Deamons

Chapter 17 The good Doctor/psyche! part 2

     "Come on we got a call," his father says. He did not say it loud. He was not sure if had not dreamt it. Then he hears the hearse turn over out front and hurry's up to get dressed, he finishes tying his tie in the vehicle. They drive down the road with nothing being said, which is usual. The pull into an apartment complex in Sun Valley not far from his home. It is one school district over but Starke does not care about that anymore. They never made a removal at an apartment complex. His father is checking the address again, then they turn the corner and blue lights light up the area. Several police cars are there. His father pulls the hears right in the middle of them and gets out.

This must be some kind of prank Starke thinks. They never took calls for the medical examiner. That is contract work bid on by funeral homes outside of Baltimore city and his father does work for any funeral homes with those contracts. What is going on, he thinks. He expected his father to talk to the police then come back over and they would go home. Instead he is walking inside with the police officer and after a minute he is back again. Ok, we are out of here now Starke thinks, but no. His father opens the back the hearse up and pulls the cot out. Starke walks back and he slaps a pair of gloves in his hands. "Put those on," he says. What is up with this he never wastes gloves on his hands now he is telling him to put some on. Must be the idea of going to the therapist. He is getting treated better already.

They start in with the cot. "Hey, sir I don't your kid should go in and see that," an officer says. "He is no kid, and he has made hundreds of removals with me so if there is no law against it get out of my way." The officer's lips are moving slightly but no words are coming out. Then his father figures he is thinking and not very good at it. He pushes around him like he is a nuisance corn stalk. Starke follows at the other end of the cot feeling guilty but what is he to do his father is not giving him a choice.

"We have to leave the cot out here," his father says and they drop the cot on the landing outside the apartment complex double doors. They grab a soft portable stretcher called a reeves stretcher. Two more police officers are inside the door of the apartment. They look Stake over then the bigger of the two says, "I'll help you cut him down stay here with officer Mullens kid." Cut him down. What is going on here Starke thinks. "BUMP BUMP," Starke hears from the other room. His father comes back in. "Come on," he says winded. Starke follows with the reeves stretcher. Oh God, he thinks why couldn't his father and the officer just finished putting the body on the cot and covered his face.

The room is full of pasted up cutouts from magazines. It is a mixture of pornographic pictures of women and Nazi propaganda. Then there is the dead man on the floor inside his closet. His eyes are bulged out of his head and open, jellied and blood shot. There is thick bloody mucus streaming from the nose to both sides of his mouth. The tongue swollen looks like it is splitting his face. It is so large protruding out of his mouth all purple, dark red and blue, if Starke did not see it in person he would never believe it real. The rope is still around his neck. His pants are down to his knees. His legs twisted underneath him.

Starke moves a step stool where he needs to lay the reeves stretcher down. His hands slips on slime when he grabs it. "Don't touch that! Kick it with your foot!" his father hollers. "Wait," he then says and grabs a bat by the back sliding glass door and knocks the step stool across the apartment. Starke looks up at the officer who looks completely unfazed. His father takes the foot end and Starke the head end. He is a big muscular man. Here is the thing about rigor mortis. It sets in more the bigger and stronger you are. Old people that have wasted away have hardly any at all. What they do have you can pull right out of them by slowly manipulating the limbs. It has to do with the lactic acid in the muscles. Someone as young and strong as this guy, he obviously worked out, forget it you are not going to get him to budge. The other thing about rigor mortis is this. It will come and go again. This guy had stiffened up but it is starting to break so after they get him on the reeves his father starts tugging on him to straighten him. He waves Starke over to help then says, "Hold up!" Hey did you check this guys pockets for any needles or anything."

The officer assures him they did but Allan gives him a dirty look and pats down his pocket. Then he tells Starke to push down on the knees while he pushes down on the shoulders. Slowly the rigor breaks just enough that they can get the straps over the body to secure him to the reeves stretcher. His father stands up takes his rubber gloves off throws them on the floor and then puts on another pair. Again, Starke looks back at the officer and still this man is unfazed. "Now look you are sure the medical examiner came down and sad it was ok to release the body. This type of things usually goes downtown," Allan asks. "Yes. It was auto-erotica no foul play. The guy wasn't even wanting to die. Its just an accident," the officer says. Allan is just staring at him. Starke thinks, why the hell di we even come in here and especially go through all the trouble to get him on the stretcher then strapped down if you are going to refuse to take the body. Come on let us get out of this creepy place. Starke more Starke looks around the creepier the place gets. There is a drawing desk with what looks like a real skull he used to store his art pens in. Then the drawings? Its all gore. Just sick imaginative ways to torture people drawn out. The place is clean but it feels filthy. Even without the dead body it has a bad feel, like something is rubbing off on him in there. "Here take my card. I take responsibility. I spoke with the medical examiner he will sign," the officer insists. We pick up the body and make our way out. The officer Starke stood by the door with when they first came in looks ugly at him. At first he thinks he is looking at the body but he is not. Starke locks eyes with him and its as close to a I am going to punch you in the mouth look without getting the punch as anyone is ever going to get.