A Real Person

It was that smell. The acrid smell that could not be confused with anything else ... ever. Only those that have had the unfortunate experience of finding a dead human body can know what I am talking about. The smell was strong this time and even as an experienced first responder Sam took a minute to get some vapo-rub to put under his nose. The person who had called was nowhere in sight - nor was the body - but you could smell that it was close. Sam had worked with Barb for almost a year, and she was a pretty good partner. It was kind of an unwritten rule that they would take turns doing the things that no one in their right mind ever wanted to do: like finding dead bodies or having that awesome conversation about how things "accidentally" found their way into someone's butt. Sam was up this time.

  After an ample smattering of Vicks Sam crawled into the small space between the two brick buildings and found a man leaning forward with his head against the wall. The position was awkward, and it was obvious that he was deceased. The body was bloated, discolored and some of the skin was starting to fall off. In the July heat it was obvious that he had been here for more than a minute. As per their protocol, Sam reached his hand onto the man's neck and tried to feel for a pulse- it was just gelatinous, his fingers went into the mans throat and the man dislodged from his perch and fell forward. He remained in the same stiff position with his legs bent and his neck arched over.

  Sam came out from the enclosed space to where Barb was standing, safely away from the smell. "We can officially confirm this one." he said to Barb. There was some radio chatter and they climbed back into the air-conditioned ambulance to wait for the Medical Examiner. Barb had to pull the rig around to face the scene. After falling, the body was now visible, but only if you knew it was there already, just a shadow of an arm hanging out. Barb asked how it was and Sam let her know that he believed that it may have been there for a few days at least - if not more.

  There is a protocol when someone finds a dead body - you must phone 911 for medical help first, then Emergency Services will come, an ambulance if there is one available, or possibly the Fire Department if they are pretty sure that the person is for sure dead. What people sometimes don't know though is that for every death the Medical Examiner has to come and decide whether or not it is a natural death before they can take the body away. If they decide that there may be foul play that's when the crime scene tape comes out and the Police get all the equipment and trailers. Sam was pretty sure that this one wasn't going to be a case of 'foul play'. It was not the best neighbourhood and the foil around the body suggested that it was an accidental overdose. It was a couple of hours before the ME was able to make it - and it was a slow day for EMS, but a busy day for city Police. This meant that Sam and Barb ended up staying at the scene for a couple of hours, just to make sure that everything was secure and that no school children or senior citizens were traumatized by finding a dead body.

  This one had been reported by an anonymous caller, usually that meant that it was someone who knew the victim that just didn't want to be associated. Sam wondered about the time frame though - how could someone let their friends body rot in the July heat for days before calling to report it. Judging by where this guy was it wasn't likely that anyone would have happened upon this by accident. But that was the downside of this kind of work- sometimes you never get to know.

  The Medical Examiner on duty arrived. It was Deena. Sam liked Deena. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman who got straight to the point, but there was a humanity in her eyes that you sometimes didn't see with people in her profession. There was a tendency to get hardened when you worked with certain unfavorable circumstances daily, she didn't have that. Deena was young for this job, about 35 and had an accent from Eastern Canada. For some reason Sam was attracted to that. It was a weird juxtaposition for him when she showed up at a scene. He was reeling from the trauma caused by what he was seeing, but he was also enamored with the aura of this woman.

 Deena checked in with Sam and Barb and donned her mask and gloves. She removed her camera and began to take some pictures of the scene before anything was disturbed. Sam mentioned the position that the body had fell in and that there had been some movement. After a couple of shots Deena had her assistants pull the body out from the crevice of its premature resting place. Once pulled out the body remained in the position of a crumpled oversized fetus. Which, upon further inspection, Sam didn't believe was that far off. The man splayed in front of them was dressed quite trendily. He sported a short hairstyle with some purple dye that had been mixed in. Just by looking Sam guessed that he couldn't have been more than 25, the ID that they found in his pocket confirmed that he was only 21. It also confirmed that he had a name, an address, a family and much more. Sam often felt overwhelmed when going through the personal effects of someone that had passed. He held each piece that he found in someone's wallet for a minute to acknowledge the significance.

   His name was James, maybe he was a Jimmy or a Jim. His birthday had recently passed, that meant that he was a cancer- strong emotions, determined and stubborn. That was good combo for addiction. Sam thought about the unfortunate predisposition that some people had. He looked like a young Sam in the picture. Dark hair, light complexion high cheekbones. Jimmy looked healthy in his license picture, which was only issued 6 months ago. Sam continued through the wallet. A first aid certification, an apprentice for a 2nd year carpenter ID, a status card, a visa and a debit card. Sam thought about how much this resembled his wallet at that age. This wasn`t just a junkie. He was a real person with a real job, a family, and connections. Sam looked up again and saw that CPS had arrived. He handed over the wallet, noticing for the first time how ornate it was. There were stamped designs of skulls and cat faces. It was hand sewn together and showed some of the weather of living in the pocket of a busy young man.

  Sam handed the wallet over to the young police officer. He looked at the license quick and then looked up over his shoulder.

“He lived in that building right over there. “He gestured to the apartment building right across the street.

   Sam and Barb remained on the scene to help keep bystanders from getting too close. The slight tall policeman sauntered back and looked toward Sam.

``He was reported missing by his girlfriend a few days ago. I am going to go knock on the door to see if she is at home. My partner called out today - do you think you could come with me. “

  That was not at all something that Sam wanted to do - but he felt compelled, and he knew that Police were not allowed to do notifications on their own. He looked at the patch on the Officers shirt and replied, “alright Smith, let`s head over.”

  Sam was counting the steps in his head. 37 across the street. The main door to the apartment was unlocked, another 3 steps to the stairs, 5 steps up the stairs. His heart pounded with every step. Telling someone that their loved one had expired was not something that he had ever had to do. He has picked people up in the ambulance and they had passed at the hospital, but he had never had a DOA where the family was involved. Smith and Sam nodded at each other in front of unit 305. Smith knocked heavily on the door.

  A tiny young woman answered in purple yoga pants and an oversized tye-dyed T-shirt. Her eyes looked puffy, and she had bags underneath them that opposed her young age like a raven the refuses to fly. She looked at the Officer and Sam and her eyes welled up. Smith piped up and asked if she was Jenny. He was reading from his phone as if he was going right off the missing persons report. She stated that she was and looked at the men wide eyed. Smith stated, “I’m afraid that I have some unpleasant news for you maam.”

Unpleasant?! - Sam thought. This was not killing a plant or spilling your milk. This was someone`s life snuffed out. He stayed silent - but judged the wording in his head as inappropriate.

Jenny didn`t speak, she just looked up at them. She had that look in her eyes where you know that something is going to turn out the worst possible way - but that you are yearning to will a more positive outcome.

``You reported your common law spouse, James McHaven, missing 3 days ago. We have to notify you that he has been found deceased."

Jenny looked at them - vacant, and then just turned around and walked back into the apartment. She sat down on the couch with a thud. She looked up at the two men like they were supposed to tell her what to do now. Smith asked the young woman who he could call.

"My Mom I guess..." she stated.

  Sam leaned into the background while Smith helped Jenny call her mom. She asked a few questions and Smith told her what he knew. She was devastated. She talked about how Jimmy was doing better lately - and that he had never really been that bad. He always had a job and was able to support them. He was going back to school for his third year in September and he was excited to be one step closer to being a Journeyman ... and he would never meet his daughter. Sam had always imagined that people just sobbed when they found out this kind of news- but he had only seen it on TV. In reality it was very different and seemed somehow more disturbing. This wasn't just a body: it was an actual person.

   Sam and Smith stayed in the apartment as Jenny sat moved between sitting on the couch to looking out the window and then back to the couch. Her Mom had said that she would be here in a few minutes. It felt selfish - but Sam really hoped that meant that they could leave when she arrived. He knew that is probably wasn't a good idea to leave Jenny alone, but they awkward thick silence that the three of them had been sharing for the last few minutes was a lot.

  True to her word Jenny's Mom arrived in just under 15 minutes. Probably one of the longest 15 minutes in Sam's life. Smith left Jenny the number for the Victim's Services support line, and she thanked them. This struck Sam as odd. He did know that they had just been doing their job - but it just seemed strange to thank them for bringing the worst news she could have ever heard. Sam and Smith headed back across the street. Barb was already waiting for him in the ambulance. Sam hopped in and Barb shifted into park. within minutes Sam was overcome with emotion. He was surprised that he had been able to keep it together for as long as he had. Sam took some deep breaths and a slug from his water bottle. Another call came over the radio for a senior in distress. They were off to another world.