Sam Cardlins was last on the scene. It was far from her usual standard of professionalism, but that morning she just didn't feel like her usual self. She was thirty, and for the past ten years she had been part of the law. She had risen the ranks faster than most cops. She had been lucky to be given the chance so young, but her hard work and sheer determination got her to where she was.
Each day she was surrounded by death, and if your shadowed by the Reaper for long enough, you start to feel dead yourself. Maybe that was the problem. She had seen so much hate, so much pain, in her life that she wasn't surprised to find herself numb to it. She saw dead bodies as shells of people departed. It was hard to think of them as anything else when you have to deal with them everyday. If she let herself feel for them, how would she be able to get out of bed in the morning? No, the bodies were just shells, the aftermath of the gunshot of life.
"I hope you skipped breakfast, Sam," was the first thing her partner, Rick, said.
Sam rubbed her eyes as she ventured further into the room. "What the hell happened?"
Rick Marcus, the guy who she had been teamed up with for nearly six years, pointed over to the sofa. "Whoever did this crushed him under that. It's not nice, Sam. He was beaten and then had this thing dropped on his head. Poor bastard."
Sam surveyed the scene. Two bodies. No sign of forced entry. "What about the girl?"
"She's was beaten to death. What I can't understand is why the killer put her under the table."
"Maybe he wanted to hide her face? Maybe he couldn't stand to look at the mess he had made?" Sam said absently.
Rick turned to her, his face held an expression of concern. "Are you okay?"
Sam looked up from the girl. "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's just shaping up to be one of those mornings I think. Any idea of their names, or relationship to each other?"
"Not a clue. They had nothing on them, not even a few dollars."
"He's wearing an apron. Any idea which store or cafe he worked at?"
"No. Sam, I'm not going to bullshit you. This one is weird. This house has been empty for years. The last owner died three years ago and it's been on the market ever since. People around this area said they haven't seen anyone coming back and for to the house, but it's clear these two were living here. There's food in the fridge, stuff in the bathroom."
Sam nodded, still looking around the room for some sign of identity of the two bodies. "Okay. Get the bodies to the morgue. Maybe that will shed some light on who these two are."
"Their on the way. What's your feeling on this, Sam?"
"Until we know who they are, I can't say for sure. I have a feeling this isn't going to be straightforward."
Sam and Rick left the house when the coroner arrived. Standing outside the scene, Sam felt watched. There were people all around her, but the feeling was otherworldly. It was the feeling you sometimes get when you're in an old house alone. Yet she wasn't alone.
Rick stopped, leaning against the rig he was standing by. "They get stranger, don't they?"
Sam nodded. "Sadly, they do. I can't really make sense of this one. Why would you kill a man with a couch?"
"Feng shui?"
Sam giggled, she couldn't help it. Sometimes Rick would crack her up with his remarks. It was one of the few things that didn't irritate the hell out of her. "Maybe. Listen, I've caught up on my paperwork and I've finished here. I'm going home. Let me know if something comes up?"
"Sure thing, Sam. See you tomorrow."
Sam pulled into her garage in her 1974 AMC Matador, a car she had had since she was twenty, ten years ago. She wasn't the type of person who bought something new just for the sake of having it. As long as her car ran, then it would remain hers. Her father had been the same, always tight fisted.
She turned off the engine, and sat in silence. The thought of going up to her empty house was far from appealing. She had lived in the two bed building for five years, and still loved it. Her living room was on the ground floor, and her kitchen/dining rooms along with her bedrooms on the first. The building was slightly upside-down, but she guessed it reflected her life. It was humble, and everything she needed.
No longer able to put if off, she opened the door and got out.