Lost in Blue - Chapter 4

 

𝕯𝖗𝖊𝖎: Autopsy 

“Dorn, Schneider called.”

Eckert sat across him, as usual a pile of paperwork stacked over one another, hand signing and filling in several boxes with his pen. Busy as always, his superior took a sip from his cup of black tea with his spare hand. Henning admired his ability to multitask, it only proved how much of a workaholic his boss was.

“The autopsy’s preliminary results are here. They want you to visit the clinic in an hour. It’s urgent.”

One week had passed after the first appearance of the corpse and only now, on the 17^th of April had the results of last week’s autopsy arrived. Well, only a tentative one, which would lack a few details, but given that this was most likely a criminal case every information that could be shared earlier was crucial for the investigation. A normal autopsy report would have taken weeks, so Dorn appreciated the forensic’s work and their cooperativeness.

“What did they find out?”

“Schneider wouldn’t tell me about it on the phone, but it seems to be so grave that Arzt allows the surviving victim to take a look at the corpse,” Wolfgang explained, shrugging it off, “I expect a report as soon as you’re back. I’d like to go there myself but you see -”

Hazel eyes wandered to the stack of paper beside him, as he commented, “German Bureaucracy.”

Asking around the area if anyone had seen anything strange had proved to be futile. German media already were on the police department’s tail – as expected the salvage accompanied by police officers on the scene hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Eloquent as ever, Eckert had diplomatically declared the matters to be a simple routine check in a public interview. Needless to say, he left the two bodies out of the conversation with the reporter, disguising the police’s involvement as an attempt to help retrieve a sunken steamboat. Of course, the whole procedure had led to a decent amount of desk work.

Dorn nodded slowly, confirming, “German bureaucracy.”

Both men simultaneously let out a heavy sigh, silently cursing the never ending paperwork the two policeman were well acquainted with.

“Understood, Herr Eckert. I’m on my way.”

 

𝕹 𝕴 𝖃𝕰 𝕿 𝕺 𝕽 𝕰 𝕿𝕰𝖄

“Arzt.”

“Dorn.”

Both men just gave each other a quick nod downwards – an unspoken token of respect among males, despite having had differences in opinions the last time they had seen each other. Yet, no matter how polite they both expressed themselves with words, trying to keep up appearances, it didn’t change the frosty atmosphere, charged with tension.

Barely a week ago they had discussed the survivor’s necessity to take a look at the corpse. And now they found themselves at the small conference room of the Loreley Clinic in order to talk about the autopsy’s results.

Henning was not the type to bear grudges, but his opposite seemingly did, judging by his saturnine look, which only loosened after his female peer entered the room. Her shrilly voice announced her arrival before the policeman could even see her.

“Sorry for being late,” Schneider apologized, closing the door behind her, file in hand, while giving Henning a smile he skillfully ignored.

Pouting, she noticed both men had not taken the initiative to sit themselves down at the table. “What are you standing around for? Take a seat, you two!”

Silently, they obeyed and seated themselves, opposite of one another. Henning could see in Schneider’s eyes that she thought about sitting beside him, but his slight head-shaking thankfully made her reconsider.

Now next to her colleague, she tossed the document on the table, fully exposing its contents, as she took the opportunity to address the topic Dorn was here for, without digressing,

“First of all, we could confirm the cause of death. Despite suffering from blunt force trauma, the boy drowned.”

The policeman leaned back, crossing his arms,

“It isn’t as easy as that, otherwise you wouldn’t have called me all the way here. That’s not all there is to it, right?”

“Well, normally you’d assume someone just threw him into the Rhine’s currents after beating him up. However -”, Melanie inhaled deeply, “That doesn’t add up with the evidence. The bruises were done post mortem and his limbs were covered in scratches.”

“You mean someone dragged him down?”

“Most likely. I wouldn’t call it someone, but rather something.”

“There are no animals capable of doing that in the Rhine. You said so yourself the last time we met.”

Both physicians looked at him with a stern expression.

“Well, that is true. That’s the least of our problems, right now, though. There is something far more worrying than the way he died,” Schneider hesitantly spoke, searching for her colleague’s help, being at a loss for words.

“The estimated time of death was almost ninety years ago,” Arzt blurted out without hesitation, refusing to beat around the bush any longer, “To be precise, the year 1928.”

“Was? How is that possible? Wouldn’t the body be skeletonized?”

Staggered, Dorn raised an eyebrow. The more the two experts spoke, the more confusing did the case get.

“That’s a mystery – even for us. The lack of oxygen beneath the Rhine’s waters slows the decomposition down, but not to this extent,” Melanie explained, “A wax corpse would normally look a lot more dried-out. His skin was covered in something we assumed to be resin at first, but our research suggests an unknown substance.”

There it was again - the morbid sparkle in her eyes as she spoke about the corpse, the levity of her words whenever the mention of death was involved.

“Is there a possibility for the date to be false?”

"Nein, it is impossible,"Arzt confirmed, scoffing, "A screw taken as evidence was examined and it had the same year carved in. The manufacturer, a small family run business from the area could confirm this to be of their production. We've done everything we could here, more than we should, to be honest. Instead of doubting our medical findings, you should work on solving the case, Herr Polizist."

“Oh, I would like to, but a certain physician wouldn’t let me properly interrogate the one person who could know something, therefore impeding ascertainments,” Dorn retorted, faking a smile.

The policeman was used to dealing with people he did not favor, but dealing with two at once, while one of them had the audacity to snark in a situation like this – even Dorn had to be allowed to behave improperly once in a while in accordance with the German proverb ‘Wie du mir, so ich dir’. What comes around, goes around.

“You may rest assured that I no longer intend to do so. Due to the urgency, she is permitted to take a look at the corpse. Fingerprints alone, after all, are not able to tell us anything about his identity.”

To his surprise, the physician had finally given in, albeit reluctantly. What had been disapproved of a few days prior, was now authorized by Arzt. Henning sighed deeply. As if that could not have happened sooner – it would have spared the policeman a few headaches.

“Weeeeeeeeell,” Schneider interrupted the ensuing awkward silence, “It is true, we cannot tell you as of right now who this boy is, we’re still trying to trace back his origin, same goes for our damsel in distress. It might take a while longer, but Arzt and I figured we should at least tell you all the information we do know.”

“If we do find out anything else, we will contact you,” Eduard added.

He stood up, headed towards the exit. One hand resting on the door handle, he faced Dorn as he spoke,

“Until then, we hope Fräulein here might provide you with more information.”

The doctor opened the door and long blonde curls instantly entered Dorn’s view, paired with blue eyes looking at him in surprise, heart-shaped lips slightly parted, a fist caught in the air. Judging by her overall stance, the policeman assumed that the survivor was about to knock on the door to ask for permission to enter, but Arzt forestalled.

Confused, she cocked her head to the side, her pupil dancing from left to right imploringly.

“Herr Arzt?” she asked shyly, voice as soothing as the first time the young investigator had heard it.

Her azure orbs met his brown ones and there was something in her eyes, like a magnetic pull, that exercised power over him, rendering him unable to look away for a few seconds. It left him speechless, in a trance-like condition even. His heart skipped a few beats, before he finally managed to slap himself in imagination, pulling him back into reality before Arzt and Schneider would notice his moment of weakness.

He was never the type of man to simply be swayed by a person’s looks alone, but for some reason, this woman was different.

Dorn stood up and put out his hand.

“Henning Dorn, we met last week. May I ask you to accompany us to the morgue, Fräulein?”

Eyeing his hand uncertainly, the lady looked to a nodding Arzt for support. Then, she shook hands with the policeman, a touch of sadness lacing her words:

“Bitte.”

𝕹 𝕴 𝖃𝕰 𝕿 𝕺 𝕽 𝕰 𝕿𝕰𝖄

No words were spoken as they made their way down the morgue. Henning could only speak for himself, but the closer they got to the mortuary, the more he dreaded what was about to come, especially since he could not estimate how the still unidentified woman would react. She possessed no name, no identity, which is why they all referred to her as ‘Fräulein’.

Following both physicians in front, the policeman eyed her unobtrusively from the side. Her gait was slow, but steady, hands stiff, but not trembling, her breathing slightly unsteady. Apart from the usual symptoms of nervousness – he certainly would not blame her for feeling that way - she seemed to be doing suspiciously fine.

In front of the door that separated them from the morgue, the group came to a halt.

“We’re here,” Melanie announced, fiddling around with the keys in her hands.

A clicking sound followed and the pathologist pushed the door open. In an instant, a cold wave hit them all, accompanied by eerie machine droning.

No matter how many times Henning had and still would have to come down here, the nausea would always come along. How ridiculous – Dorn came here, expecting death and still his stomach churned at the thought. His words could deny his discomfort, but his body did not lie.

They entered the room, Schneider ahead, and passed several morgue coolers, arranged side by side. Their footsteps echoed through the hallway and mixed with the background noise.

And then the moment came when they found the morgue cooler.

“I’m gonna pull him out now,” Schneider warned, directing her gaze towards the blonde woman. He gulped.

When she nodded to give her approval, the forensic doctor pulled out the funeral bier. First glimpses of golden curls came into view, the fragile body of the little boy was revealed and the sight of green bruises on his limbs made Henning’s eye twitch once.

All eyes focused on the nameless Fräulein, she slowly stepped forward. Everyone was silent, carefully observing her reactions, in order to interfere, if needed. As her eyes traced down the scratches, her fingertips began to touch her temple, as if a memory began to resurge.

“And? Do you remember anything?” Dorn inquired cautiously, “Even anything minor that comes to mind is a great help, please don’t pressure yourself to recall any details.”

Fräulein shook her head, her grip around her head tightened,

“I … I know this boy. There is something …”

Tenderly, her hand caressed the dead little child’s cheek. Pain and sadness emerged from the depths of her heart, initiating the beginning of cataclysm.

“Ja?”

“I saw them … I saw them!” her voice was but a quiver, her fingers entangled in her locks.

In a heartbeat, she became frantic. Hysteria clouded her mind. “I can’t remember his name. Warum? Why can’t I remember?”

Suddenly, the long haired beauty broke down, the tears thickened and gradually increased to roll down her cheeks. She began to sob uncontrollably, muttering apologies under her breath and several barely intelligible phrases left her lips.

It became painfully clear to Henning that she had not been prepared to shoulder the emotional weight, as his regret settled in. He realized that it had been to soon for her to face the trauma again.

Seeing a woman cry aroused pity in him, he wasn’t that cold-hearted that he wouldn’t care about the victim’s mental state unlike a certain pathologist, but he was in no position to comfort her in any way. Neither would it be appropriate nor would it help ease the emotional pain.

As a professional, Eduard Arzt had stepped forward in an attempt to comfort the victim’s declining mental state, but to no avail. The female swayed from side to side, rejecting any physical contact with the doctor, until her legs gave up supporting her, buckling under her weight.

Dorn caught the lady at the last moment, before her half-conscious body had the opportunity to kiss the ground, which could have resulted in possible injuries if it had not been for his fast reflexes. Curls of blonde tangled around both of his arms and her head rested now on his chest. All of her warm skin pressed against his frame and despite giving off the impression of being a lightweight, Henning became aware that day that sometimes appearances can be deceitful.

Again, as her fingers clenched around his collar, she repeatedly muttered a single name, pleading for “Ruven”.

Drowning in Eduard’s immediate accusations how he had been right and how they should have refrained from confronting her with the corpse, which he ignored for the time being, Dorn was glued on the spot. Overwhelmed, he made sure not to touch her inappropriately, his arms merely served the purpose of supporting her, which earned him a jealous glare from Melanie.

He had encountered many reactions to the death of a loved one – anger and desperation alike -, but a woman clinging onto him? That was a first.

Bewilderment aside, the sensation he was embarrassed about the most was the shame of having acted like an utter fool. Not being able to help in the slightest, despite having made an oath to protect civilian’s from harm made him regret the course of action. Explaining what transpired here to Eckert later on would be a difficult task.

In his arms, the voice ceased crying - she had fainted.

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