family to inform that their precious daughter would not be returning home that night. And even though the neutrality of that fact made the job slightly easier in the immediate moment, she knew it would only add to the pain when the victim had an identity, a life she had meant to live before it was cut so brutally short.
This wasn’t the homecoming Beth was hoping for. She would have preferred a quiet week or two in the office before a big assignment, especially after just coming back from leave as a result of her Father’s funeral arrangements. She probably should have taken the leave offered at the time, but being alone with her thoughts wasn’t going to do it for her. Better to dive in and take her mind off of the personal stuff. Yes, it was her father, but let’s face it, everyone dies. Even parents.
But for the moment, more pressing matters were at hand, how did this girl come to arrive on this spot? Did she expire here, or was this just a drop off? There’s no way to be sure before a full autopsy, but the absence of blood or a struggle indicate the girl was posed, making this a body dump. Beth sipped at a coffee she’s snagged from a nearby vendor, and pondered any possible leads. Something about the way the girl was posed scratches an itch in her brain, but she couldn’t isolate it.
“Hey Beth, what a way to wrap up a night, right?” Brice was new to the Forensic unit, and he had a painful way of stating the obvious. “It’s 4am Brice, I’d say it’s closer to “What a way to start the day”, wouldn’t you?” Ignoring the forensic tech before he further moves to make conversation, she locates the ME, Ryan Fordham, and asks his opinion. “Can we get any preliminary findings?” He turns away from the girl and says “How preliminary do you want? I can tell you it wasn’t natural causes.” Beth sighs, and asks him “Do we have an official cause of death” Ryan replies, “Well, her hyoid didn’t break itself, but we’ll need x-rays to confirm.”
With that, Beth wraps it up and heads home. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.
***Beth woke up to the slim slit of light coming through the curtains. It couldn’t be much after sunrise, but it was enough to make her stumble to the coffee machine and crank it up. She never slept well in hotels, and this was no exception. It wasn’t the strange bed, or the strange smells and sounds, just the simple knowledge that if she wasn’t home, she had better things to do than sleep.
Today, she had a trip to make to the morgue. And as ironic as it sounded in her head, she needed a really hot shower to get there. So while the coffee brewed, she grabbed her toiletries and made use of the limitless hot water. After the steam began to make her feel a bit pickled, she shut off the water and grabbed her clothes. Just as she finished getting her pants on, the phone began to ring.
“Barron” she said. The voice on the other end of the line was hesitant. “Beth?” “yes”, she replied, “and you are?” “Sorry, this is Bill Kipps, Justice Mills PD.” I was told you might like a ride to the station to look over the case files.” As she pours her coffee, Beth replies, “that’s OK, I’ve got a rental. I can meet you there in 20 minutes, will that work?” “Sure!” He replies, a bit too enthusiastically. After a brief pause he says “I mean yes, that works fine I’ll see you when you get there.”
And with that awkward as hell introduction, Beth heads out to investigate Justice Falls, and why Justice seems to be a rare commodity here. Just ask the 3 dead girls she’s here to investigate. Starting with victim #3, currently in the morgue as Jane doe, but in Beth’s head, she’s “Little red riding hood.”