Trophy

(TW: Gore and Violence) Adrienne slipped on her blue surgical gloves, walking into the morgue she works at. The pitter-pattering of rain made a calming environment unlike the harsh, cold metal room. Her glove squeaked as she pulled out her subject of today: Karie Shiren. Gagging, as always, Adrienne set the stiff, porcelain body on the table. A cut was down the chest, open and rotting. She did her usual routine, checking if any body part was missing or damaged. Midway through the process, she noticed a vital thing. Several of Karie's ribs were missing. Talking to herself, Adrienne wrote down every word she said on paper. “Missing…ribs…near..left lung.” Adrienne went back to digging through Karie's body to see if any other bones were missing, such as her spine. 

“Miss Holbrook? We have another pair of bodies. Both have slits in their chest, like the recent arrivals.” The coroner assistants set the bodies lightly in the freezer. Adrienne’s glasses dripped down onto the bottom of her nose bridge, “ Yeah-huh. Go away now. I’m very busy.” She waved her left hand goodbye to them. She set her scalpel down, wiping sweat with her sleeves. Hours later, when she finished, she put Karie back into her freezer, locking it tightly. She slipped her gloves off, tossing them in the garbage. The lights off, Adrienne pushed her keys into the door, locking up for the night. 

The next morning, unlocking the front door to start her shift at six-thirty, Adrienne hears a rattling inside. Freezing in place, she takes her key out of the door and slowly opens the door. Standing in the doorway of her office, there was a man. Adrienne ducked down, crawling towards a fire alarm. Pulling it quickly, Adrienne hid under a nearby desk and waited until  911 came.  The mystery man tried jumping out of a window, but it was locked. He frantically ran for the front door, not knowing the police were right there as he opened the door. Adrienne jumped up and yelled from behind the table, “It’s him!” She repeated over and over and over. The man’s  body was slammed onto the front door, clicks of the handcuffs muffled. Even through the frosted windows, his sanpaku eyes and smile made direct contact with Adrienne. Shivers went down her spine. Thought rushed through her head, “Why was he here? What was his motive? Did he know I was coming?” 

Time passes quickly, the courtroom session has begun.  Adrienne on stand, being interviewed by a lawyer. “If I may ask Ms. Holbrook, what was your first thought when you saw the killer?” The prosecutor spoke animatedly. The defense attorney jumped up, “Objection your honor, argumentative.” “Overruled.” A raspy, old voice spoke. Adrienne twiddled her thumbs, 

“I-uhm…I didn’t think he was a killer at the moment. Then again, who would rob a morgue?” Her voice echoed on the microphone. The prosecutor set down his papers calmly, “I rest my case,” he said jokingly.  The judge spoke collectedly, “Thank you, you may go find your seat now.” 

The defendant, in a worn out orange jumpsuit, walked up onto the stand. Again, with his raccoon-like smile and sanpaku eyes, he stared at Adrienne majority of the time. She teeter-tottered between slapping him or staying intimidated. She knew she needed to stay professional. At the same time, he did not have the right to be doing that.  After hours in that hot, humid courtroom the man broke. “I was there to see my prettiest victim- Karie Shiren.” A little boy from the audience yelled “Ooh! Caught in four k!” Gasps were heard everywhere as the judge slammed his gavel repeatedly, “Order, order in the court!” Adrienne’s jaw dropped, as the courtroom gradually became silent, Adrienne whispered, “What an idiot.” Her friend beside her started giggling, but then calmed down as people turned to look at her. “Jury, you may now deliberate.” The judge spoke in an all powerful voice. The jury went into a separate room, starting a long, long conversation. Around five hours later, they were back.  The judge cleared his throat, fixing his posture. “The jury has decided the defendant is guilty. Mr. Pical’s sentence is life in prison. There was a mix of cheers and sobs in the audience, some people even passed out from happiness. “Your honor…if I may…can I make a donation to a place?” The man’s head turned to Adrienne, giving his creepy, bone-shivering stare. The judge nodded in agreement.

Adrienne finally was able to live in peace, no more worrying about the man and any more cases with guts galore ( hopefully) . Now, Adrienne just had to determine the cause of death for Karie. “It’s quite obvious murder is one of the causes, but what weapon? There was none at the crime scene, not in his house…” Adrienne paced back and forth, whispering to herself. A knock echoed in the stainless steel room. She calmly went to the door, opening to a surprise. Adrienne backed away from the door, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Get away from me! Leave me alone! I just got away from you!” The man stood in the doorway, handcuffed with police behind him. “I had something for you, my special sweetheart.” Adrienne made a disgusted face, standing diagonally from him.  Her voice stern, “Stay away. This is how close you can stay to me. If you get any closer, I can and will file a restraining order.” She clenched her scalpel tightly. Her body shook, lips turning blue. The man laughed, “Just relax honey. I can’t hurt you here. I have coppers trailing me!” He smiled his raccoon smile. 

“I have a donation for you. It might help you.” His voice crackled like pop rocks. Adrienne gave him a side eye. “Alright, but if I get hurt, I might file a lawsuit.” The man whispered, “If you can. Alright bye for now..” His voice crescendos. Adrienne opened the bag, looking at the body. There were all the missing body parts– and a knife.