The X-Man by Brian R. Lundin (100 best novels of all time .TXT) 📕

tightly around her neck, her bulging unseeing eyes seemed to be looking directly at me and pleading for me the save her. The trademark X was cut into her torso and smeared in blood on the wall. I felt a tremendous wave of grief flood through me and felt dizzy, my legs went weak, a familiar reaction to an all-too-familiar sight. Charley immediately went to work taking photos and dusting for prints, Dixon donned latex gloves, white evidence suit with foot booties and began examining the body

DIXON (GENTLY FEELING THE VICTIM’S ARMS)
Look likes a semi-advanced state of rigor, I’d estimate she was killed five or six hours ago and there is a bruise on her forehead

Evetta and I carefully walked down the hardwood floor hallway leading from the bathroom. Evetta pointed to what appeared to be scuff marks on the floor. I placed an evidence marker near the marks and we continued walking down the hall. On the right was a small kitchen; there were no dishes in the sink and the floor smelled like it had recently been mopped with Lysol. The front room contained only throw pillows a television, a small table and a CD player it was neat I noticed as we continued down the hallway. The bedroom was to the left of the hallway and contained a queen-sized bed, an opened closet door and a dresser drawer; I carefully opened the three drawers and looked inside.

RINGO
Typical ladies things; perfumes, tampons and the like but no underwear, panties or brassieres

EVETTA (LOOKIG AT THE BED)
Look like she had laid her clothes out on the bed
I’ve got a wallet, stuffed under some women slips
Driver’s license, social security card, a pictured Chicago State Student Identification Card and a Hyde Park Bally Club membership card.

Evetta placed the wallet in an evidence baggie.I noticed that the pillows and the covers on the bed seemed ruffled and there was a small spot of blood and a white stain on the top sheet. The seams in the cheap shag carpet covering the floor also seemed disturbed and had an imprint. I placed evidence markers on the bed and the carpet and we backed out the room. I waived to Turner who joined us in the hallway. Charley Turner, the best crime scene technician I knew, was a big black man, over six-five and 220 pounds of solid muscle. He was a star tight-end at Notre-Dame, until a cheap shot tackle in his senior year blew out his knees.

RINGO
Take pictures of where I’ve placed markers, might be important

Turner did as directed and was exiting the bathroom and pointed to the kitchen. Doctor Dixon was removing his evidence suit when me and Evetta came into kitchen and sat at the kitchen table. Doctor Dixon wore green khaki pants and a heavy black shirt that looked two sizes too large, his white undershirt showed through; I didn’t know anyone still wore undershirts.

RINGO
What’s the verdict?

DIXON
She has a large bruise on the back of her head, look like a blunt instrument which probably knocked her unconscious, death was due to strangulation and it appears the sexual assault was post mortem

RINGO
What do you make of all the victims being posed in the bathtub?

DIXON
You know, once upon a time I attempted to play Sherlock Holmes and was quickly put in my place by a young lieutenant, now all I do collect any evidence during the autopsy that might be helpful and give it over to you guys. But since you are both good friends, I’ll try to answer your question. The killer is performing some sort of sadistic ritual by the way he carefully position the body, he’s satisfying some urge or trying to forget something, shows all the signs of a narcissistic sociopath, a new twist, I don’t think the victim was killed in the bathtub or bathroom and I think she was raped before and after she was killed, The bruises on her neck indicate that maybe the panty hose was used to kill her the knot is nearly as tight as we found on the others.

EVETTA
Could the incision have killed her?

DIXON
Could be, I guess, I’ll know more after we get her on the table

EVETTA
We found some scuff marks on the floor leading to the bathroom and blood and maybe semen in the bedroom and a wallet

Evetta opened the baggie and removed the license from the wallet.

EVETTA
Name Cynthia White, date of birth June 1, 1990, that would make her eighteen. Maybe the killer accosted the victim in the bedroom, she fought and he hit her on the head with something, that could account for the blood, and the bed seemed disturbed, maybe that where he raped her leaving the white stains, maybe semen

TURNER (POINTING TO A LAMP)
I found something, look like blood and hair on its base, I also found a slight print on the lamp

RINGO (HUGGING CHARLEY)
You‘re the best fuckin ‘tech” in the department

CHARLEY (WIDE GRIN)
Aw shuck

I welcomed the cold rain and wind as Evette and I left the building and wished it could wash away the smell of death. I noticed Emile Smiles a police reporter for the Sun-Times and William Hopps from the Chicago Tribune standing behind the police tapes among the drug dealers, a CBS news van was parking. Another young black woman raped and killed was more than news once the word got out reporters, anchor people and news producer would use it as their lead-ins for weeks. We hurried to my car and watched as the techs brought out Cynthia White’s in a body bag.
Esau, wearing all black clothing was in the rear of the crowd and watched as the police officers tried to maintain order. He knew they had found the body of the beautiful young girl on the 3rd floor. He remembered how she had smelled, how she had tried to fight him before he hit her with the lamp, knocking her unconscious long enough for him to undress and tied her spread eagle to the bedpost. He could still see the lust in her eyes when she awaken and felt his hard body on top of her plunging deeper and deeper into her bleeding and swollen vagina. “Are you virgin he asked her,” but she didn’t respond, so he kept plunging deeper and deeper while he placed the silk panty hose around her throat and the deeper he plunged the tighter her pulled the stocking and when he climaxed he pulled it even tighter until she stopped breathing.
He plunged the knife repeatedly into her neck and stomach and, carved an X into her chest. He untied her, pulled her off the bed and drugged her body into the bathroom where he gently propped her up in the tub and smeared an X with her blood on the wall. Before he left he took a Polaroid snapshot of her naked, dead body.

INT-AUTOPSY ROOM
Evetta and I entered the large brightly lit, cold sterile autopsy room and Doctor Dixon waived and beckoned at us. His usually bright and cherry face bore a look of concern, we donned the scrubs, gloves and masks given to us by the doctor and followed him as he went over to Cynthia White’s half-covered body lying on the cold steel table, drainage holes were on the sides and a water hose was attached to the table. On another stainless steel table was an organ scale and trays of surgical instruments, the smell of dead bodies was very intent in the small, confined room. Evetta started to cover her mouth and nose even though we were masked, Doctor Dixon stopped her.

DIXON
There are germs everywhere in the room Evetta, so don’t touches your face with your hands and trying to stop the smell with your hands will only make it worse. In a couple of minutes your senses will go dead and the smell will go away, just take short breaths. I’ve noticed at some of the scenes the officers kept leaving the room to get fresh air and then coming back, the only thing they were doing was giving their sense of smell an opportunity to return

A young black woman maybe, thirty, removed the white sheet that covered the body of Cynthia White and we all looked down at the once ebony colored face now an ash white and disfigured in death. The young woman seemed so out of place in this place. The woman clicked on an overhead light and began taking photographs from different angles, ten minutes later a young white woman began cleaning the body with what smelled like a strong antiseptic, and positioning it on the table. Dixon introduced me and Evetta to Ms. Walker and Mrs. Edelman, his dieners or Anatomical Pathology Technolologist.

DIXON
They will assist me in eviscerating the body and reconstruction after the autopsy

One of the women turned on a bright light and positioned it over the top of the cadaver and the other woman turned on another bright light over the bottom of the body. I had witnessed numerous autopsies but never got use to them; I looked at Evetta and wondered how she would handle her first autopsy.

DIXON
Since this your first autopsy Detective Lunden I will explain the process. As I am sure you are aware, we are required by law to conduct an autopsy in all cases of sudden or violent deaths. The principle aim of an autopsy is to determine the cause of death and the state of health of the person before death and do not require permission or consent of relatives of the deceased. Before the actual autopsy begins an external examination is conducted. The body is removed from a sterile evidence bag and X-rayed and the bag is later examined for evidence and X-rayed. If the body is clothed, the clothing is also examined, if it is believed that there may be evidence on the hands, such as gunpowder or dermal specimen, the hands are placed in a separate bag and taped shut around the wrist. The dieners photograph the body and ultraviolet light is used to search the body surfaces for any evidence not readily visible to the naked eye. The body is then cleaned and washed with an antiseptic; we’ll take hair and nails samples and later depending on the circumstances, radiographic also images may be taken. Once the external evidence is collected, a general description of the body as regards ethnicity, sex, age, hair color, and etc. is dictated into a recorder.

Ms. Walker slid a “body block” under the back of the body, causing the arms and neck to fall backwards stretching and pushing the chest upward. Dixon walked over to the body and removed a pair of latex gloves from his pocket; he rubbed some dusting powder on his hands stretched the rubber gloves and snapped them on. Doctor Dixon pointed to the woman’s chest.

DIXON
In this position the chest is easier to open and provides maximum exposure to the trunk. We are now ready to begin the internal examination where we will examine the internal organs for signs of trauma or other indications of the cause of death. Do you have a weak stomach, detective?
Evetta shook her head as Doctor Dixon removes a scalpel from a table next to the body and positioned the X-ray machine over the body.

DIXON
An X-ray is always taken of the entire body before we start the procedure

After taking the X-ray the doctor