Chapter Two.
As Vincent stepped into the office he was greeted by hushed whispering and muffled crying. There must’ve have been every staff member in the entire building squeezed into the office. Cops, lab technicians and even the elusive Chief managed to pack themselves into the cramped space. Confused, excusing himself as he went, Vincent advanced through the crowd. What he witnessed next was as bizarre as it was shocking.
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“Such a waste of a cop. It was her first day on the job as well,” remarked Detective Spencer-Kim glumly as she shook her head in dismay.
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The lifeless body of Officer Nina Caliente lay on the SMPD’s office floor. Trash was strewn all around the victim’s body which partially obscured it from view. Tearing his eyes away for a second, Vincent turned to his colleagues that stood behind him and addressed them.
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“Has anyone touched or examined the body?” He asked with slight trepidation in his voice. “We’ll need to examine it quickly before Grim shows up. Did anyone see anything suspicious?”
Vincent was met with blank looks and sheepish head shakes from his colleagues.
“I made some cursory observations and determined that the victim was untouched apart from two small holes on the left side of the neck,” a lab technician piped up from behind him. Vincent grunted and nodded in response.
Before the technician could elaborate any further, a foreboding feeling washed over Vincent’s entire body sending shivers down his spine. The eerie sound of Death’s arrival rang through the quiet office.
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They were too late to investigate any further and any chance of examining the body properly was now lost.
“Should have gathered physical and plasma evidence by now,” a vexed Vincent muttered to himself, inwardly chastising his colleagues.
If only they had found the body sooner.
Vincent stood shoulder to shoulder with the Grim Reaper as it worked on removing Officer Caliente’s soul. Overwhelmed by the last few days, Vincent gave into his emotions and broke down into manly sobs.
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Once the Grim Reaper had collected Officer Caliente’s soul and disappeared back to the Netherworld, he suddenly remembered that the suspect in Interrogation Room 1 was still waiting for him to return.
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After composing himself, he made his way over to his superior and asked him for advice on the case.
“We’ve got nothing on her so we can’t really hold her any longer than we already have,” the detective said matter-of-factly, “the father is just whining and, in all honesty, the mother is probably right; she’ll come back. After all, this isn’t her daughter’s first disappearing act and we’ll probably just tell the father that we’re dropping the case as there’s not much to investigate. Kick her free, Valentine.”
A disheartened Vincent thanked the detective and returned to the Sim sat waiting for him down the long, dank corridor.
“We’re done here. You’re free to go,” he said flatly as he stepped into the room.
The Sim whipped her head round to face him with a confused and startled look upon her face.
“But you said...” she trailed off once she realised her situation.
“I know what I said. Go. Now. Before I change my mind.”
She thanked him and gathered her things. Quickly brushing past him, she disappeared through the door in the blink of an eye.
***
Once Vincent returned to his Spice District apartment he decided to forgo a night in front of the TV and took a long, hot shower instead. He needed to scrub the rotten Netherworld stench off him as it still clung to his hair and his nostrils. As he stood under the hot water he remembered the sight of the Grim Reaper’s Netherworldly mist billowing around the office and, despite the sweltering steam surrounding him, it chilled him to the bone. Vincent shuddered at the memory and tried hard to push it from his mind.
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After drying off from his shower, Vincent collapsed into bed thinking about how exhausted he was and how well he would sleep. However, sleep that night clearly had other plans and it escaped him.