Unhinged Read Online Free

have to keep them cold in those three trucks out back. They’re running 24-7. State of the art, huh? I have ten thousand square feet and two autopsy stations, but I need at least sixty thousand square feet and maybe six stations.”
    â€œWhere’re your funds?”
    â€œThey’re still fighting over the money for a new facility. In the meantime, criminals go free because we can’t get results back from the lab in Metairie or LSU in time.”
    Ron said, “I suppose we should be lucky Forensics got the building at the University of New Orleans.”
    â€œFor physical evidence, but that doesn’t help get our DNA results. You know that we’ve been operating on a third of my normal staff, so normally you wouldn’t be getting this quick service, but the mayor himself requested someone be available to do a postmortem posthaste. They’re going to put pressure on the Metairie lab, too. Looks like you’re in another big one, Ron.”
    â€œI know. What a way to cap off a career.”
    â€œAre you retiring soon? You’ve still got ten good years.” Gordo made even quicker markings on his clipboard. Even though he obviously despised his facility, he was totally at ease in the environment, while I felt like a sweating ice cube.
    â€œAre you kidding me?” Ron chuckled. “What the hell would I do if I didn’t work? Stay home with the wife? This job’s the reason we’re still together. Hell, once I retire, I’m going to have to find a bar I can hang out in all day.”
    â€œMy wife keeps me at a safe distance, the way I come home smelling sometimes. It just doesn’t come off.” Gordo raised his hands as if in meditation as he looked over the body before him.
    â€œSo, what can you tell us?” Ron ended the small talk and moved closer to June’s body.
    I remained glued to my spot. With my luck, I’d slip on a liver and break my arm.
    â€œWell, as you know,” Gordo said sarcastically, “we don’t have a lab on the premises. When the results come back, you’ll be the first to know.” He pointed at June’s abdomen and handed his clipboard to Ron.
    I moved closer to glance at the clipboard Ron held. The top sheet had the simple outline of a woman’s body, with lines and notes up and down near her abdomen. Gordo was the stereotypical doctor, writing long medical terms in bad penmanship.
    â€œTime of death for both bodies is between 4 and 6 a.m. on Saturday. As you can see from the chart, I’ve mapped out the seven fatal stab wounds. I’d say a steak knife did the trick, and the attacker stabbed the woman while she was on her back. Most likely he was between her legs.”
    â€œWhile he was raping her?” I didn’t realize my thoughts had slipped from my lips. I jotted it down with a question mark.
    Gordo nodded. “She has multiple contusions about the face and neck. Her hair was shaved off cleanly and neatly. He took his time doing it. No nicks, no scratches. No sperm was found inside her vagina, but it does appear she had recent sexual activity.”
    No sperm? That was odd. Did the guy have a problem finishing, or was he smart enough to use a condom?
    Thinking about her bald head, I was reminded of the one year in my late teens when I had kept my head shaved. I let it grow back after I realized some fashions weren’t meant for certain people, and if the girls didn’t get into my Kojak, then it wasn’t for me.
    I cleared my throat, then swallowed hard. I knew Gordo still had to talk about the nipples, which completely sickened me. Maybe it was because of my love affair with the female breasts that this single act, above all the rest, made my skin crawl. If anything was going to make me lose it, this would be it.
    â€œThe areola, the darker, circular area around the nipples,” Gordo said, “were apparently bitten off. The skin is pretty shredded, but I’m