Book 2: First Night (3)

Book 2: First Night (3)

A Semanian woman, huh?

The medical examiner from the coroners office, Cecil Epps, said as she took a look at the body.

Taking out the mummy from the body bag on the stretcher, she set the corpse on the examination table. The rags she had for clothes had turned red-brown, far removed from their original state. And yet, one could still make out the rusted ornaments adorning her personage.

Well, thats just how it is. She was shoved in a Semanian coffin, wearing traditional Semanian clothing.

Matoba grumbled. Every time he came to the morgue, it would always have this somber atmosphere around it. Despite its cleanliness, the place was dreary enough as is. The saccharine smell of disinfectant lingered around every corner. White, tiled flooring further added to the bleak nature of the coroners office. And the pale lights adorning the ceiling made one appear as though they were one of the corpses lying on the tables. Tilarna did not seem to like it here much either. Once in a while, she would sniff around with that little nose of hers, only to twist her face into a grimace.

To think that he was once close to the lady working here, Cecil. How strange. After all, this was the worst place he could think of to woo a woman. Ever since they first met, for whatever reason, he would always invite her out to eat right in front of men who had overdosed on narcotics. Even now, Matoba himself could not remember the exact reason he did so.

Today, Cecil was wearing black knitted garments, complete with a knee-length flared skirt. She had her usual lab coat on top. Shiny, brown hair, and intelligent, blue eyes. In the past, she had been a cheerful and openhearted young girl, yet she was slowly losing that spirit day by day.

Ive accepted the job for the time being.

Writing down the necessary details in the document attached to her clipboard, she handed it over to Matoba.

Over here, were experts on the study of fresh corpses, yknow. Wouldnt it be better to leave this body to an archaeologist or something? Its probably several decades old by now.

Thats for you to find out. Time of death, age, cause of death.

Its impossible to know the exact time of death if this is all I have.

Make do with it. Dont you have things like radiometric dating and stuff?

As he said that, Cecil put on that face. The face of a scientist that pitied the stupidity of an amateur that claims to know what they are saying.nove(l)bi(n.)com

We dont do that here. In the first place, we can only reference their age based on the things we have here on Earth.

Whats that mean?

Uhm The method youre referring to is probably the one that uses the half-life of carbon-14 atoms, right? On Earth, the number of radioactive isotopes present had been calculated to be pretty much the same before the 1950s. In the Semani world, we barely have any data on the current number of radioactive isotopes present, not to mention their values in the past. That being the case, the method we take for granted here on Earth cannot be applied to people or objects of Semanian origin. Her hair follicles wont be of much use either; the genetic makeup of recent Semanian immigrants is just too different from hers.

He got the gist of what Cecil was saying. Come to think of it, he remembered something similar from one of the lectures he took back when he was still a uniformed officer.

That about does it. Understand?

Yep. One thing though. Why the 1950s?

Due to the frequency of nuclear tests being performed at the time, there was a sudden change in the number of radioactive isotopes present in the atmosphere.

Got it. I learned something new today. Thanks.

Youre welcome.

So, how about the time of death?

Without the slightest hint of repentance, Matoba repeated the same question once more. Cecil could only sigh in exasperation.

Didnt I just say I didnt know?

Shrugging her shoulders, she turned away from Matoba, producing a magnifying glass from the pocket of her lab coat. She then began examining the body, going through every nook and cranny in great detail.

By the way, did you sense any of that rahtena1 coming from this corpse?

I did not. There does not seem to be any influence of mildi2 here

Even as she said that, it felt as though Tilarna was doubting herself somehow.

Rahtena was a unique concept present in the Semani world it referred to the naturally-occurring energies that gave rise to magical phenomena. There was no way to measure such a metric under the scientific methods known to Earth, which led many to question its existence outright. Well-versed in the arts of mildi, Tilarna was the sole individual in the entire San Teresa Police Department capable of detecting its presence.

Meticulously analyzing the limbs of her patient, Cecil muttered.

Nevertheless, these are fine accessories. Perhaps she was once the daughter of nobility, maybe even royalty?

Bracelets, anklets. A necklace coupled with a brooch. There was no estimating their value, yet it was clear that these ornaments had been supplied by someone with money.

If thats the case, worst-case scenario thisll end up an international scandal. Gotta contact the Farbanian consulate before tomorrow morning, then its a waiting game for us. For now, find out all you can about our mystery mummy.

Asking her to take overtime in a roundabout way, Cecil finally took her eyes off her magnifying glass to look at him.

Kei. Ill be swamped with work tomorrow morning, yknow?

Oh, are you worried about me?

Hearing his response, Cecils voice livened up.

She was expecting something from him. As her crystal-blue eyes peered into his face, he felt his chest come astir. Nope, cant do this now. Setting aside professional ethics, he had already decided to stop doing things like this. More importantly, Tilarna was watching.

Thats not it. Well, Im counting on you Lets go, Tilarna. Gotta go interrogate those Semanians.

Casually waving his hand in the air, Matoba left the morgue behind him.

The Special Vice Squad Offices where Matoba worked was just across the street from the morgue. It took less than thirty seconds for them to get there.

However, since members of the Vice Squad often acted as decoys in police operations, it was normal for them to not enter through the front. Instead, they took the long way around, entering the building through an inconspicuous side entrance.

Though the day was pretty much over, there were still many working overtime in HQ. As always, the San Teresa Police Department was severely understaffed.

I am unable to wrap my head around this science of yours.

Inside the elevator headed to the offices, Tilarna muttered aloud.

You mean the autopsy?

Correct. In the first place, touching the remains of the dead like that should not be permitted.

You worried about hygiene?

No. Tis a moral issue. The body holds the gateway between the deceased and the realm of the dead. Thus, there remains a risk of evil spirits possessing the body. It would be best to leave these corpses alone.

Thats not possible. Interrogations alone dont solve a case. The more we find out, the faster we can lock up those Semanian bastards. Wed be able to get a lead on their smuggling route with this case.

Regardless of what value that mummy held, it was not important to the Special Vice Squad. What was necessary, however, was uncovering the true scale of the operation between the Russian and Semanian smugglers. Depending on the circumstances, they would be able to extract vital information from these criminals, and perhaps get a chance at nailing their smuggling ring.

Incidentally

Tilarna suddenly said.

are you close to Cecil?

Whats this now?

Do not think much of it. That is simply the feeling that I get from the two of you.

Come to think of it, he had not told Tilarna of their past relationship. Be that as it may, their relationship had already ended, so he had no obligation to inform his freeloader-cum-partner.

Were friends. You can trust her.

Matoba answered, feigning ignorance.

Is that so?

Thats so.

An awkward moment later, the elevator had reached the tenth floor. Tilarna did not appear to pry any further, immediately making her way towards the office.

Today marked the start of the clean-up operation. As such, several detectives were devoting themselves to finishing up paperwork here in the office. Tony had left several of his raisin cookies on Matobas desk. Holding one between his fingers, Matoba popped it into his mouth.

Delicious. He had struck the perfect balance between crispy and fluffy; the sweetness was just right. Matoba often thought that leaving Tony McBee to work here as a detective had been quite a waste of talent for the department. He sought to express his gratitude, but it seemed as though Tony was still out patrolling with his partner Godunov.

Since Tilarna had joined up with the Special Vice Squad, she had been given a personal desk of her own. It had been the desk of the late Detective Rick Fury, who had been killed in the line of duty. Although she would spend most of her free time with a manual in one hand and tampering her PC with the other, she had not made much progress on her skills. After all, Tilarna still lacked the ability to properly make a selection when given the choices Yes/No/Cancel. Matoba thought back to his childhood days when he would attempt to teach his grandfather in the countryside to use a cellphone, but to no avail. In this way, the Semanians were similar to the Earthlings of the past in that they were unable to grasp the concept of digital technology.

The guardsman to the interrogation room had just informed them that the room was open for their use.

Matoba stopped writing his report midway, called Tilarna, and headed for the interrogation room. One of his colleagues had told him Chief Zimmer was looking for you earlier, but he ignored him. He did not want the trouble. If it were really serious, he would have gotten a phone call anyway.

Now then, it was time for the interrogation.

The mans name was Lejico. His last name was too long and hard to pronounce; Matoba had given up half-way through reading it. Usually, he would go at his own pace, relentlessly cross-examining the suspect. Unfortunately, he let Tilarna handle the interrogation this time around. He had drilled the principles into her before the questioning, yet all she did was tilt her head in puzzlement.

I shall do what you ask of me. But I must ask, why?

Rookie training. If you plan on staying here, you gotta remember the rules properly.

Very well.

Tilarna squared her shoulders, heaving a hefty breath as she stepped foot into the interrogation room. Translators Notes: TL Note: A form of magical energy that can be sensed by the Semani. TL Note: The Farbanian word for magic.' TL Note: The Farbanian word for magician/practitioner.' TL Note: Tilarna is incapable of pronouncing the letter p in certain words. So she pronounces Epps as Ebbs. Also police as bolice.