Triskele

As Bevan began to unzip the bag, an extremely foul smell permeated the air. Bug gagged, Nigel closed his eyes for a second, and Bevan swallowed hard as she looked into the bag, feeling her stomach churning.

"Grab the bin,” she ordered sickly. “It gets worse."

She poured the contents onto the table, tried to ignore the bile that threatened, and reached for a vial. She had to close her eyes as she took some of the liquid for a toxicology sample. With the vial closed she laid it to the side and reached for the hose, feeling calmer as the putrid mess ran down the drain and she could concentrate on looking for debris.

"Partial skeleton, including the skull, torso, vertebrae, and pelvis. Advanced decomposition including the skin, muscle, and vicera. Femur and humerus on both sides have been cut in half, by a machine judging by the jagged edges and the multiple gouge marks," she listed more calmly as she turned the skeleton around and picked up the limbs.  Turning to the drain she continued, "No ligatures or signs of projectiles, clothes or other belongings. Pelvis shape is indicative to a  male victim. Skull in the right temporal region is crushed, possible blunt force trauma. Possible cause of death trauma to the skull. Manner, homicide. All teeth present, various signs of dental work. Very little soft tissue left on the body save for some of the larger ligaments and tendons."

She washed off her hands and turned off the recorder, then looked at Nigel and Bug, who both looked pale. She wondered if she looked like that.

"Are there any lemons in the break room?" she asked.

"Lemons?" Nigel asked.

"They take the smell out of your skin and hair," she said.

He shook his head, and then looked at Bug, who gave him a 'like you didn't know that' look.

She took off her gloves and rubbed her nose. "How long before we can send films of the teeth for id?"

"We could do it now," Nigel said.

"Okay. Then we need to cremate him, he's going to stink up the whole building."

She put another two pairs of gloves on while Nigel pulled down the radiograph machine. She tried to open the jaw and it came off in her hand, making Bug gag. She turned it around in her hand and had to suppress the insane urge to laugh. Nigel turned and saw her with the jaw in her hand and blanched.

"It just came off, I swear," she said catching the look on his face.

They took the radiographs quickly and Bevan tried to fit the jaw back as best as she could but it kept falling off. She finally just laid it against the clavicle and had Nigel hold the body bag as she put it in, noticing he looked almost gray. She deftly flipped the gloves into the nearest trash can, and then tossed the surgical apron, wanting to get out of the room. With the sample in her hand, she picked up her briefcase and jacket and walked out, leaving Nigel literally holding the bag. She ran into Garret and Jordan about twenty feet from the door.

"You smell like decomp," Garret said, wrinkling his nose.

"I know," she said wryly. "Where's my desk?"

"Find anything?" he asked.

"Well, not much. His legs were cut off at mid thigh, and the arms were cut off in the middle of the humerus, so we've got them hanging around somewhere. No clothes, no ligatures, no bullets. And we took films of the teeth for an id," she said. "I’d say it’s probably a white male, by the shape of the pelvic and facial structures. I'd have to measure the facials to be sure."

"Right here," Garret said, pointing to a door, "With a can of air freshener."

"Thank you," she said, going in. "Do I need to sign for the cremation?"

"Nigel can handle it," he said. "It wouldn't take me long to sign the form."

At that moment, Nigel came out of the crypt, looking very sick. They looked at him and Garret smiled.

"God Nige, you reek," Jordan said, making a face.

"How can you stand it?" Nigel asked, looking at Bevan.

"I warned you," she answered. "You want to take him to be cremated, or do you want me too?"

"You can do it," Nigel said "Okay," she said, setting her briefcase and jacket in her office. "Where did you leave him?"

~~~~

An hour later, Bevan was typing up a report when Nigel walked in. He noticed the candle burning and then he saw the bag of chips on her desk.

"You're eating?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "Do you need something?"

"How can you eat so soon after smelling that?" he asked.

"I'm used to it," she replied nonchalantly with a small shrug.  "Did you need something Dr. Townsend?"

"Here's the tox screens," he said as he laid them on her desk. "High levels of heroin."

"Good, thank you,” she glanced up at him briefly, “I hope you feel better."

Her voice was emotionless and he wondered if that was supposed to be a joke.

Glancing back up at him, she smiled slightly, "I meant that. Decomps are the worst to autopsy. I'd rather do ten charred cadavers over one decomp."

"So would I," he agreed before turning to leave.

She smiled briefly before continuing her typing, occasionally eating a handful of chips.