The birth of the Lucifer star

The morgue stood at the end of a small copse of trees, forming a glowing tunnel of reds and yellows in the clear September sun. The air was cold, but not harsh, forming clouds of swirling mist as it was expelled from the body. The building was nothing special. Certainly not the foreboding laboratory she had expected. A large colonial brick building in the heart of suburbia. Hedges lined the gravel drive with a clear stretch of freshly cut grass on either side. The windows of the morgue as it must have once been were blacked, as if someone inside were afraid of letting the sun in. The door was a pale pink and sported a gold name plate: CountyMorgue, it boasted it italics.

Beneath was a list of names and doorbells. Shirley squinted to read the tiny handwriting beside each. Dr Malcolm MacDonald, Dr Simon Silverstein, Dr Ben Dov, Dr Josephine Aiello. Seeing the name she remembered from the phone all she gingerly pushed the metallic button. Somewhere, far off the faint sound of a bell could be heard from within the morbid walls. Then silence. Shirley whistled aimlessly through her teeth, a habit she had picked up as a child. Above her, the autumn sky clouded and the first drops of a fresh batch of rain could be felt. She pulled her already soaking coat tightly around her and hoped it wouldn’t start until she was well inside.

A slight click from behind the door made her jump, and before she could ponder it, the huge pink monstrosity swung open to reveal a middle aged woman, dressed smartly in skirt and blouse, covered by a paper white lab coat. Her natural blonde hair was held back in a tight pony tale and wire framed glasses hung firmly to her face. "Miss Cohen?" she asked.

Shirley recognized the voice from the phone and nodded her head, finding there was a lump in her throat. The bare foundations of a sympathetic smile played on the woman’s face. “I’m Doctor Aiello, do come in .”

Inside the building was as plain as it had promised from outside. A thick red carpet led the way to the tight metal doors of a lift, staring boldly out, mismatched with the blue misty wallpaper and side rail that it interrupted. Dr Aiello stepped forward and pushed the button marked down, when she stepped back she looked at Shirley, who stared forward.

“ You don’t have to do this you know.: She said softly, almost kindly. “Most of the time we rely on dental records but it seems Mr Jason didn’t care much for Oral hygiene, the dna results will take another two weeks.” She smiled, then looked at the floor. “We would have asked his father but none of our calls were answered. If you don’t feel comfortable……”

“No No, stammered Shirley ,realizing her tone, she spoke more softly “No I’ll be fine.”

The Doctor smiled and signaled the way as the lift doors opened. Shirley stepped in and felt suddenly claustrophobic. The lift was small and square, its metallic walls reflecting the revolting green of the carpet under foot. The doctor stepped in neatly and pressed another button which sent the lift shooting downwards. Shirley felt her stomach lurch and had to fight back vomit as her already twisted insides tried to reject the breakfast she hadn’t eaten that morning. The journey couldn’t have lasted more than thirty seconds but each felt like a hour as she stared in the security camera, the dim inset light, the slight humming noise as the lift neared its destination. Looking up at the mirrored walls she saw a ghost staring back at her with wide eyes. pale, feeble, scared. What had happened to her in these last months? The lift made contact with the buffer with a slight jolt and within a second the doors slid smoothly open.

On the other side was s different world. Nothing could have been more in contrast to the pale colors and serenity of upstairs. The entire place was constructed of stainless steel, like a striped out industrial kitchen. Two waist high metal benches stood in the center of room. One of these was covered with a pale cloth from which a pair of dark feet protruded. The other was empty. Over on the far wall was what looked like a large filing cabinet used for storing dead bodies. Above them, wide paneled lighting hummed relentlessly. There were no windows. The only source of new air, seemed to flow from a minuscule vent in the top left hand corner of one wall. Dr Aiello stepped out of the lift and indicated for Shirley to follow. She walked over to a small desk which sat between the lift and the two long tables and was surrounded by three small chairs. "Please take a seat." She smiled at Shirley speaking for the first time since they had entered the elevator.

Shirley did as she was told and wrapped her arms around herself as she felt the hard plastic dig into the small of her back. This room seemed even colder than the bitter autumn day she had left behind. Noticing her discomfort the doctor shot a brief look of sympathy across the table. "We have to keep it cold for the....." She trailed off and looked down at the desk, moving after a moment to retrieve some papers from one of its many draws. "We'll need you to sign these before and after you’ve seen the body. Shirley nodded feeling the nerves and upset upside her beginning to claw at her skin, desperate to escape. She felt like she needed to run. To get out of this cold building with its stale smell of disinfectant and hard cold metal walls. she wanted to get outside onto the lush grass lawn feel the freedom of the fresh air....

"Miss Cohen?" Dr Aiello tapped her gently on the shoulder as she slid the papers across the table. Handling her an expensive looking fountain pen she whispered, though there was no one to hear; Are you sure you want to go through with this? At another nod from Shirley she took the papers gently from her trembling hand. "'You know most people tell us it isn't as bad as they expect." She stood up. "They say its more like seeing someone in a very deep sleep. Dont worry. All you need to do is give me a name. you never know, this might not even be the man you knew." Shirley managed the faintest of smiles as she got up, but inside she was screaming with the agony of it all.

And even before the other woman stooped to draw back the pale blue cloth on the shabby metal gurney, she knew it was him. She just knew. She knew because she was the one who had seen him last, that night so many months ago. She knew because she knew he was dead, because she had seen his body, because she had dumped it in a deep fissure two years before . She knew the man under the pale sheet was Darren Jason.

She knew, because she had put him there. She had killed him. The good doctor, slowly pulled down the thin sheet that covered the corpse. Shirley could not take her eyes off of the Doctor's hand as she performed the procedure. She let out a gasp, as the head and face were exposed.

“No, No, this isn’t Darren, Darren was short,... his face rounder.” As she perused

the physical features of the cadaver. “Darren had a pug nose, this man has an

Eagle beak.” She almost laughed with relief. “This person’s hair is obviously

Black and long…... Darren had blond hair.”

“Ok, Well the Lieutenant will be disappointed. But thank you, Shirley.”

Shirley couldn’t wait to get out of that place. She turned and asked, “ Why did you think this was Darren?”

“This man was found with Darren’s wallet on him, but I really can’t tell you much

more, maybe the Lieutenant can bring you up to date.” Dr. Aiello surmised.

“Well, I guess I’ll be going….”Shirley was booking for the door.

“Yes, sure, thank you Miss Cohen for your cooperation. It looks like this man

drowned, his body was found in a crag of rocky shore on the south end of fire island.”

“Fire Island?” quizzed Shirley, what the heck was going on??

“Yes, bodies always seem to turn up there, the undertoe near Coney Island

is very strong, and many people are found among the rocks near Fire Island.”

Shirley had to find out how Darren’s wallet which should have been deep in

a Montana fissure could possibly turn up on a dead native American on the rocky shores

Of Fire island.

to be continued......