Page 15 of Five for Silver

Chad pushed open the door and led the way toDave’s lair in the basement of the police station. The lack ofwindows left the place feeling claustrophobic and the buzzinglights above added to the creep factor.

Chad poked his head inside Dave’s office butfound it empty.

“Guess he’s still inthere.” Chadsaid.

Josh shuddered, hugging his arms aroundhimself. “Does it feel haunted down here to you?”

“You and yourhauntings,” Chad lookedback at Josh over his shoulder. “My house, this place—”

“Your house is definitely haunted, and thereare literal dead people down here, come to think of it … have youever seen Dave actually touch something?”

“Unbelievable,” Chad muttered, stridingaway. “He’s called Dead-Dave because he works with the dead, notbecause he’s a ghost.”

They ventured further down the corridor tothe mortuary. Dave stood on the other side of the window to thelab, kitted out in white scrubs, and their latest victim, Mr.Watney, lay on a gurney beside him.

Josh spoke through his teeth. “All he has todo is give us the file.”

“All geniuses like their brillianceheard.”

“Cutting up dead bodies isn’tbrilliance.”

Dave waved them inside. Chad went first,with Josh glued to his back.

“Come now, Josh,” Dave said. “You saw worseat the crime scene.”

“It’s a different kind of gruesome, this …this ishaunting.”

“Enough with the haunting.” Chadreplied.

Dave removed the sheet, and Chad looked downon Mr. Watney and thought, as rare as it was, Josh had a point.They’d seen Mr. Watney at the scene, slumped in his armchair, bloodsplatters around the walls. It had been gruesome, but there wassomething cold and absent about seeing him pale-skinned and naked,with no oozing wounds, or sign of red.

Red, as stark and horrifying as it was,always reminded Chad of life, the recently distinguished, but onthe table, with the puckered purple skin of his wounds, he looked adifferent level of horrifying.

“Twenty-eight knife wounds. All to the frontof the body, all deep, all done with force.”

“But which one killed him?” Josh asked.

Dave glared. “I was getting to that if you’dlet me finish.”

“Go on,” Chad said, stepping back on Josh’stoes.

Josh grunted.

“The toxicology report showed he had a highconcentration of alcohol in his system. The lack of defensivewounds leads me to believe he was asleep, and the first blow was tothe chest, severing his aorta. The stab wound to his groin slicedthrough the femoral artery. Both fatal wounds.”

“So you don’t know which killed him?” Joshasked.

“Both injuries killed him quickly, but Ibelieve the one to the heart came first.”

“Why?”

Dave sighed and approached Josh. “Let’s sayI’ve got a knife and stab you in the groin first. What do you thinkyour reaction will be?”

Josh glanced at Chad. “I’d scream forhelp.”

“You’d curl over in a misguided effort toprotect yourself, maybe even fall to your knees on the floor. Thereare no knife wounds on his back.”

“His hands,” Dave said stepping over to thetable. He picked one up. Chad flashed a glance Josh’s way, anot-so-subtle look, Dave touched something and couldn’t possibly bea ghost.

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