Elise VanCise

Chapter 1

The holiday season had arrived in Florida. The weather finally decided to act like winter. Ryan pulled the sweater a litter tighter as the wind picked up. Being a native to the Sunshine State it was cold to her. She spotted Susan Denton smoking with her short sleeve scrubs barely chilled. Yankee cow. “Hey Susan, you’re freezing me to death. The least you could do is pretend to be cold.”

            They shared a laugh. “Need a ride home?”

            The other woman put out the offending cigarette. “You’re blood’s too thin Cracker. I’ll take that offer my car is down again.”

            As they hopped in the car Susan called her husband and let him know she had a ride. Dropping her phone in her pocket Susan lights up again. “He says thank you for letting him stay in his warm bed. You ready for Christmas? I’ve still got tons of stuff to get for the kids.”

            Ryan smiled feeling kind of grateful she didn’t have that problem yet. “You spoil them too much! I only have my sister left to buy for. She’s one of those that has everything. I have no idea what to get her.”

            After a moment they both say. “Gift card.”

            Laughing Ryan turns the corner only to find an oversized pick up truck sliding into her lane. The women didn’t even have time to scream before the collision echoed into the night. Blinding light metal scrapping against metal and dragging on the asphalt, the sounds drowning everything else out.

            When the vehicles finally slid to a stop Ryan picked her aching head up gingerly. Everything was blurred there was a pounding in her head. All the sounds, people shouting, something creaking, were muffled like they were in a can. Susan was leaning against the passenger window, she wasn’t moving. “Susan?”

            Ryan felt the cold air rush in as someone opened her car door. She tried to turn to see who but the pounding in her head accelerated and the world just faded away.

            Opening her eyes Ryan felt the bed move as her sister sat on the edge. “Ryan? Hey sis, can you say something?”

            Ryan glared at her annoyed. “Something. What happened?” Then she remembered the staff party at the Lake County Coroner’s office was in full swing. Dr. Ryan Reign took a sip of punch her assistant had brought her and grimaced.

            Naturally some wisenheimer had spiked the once delicious sherbet punch. Dumping it in the unsuspecting potted palm next to her Ryan decided it was time to go home. Especially before her college Dr. Barney Flak decided to do a striptease again this year.

            Barney was the one who noticed her pull on the light sweater and grab her purse. “Hey! Ryan you can’t leave yet, Doris is setting up the Karaoke.”

            Ryan smiled at the pathologist who reminded her of Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue. “Thanks Barn, but I’m pulling a double tomorrow. Sing some Elvis for me okay.”

            Curling his lip Barney struck a King like pose. “You got it little lady. Thank you, thank you very much!”

            Laughing she walked out as he called. “Ladies and gentlemen Dr. Reign has left the building!”

            Susan, she was giving Susan a ride home. Then the bright lights, the scrapping of metal, being tossed around like a rag doll. With the memory came the blinding headache. Slowly she brought her hand to her head groaning as her sister called for the nurse.

            “Dang all Ryan you had us scared to death! You have no idea how bad it could have been. Thank God you were wearing a seat belt. Susan’s going to be alright too. She had a broken rib and collar bone and a nasty whiplash. Where is that nurse?”

            Ryan just let her babble knowing it must have been bad for Amber to start running off at the mouth. Her younger sibling was chatty but never just a motor mouth. The nurse finally arrived and put a dose of pain meds into the IV. She quickly checked her vitals. Ryan closed her eyes while waiting for the meds to do their work when she had a glimpse of the nurse with a blue stick. “How far along?”

            The nurse paused what she was doing and looked at her strangely. “What did you ask?”

            “Sorry to pry, I asked how far along you are.”

            The nurse looked from Ryan to her sister. Then quickly gathered her things. “I just found out this morning that I am pregnant. How did you know?”

            Ryan couldn’t answer her. She couldn’t have known. The woman didn’t even look pregnant. “You have the glow. You know.”

            The nurse smiled and left her to rest. Ryan didn’t buy that answer either. Maybe she heard the nurse mention it when she was out. The nurse may have been showing the positive to another nurse and she glimpsed it in a brief moment of

consciousness. The subconscious is a mystery. Who knows what you pick up when you’re knocked out.

            Finally the day came when she got to go home. Amber became a total mother hen fussing over her big sister. “Be careful going up those steps.”

            Ryan nodded as she trounced up the porch steps to the front door. Grabbing the knob to unlock she caught the scent of her neighbors cherry cigars. She turned thinking he was close by. The only person there was Amber. “You alright?”

            Looking across the street Ryan found the neighbor mowing his lawn puffing a cigar. The smell must have drifted on the breeze. “Yeah, Am, I’m fine.”

            It took hours for her to get rid of her sister. “Am go home, I’m fine. I’m not an invalid. I can cook dinner when I’m ready for it.”

             With a sigh and listing every phone number she could possibly think of, Amber relented leaving her sister to her own devices. “Call me immediately if you need anything! I mean anything, Ryan.”

            Closing the door behind her sister she felt as if she was finally able to relax. Ryan turned on the CD player and Johnny Cash started to filter through the room. A quick fix meal in the microwave and a good book were next on the list.

            She sat on the couch engrossed in the latest thriller novel. Mistakenly she grabbed Amber’s coffee cup from earlier.

            “Don’t over do it, take it easy for a couple of days.” Her sister scolded as she had earlier. Ryan spit the hideously cold brew back in the cup and stood up to give Am the what-for. Sister or not she had some nerve just barging back in.

            There was no one but Johnny heading to the gallows with twenty-five minutes to go. Didn’t she hear Amber’s voice? Looking out the front window, there was no car in the drive and a couple of teenage girls chatting and giggling as they walked by.

            “Must have been them.” She said to herself.

            Three weeks went by and she couldn’t take another day stuck at home. It was her first day back to work.

            “Thank God. “ She thought, puling into the parking lot. Maybe now things could get back to normal if there really was such a thing as normal.

            Barney met her at the door. “Welcome back beautiful!”

            Ryan smiled and skillfully evaded the hug. “Thanks, it’s good to be back.”     Walking into her office expecting a ton of paperwork she was greeted with a nice surprise. The baskets were empty. She wanted to do a happy dance.

            Kessler the facility director popped his head in the door. “Thought it best you have a fresh start. You really cleared to come back so soon?”

            Ryan flopped in her chair. “I’d kiss you but we don’t need anymore gossip around here. I’m good, ready to get back in the groove. I swear not to sue you if I stub my toe.”

            He nodded and tossed a folder on her desk. “I’ll hold you to that. Besides with out you around we didn’t have anything to gossip over. Start slow, do this one autopsy, help out in the lab. Then go home early.”

            Picking up the file she promised. Ryan knew better than to argue with Kessler. When he got mad his Nazi ancestry came to the surface.

            Looking at the case she thought this one should be a snap. Female, Caucasian, multiple stab wounds. There were photos of the crime scene; a big kitchen knife lay beside the victim. Not a lot of blood though. Could have been killed somewhere else. Then brought back home? Weird.

            With a final sip of her tea Ryan headed for the autopsy room. Hopefully since Kessler was the one who handed her the case the body would be halfway prepped.

            Sure enough someone was there finishing the initial trace. The little brunette smiled. She was new. You don’t just smile over a possible murder victim. “Dr. Reign, I’m Lydia the new tech.”

            Ryan nodded then went to the girl on the table. That’s who deserved her attention at the moment. She was a pretty girl. Not tiny but not overweight, just built like a real woman, with curves. The knife wounds looked as if they may match the weapon in the photos. They were fairly deep. It was odd though the seven wounds looked like they almost formed a circle. She wondered if this was done on purpose or just a random effect.

            Everything else was run of the mill until she checked the eyes. The cornea of the left eye was missing. Examining the right she found it was intact. “Make a notation to check her past medical records for a keratectomy.”

            It was odd to come across someone so young with such a procedure. The girl had fought back. There were cuts and broken nails from trying to block the blade, defensive wounds, all over her hands and arms. “Lydia help me get her undressed.”

            The tech came over and they tugged the jeans off. Ryan always felt like she was playing dress up with an oversized doll. It would have been easier to just cut the clothing off but it might compromise possible evidence. So they undressed the bodies the old fashioned way.

 Ryan caught her glove on the edge of the table tearing it from her right palm. “Crap.” Seeing the tech cast a worried glance she added. “I’m alright, ripped my glove.”

            Lydia nodded and folded the jeans and a tube of lipstick fell from the pocket. Out of instinct Ryan reached for it and caught it in her unlatexed palm. She swore angry that she had just contaminated possible evidence.

            Suddenly images started flashing the girl in a room, screaming. The girl crying as she applied the lipstick looking in a mirror. The feel of something being forced into her body. Ryan screamed in agony as she felt the knife being drawn out, knowing it would be plunged again. Falling to the floor she dropped the tube but continued to scream until shock made it all fade to black.