Becoming Grimm (Sean Renard) {1}

4. Lonelyhearts

"There she paused for a while thinking... But the temptation was so great that she could not conquer it."

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Nick and I approach the crime scene in his car. Nick pulls off the side and shut his car off. I climb out carefully glancing around the area as Nick quickly walks over to Hank.
"Driver of the car is Leroy Kent. Says he's driving home from work, drives onto the bridge, sees the victim running, she runs right in front of his car. Says it happened so fast, I couldn't do anything." Hank says as I follow Nick and Hank.
"Get an ID on the vic?" Nick asks Hank.
"No wallet, no purse. Looks like she just got out of bed." Hank responds back.
"Did Mr. Kent have anything to drink?" Nick asks.
"He's had a couple, but he's under the limit."
"Any witnesses?" I ask from behind them.
"Well, the driver said there was one other guy. Told him to call 911, but he didn't stick around. We got guys out doing a canvass now." Hank tells us.
"Mr. Kent." Nick says as we stop in front of the open back of the ambulance.
"Yes." The man says. The emt fixing Mr. Kent's bandage on his head walks away.
"How are you feeling?" Nick asks.
"Is she dead?" Mr. Kent asks, ignoring Nick's question.
"Yeah." Hank says softly.
"At first I thought she might be okay. I mean, the guy said she was still breathing." Mr. Kent stutters out.
"Is this the guy who told you to call 911?" I ask.
"Yes. I ran over there as soon as it happened and he just walked up."
"Where'd he go?" Nick questions.
"I don't know. I called 911, I looked back, and he was gone."
"Any idea what he looked like?" I have a question.
"Not really, no. I was pretty shook up. I was paying attention to her." Mr. Kent say shakily. A forensic tech walks up looks between Mr. Kent and Nick, Hank and I.
"We're done, if you guys want to take a look," the forensic tech says.
"Yeah." Nick mumbles walking off. Hank follows shortly after.
"Thank you, Mr. Kent for answering our questions." I say softly before following Nick and Hank. We approach the body of a woman clad only in her nightgown.
"Barefoot, ready for bed, but she's still wearing makeup." I say as we stop to look at the body.
"Maybe she wasn't alone."Nick says, crouching down to examine the body closer.
"We've got some glass here." Nick says motioning to the cuts on her arm. Hank and I crouch near the body.
"Windshield didn't shatter and the headlights are still intact. This didn't come from the accident." Hank tells us.
"There's no cuts or abrasions on her feet. The guy said she was running. She couldn't have run too far." Nick says.
"I wonder where she was running to." Hank says standing up from crouching."
"Or what she was running from." Nick says also standing up. I look over the body a few more seconds before standing up and following after Nick and Hank.

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"Notice the iris is fully dilated, filling the eye completely." Harper tells us, shining a light in the eye.
"Looks like a shark's eye. Is that normal?" Nick asks as we lean over the body Harper's examining.
"Well, there's usually dilation after death, but I've never seen anything like this before." Harper says clicking off the flashlight she held.
"You get a tox report?" I ask, as Nick and I stand up right to our questions.
"Preliminary says she had a few drinks, not a lot. Alcohol was .06" Harper says flicking through her file.
"What about drugs?" Nick asks.
"So far none of the usual suspects. Finding the unusual is going to take a little more time."
"Any sign of serial assault?" Nick questions.
"No. But there was something interesting. No crush on the lungs." Harper tells us, motioning to the body.
"What does that mean?" Nick asks.
"She was asphyxiated, but it wasn't the result of the accident." Harper responds.
"Someone suffocated her after she was hit by the car?" Nick asks, Harper nods as Hank walks into the room hearing the last sentence.
"So we got a homicide?" Hank asks.
"These contusions around her nose and mouth, looks like somebody pinched off her air."
"Looks like the man Mr. Kent saw and told him to call 911 as our prime suspect." I say looking at Hank.
"Yes it would seem so. I also got a hit on her prints. The victim's name was Faith Collins. 33. Busted for DUI a few months ago. License was suspended." Hank tells us.
"Got an address?" Nick asks.
"About a mile away from where she got hit. We knew she didn't run very far, so it makes sense that she lived close by."
"Well, maybe she was running from home." Nick says.
"I think she was running from her husband, Roy Collins. Got a record for spousal abuse."
"We should go talk to Roy Collins." Nick says.
"You two go on ahead. I need to speak to the captain." I tell Nick and Hank walking out of the morgue.