Page 25 of Wolf's Mark

She wrinkled her nose, likely from the smell. It was only cleaning products, but everyone imagined it was from embalming fluid. “Male in his early forties. He was not exposed to elements. We are uncertain of the method of death.”

I had a feeling she was providing more than she was comfortable in doing. “Are you waiting or heading back to Chicago?”

“I’m headed back. When you know you’re close to finishing, call this number. These two gentlemen will come and pick up the body.”

“Then you’re handling telling the next of kin?”

“Don’t worry about my job, Doctor. Just do yours.” She walked out, followed by the two men closely afterwards and it was tough not to make a face.

All three were certainly hurrying to the exit.

What had them so spooked? I should do a show and tell with the elementary school kids in town. Maybe they wouldn’t be so scared.

I headed to the body, staring down at it before moving to scrub my hands and arms and prepare everything.

Why did I have a feeling it was going to be a very long day?

A few minutes later, I was ready and moved to the table, turning on the two cameras I used including the audio recording device. With no one here to assist, and the FBI possibly breathing down my neck about the results, I knew I needed to be extra careful in how I handled it from the beginning.

With no name, all I could call him was John Doe. I started the recording and unzipped the bag, peeling it away. Very rarely had a single dead body bothered me, other than the two times children had been involved. I’d seen plenty of stabbings and gunshot victims, jumpers and even one who’d somehow gotten himself in a chipping machine.

But I’d never seen anyone mauled by an animal, at least not to this degree.

No wonder the others had acted strangely. It didn’t take a doctor to notice the claw marks didn’t come from any typical animal.

A bear? Maybe? Here? Possibly.

What made this so special? That was the question that continued to bother me.

It had almost been three solid hours, the extra time not because of the terrible condition, but more about my continued curiosity. The claw marks were deep enough they’d torn major organs. The attack had been brutal, but the man hadn’t suffered a single bruise or other mark on his face. I did find that somewhat odd. It was obvious the animal had been enraged.

I took samples, hoping I’d find tissue from the killing mechanism so I could identify the breed of animal. If this was really an animal attack, why bother contacting the FBI? As Mattie would tell me, my big brain was going to get me into trouble.

After returning the organs into the body, I pulled back to study the man once again. I’d taken countless photos along with the recordings. I wasn’t certain how they could help, but my report would be thorough.

I turned off the devices before moving to the sink to clean up, pitching the dirty items into the hamper. After grabbing the samples, I headed to the lab, locking the door to the examining room behind me. I also locked the front door. The lab was in the back part of the building and I’d had a single weirdo try to attackme one night after I’d first arrived. Here I’d thought the town was perfectly safe and devoid of assholes like him.

Or the two from the night before.

Wrong.

Everything else was already in the computer system. Now I could get into the nitty gritty of what had killed him.

A puzzle to solve. That’s what I loved about the job.

It wasn’t long before the second time I glanced at the clock. I wasn’t surprised an hour had gone by. The results weren’t what I’d expected. I’d already compared the tissues and could find nothing but those of the victim. The blood was the same.

I had a couple of other tests to run, the system capable of finding the most minuscule amount of foreign DNA, but I wasn’t hopeful at this point.

What I had concluded was that the claw marks were too large to be that of a bear. At least any indigenous to this part of the country. The shape reminded me of a wolf, but no wolf I knew of could make the marks. They were huge.

I was stymied as to how to finish the report.

Sighing, I removed the head gear containing the light for the microscopes and other apparatuses, taking a step away. Maybe another cup of coffee would help. We had a beloved Keurig machine in the lab, even though I’d told the assistants it needed to be moved to the break area. Today, I was grateful they hadn’t listened to me.

With the coffee gently brewing, I thought about the results so far.

Using an undetermined label wasn’t going to go over well, but I was close to that point.

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