The House of Allen

Nine

Charles pinched the bridge of his nose as he lined up for some cheap takeaway coffee at the diner near the funeral home. It was seven in the morning and anyone who knows the detective can confirm that he is not a morning person. However, when the funeral home called in last night before he finished his shift at the police station stating that they could only do the autopsy at an ungodly hour (at least to Charles) because the family insisted that they should be able to hold the funeral the next day, Charles knew that he had to set all the alarms in his house to make it in time. This is what brought him here, still in a daze as he grabbed his strong coffee from the counter as he made his way to the funeral parlor a block away from the diner.

Greeting the receptionist who looked just as sleepy as he is, Charles made his way to the staircase leading to the basement where the embalming on the corpses is being done. He was met there by his apprentice, Jake who went ahead of him to alert the undertaker of his arrival. Jake led him through a series of doors that led to an extremely cold room, the faint scent of chemicals lingering in every corner.  The man they found dead in the alleyway between two pubs a night ago was lying naked on the steel table in the middle of the room.

“Good morning, Mr. Maxwell. How are you?” The undertaker greeted him as they approached the corpse.

“Could have been better,” Charles replied, sipping his takeaway coffee while trying to ignore the faint chemical smell all over him. “Let’s start with the autopsy, shall we? I don’t think we have a lot of time in our hands.” He added, taking his notebook out and beckoning Jake to come closer.

“Looks like it’s his first autopsy, huh?” The undertaker chuckled as he picked a scalpel from the tools laid out on a table next to him.

“Yeah, he’s been an apprentice for a while but you know we don’t get a lot of murders here in our town.” Charles shrugged while Jake paled as they watched the undertaker make the necessary incisions to open up the body for examining.

“You may want to hold on to one of the buckets over there.” The undertaker said, nodding towards a corner where some buckets presumably to store human remains during the process were stacked. He hasn’t even lowered his gaze back to the body in front of him before Jake dashed towards the aforementioned corner and puked into one of the empty buckets.

---

“Oh, God. I think I’m getting dizzy.” Jake whined as he clung onto his glass of orange juice. 

The autopsy has been completed without any hitch (besides him emptying his entire breakfast and maybe some of his dinner as well rendering him practically useless during the note-taking) and they are now at the diner a block away from the funeral parlor, having their brunch.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll get used to it someday. I almost threw up too when I attended my first real autopsy. You should really eat something. How about soup?” Charles shrugged as he took a bite out of his chicken and waffle dish.

“No thank you. I’ll just have something later during the afternoon break.” Jake refused, not trusting his stomach to be able to take in any type of food right now. “Do I really have to attend autopsies?” He asked, hoping that it is not mandatory for detectives.

“You do. Even if you reassign yourself to be an officer instead, you may still be asked to go if there are no detectives available.” Charles shrugged, chuckling a little as he saw his apprentice’s face fall at the news.

“How many autopsies have you attended then, Detective Maxwell?” Jake asked curiously.

“Including that one, I’ve only been to four and two of those were from when I was an apprentice at the capital and the third one was only requested by the family for legal purposes. 

This is actually the first one I had to attend for a case. This town is pretty peaceful if you ask me.” Charles answered unperturbed, as he continued eating his brunch as Jake sighed in relief, praying that he would not get another murder case during his apprenticeship with Charles.

“I-I remember the officer the other day saying that it may be passed as some drunken fight but based on the autopsy, there were no traces of alcohol found on the man’s body. What are we going to do now, sir?” Jake asked, taking small sips from his juice, now that his stomach has somewhat settled.

“That means that we have more work for us. If we found traces of alcohol on the man’s system, the case would have been settled and closed but now that it has been proven that he is not drunk then we need to investigate the circumstances that led to his death. Like knowing who those two men he was last seen with are.” Charles answered, gulping on his second cup of coffee.

“Do you think they are the reason why he died of suffocation?” the apprentice asked once again.

“We wouldn’t know until we find them.” Charles shrugged, knowing that it was easier said than done.

---

Jaxon stared at the huge facility in front of him as he stepped out of his car. To think that he would be back in town after only a week was not what he expected after coming back from three years of studying abroad, but when his father approached him about training to take over the external relations for the House of Allen business, he knew that his short-lived vacation was over.

It was planned for him to move into the main estate and undergo training at the factory first to learn about the business processes just like what his cousin Levi is currently doing under someone who he was supposed to meet during their coming home party but was told that they went home already with Erwin. Seeing as there is no other way out of his inevitable fate, Jaxon agreed on the arrangement and packed up his bags for his drive back to his parents’ home town.

After entering and letting the guards know who he is, he was told to go and meet the manager of the entire facility who was already informed that he will be coming today. After thanking the guards, he went inside and as directed, walked through the factory while ignoring the curious stares of the workers there. Finally reaching the office with a plaque that says ‘Management’, the man reached out his hand and gave the door a few knocks before a soft voice called out for him to come in.

“Hey, bro!” A voice yelled and Jaxon was disoriented for a bit before his eyes landed on the only person who would call him that.

“Oh, Levi! There you are!” Jaxon greeted his cousin happily as the latter stood up from his desk and gave him a hug.

“Did you just arrive? That must be a long drive from the city.” Levi pouted as he surveyed his cousin in his button-down shirt and cotton pants. A sound of clearing throat made the younger male spin around to see his colleague – technically his boss – standing at the side and smiling at the pair.

“You must be Alexandra. Mr. Allen has told me a lot about you. It’s a pity we did not get to meet each other at the party. I’m Jaxon, but you can call me Jack.” Jaxon greeted the lady beside them politely and disentangled himself from Levi to extend his hand for Alex to shake.

“You can call me Alex. It’s very nice to meet you, and it is really bad that we did not get to meet at the party. Stuff happened, and I had to go home early with Erwin.” Alex replied apologetically, as she shook Jaxon’s hand. The older man shook his head in reply.

“No worries. Are you and Erwin, you know?” Jaxon asked curiously, clearly referring to what Levi thought initially about his brother and Alex: that the two are romantically involved with each other.

“Oh, no. At least not now. He’s a very good friend who I have known since high school.” Alex replied, turning her head to the side to hide her blush as Levi eyed her suspiciously. Does this woman like Erwin?

“Oh, you went to the same high school? That’s amazing! Anyway, I’m here for my first day at work.” Jaxon smiled as he proudly puffed out his chest.

“Yes, I was told you would start today. Here is your time card. Write down the time you came in today, and have me sign it before you go home.  Levi can show you how to use our time clock later after your shift. I believe you’re staying at the estate during your training, am I right?” Alex confirmed as she handed Jaxon his time card. 

“We’ll be doing our Monday rounds shortly. Come with us, so you can meet the workers too. I’ll show you to your desk after.” the woman continued as she led two men out of the office.