The Doll House a Dane Morris Mystery

The sound of his phone ringing has him wide awake in moments. He flipped on the light and grabbed the phone in what looked like one motion. His side table bare, accept for his phone. He didn't need to look to know he had what he needed. "Hello." Quick and without emotion. He reached for the drawer and pulled out a pen and paper. He wrote quickly as he listened. "Got it." He swiped the phone and set it back down. Dane Morris is this moderate sized town, best and only detective. His formidable frame usually had people confessing before they could make up a story. He stepped in a cold shower to be sure he was awake enough. He slid a razor over his face and then washed up. His small 1 bedroom home had few items in it. A double bed, 1 night stand, and 1 pillow. All his clothes kept in his small closet. All black, dark gray and light gray suits hung neatly side by side. His black shoes are ready for anything at the bottom of the closet. He got out of the shower, dripping wet he made his way over to his closet. He pulled out a towel that had seen better days and wiped himself off with it. His 6'4" frame was muscular and tanned. His dark brown hair was short, but one could tell it would be wavy if he let it grow out. His chin and jawline the envy of most men and the highlight to most women who looked at him, he was very handsome. His dark eyes held his secrets, though. Never letting out any emotion or giving away any thoughts. He walked naked into his small kitchen and pulled out the single glass from the cupboard, and then stepped to the side to pull out his pre-made protein shake and stood there drinking his breakfast. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Even with no lights on, he could see the time was 2:13am. He took a few short steps back to his room and pulled out a black suit. By 2:22am he was pulling out of his driveway and setting his GPS as instructed. 17 minutes to get there. His jaw clenched a bit. He did not like taking that long to get to a scene. His black Dodge Longhorn roared down the road, his constant companion. The road ahead was dark and nameless as the perfectly even yellow dashes came in and out of the headlights. Dane turned onto a dirt road that was unkempt with grass reaching out from where the road was starting to sink back into the black dirt. Dane has been a detective since he could remember. He lived for the hunt, and he loved putting the bad guys away. He was good at it, too. He could see things that nobody else saw. He could pick up the tiniest clues that otherwise would have fallen to the side. His good looks were a curse to him, he like being alone, and he was always a loner. Women would always throw themselves at him, but he never took them up on it. There is too much baggage. If he needed something, he would go to the next town and get a professional. Someone who knew how to just shut up and get the deed done for him. Nobody could get close to him. Not the boys on the police force, he barely talked to the commander. He always kept everything professional, short and emotionless. Heck, nobody was even sure where he grew up. To tell the truth, he didn't know either. He had moved from foster home to foster home all his life. His last family, the dad, was a cop and would take him out on ride alongs, hoping to get him to talk. Dane appreciated it but was unwilling to open up. He figured that's why he became a cop. He had to do something, so this was good enough. His truck pulls up next to the squad car that is running. He can see better with the lights off, and when he shuts them down, he see the deputy. He sees the yellow tape outlining an area but not much else. This early in the morning, there is usually only one deputy. He exits his truck, and the smell of diesel fuel heavy in the cool autum air mingled with the crisp evergreen scent. He takes note that the train stopped. The dirt road rocks crunch beneath his shoes as he makes his way toward the waiting deputy. The new moon didn't help making sense of the scene he was walking up to. "Ah, Dective Morris. Good to see you." Deputy Sherman took a drag of his cigarette. He was shorter but in shape with a brown mustash and short thick brown hair. His eyes were honest. "Deputy Sherman. What do we have here?" Dane asked as he went under the yellow tape. "A dead girl. Looks like she was probably placed here. I don't recognize her, so I don't think she is from here." He followed him under the tape "Who called it in?" "The train engineer." "Did he get out of the train?" "I haven't spoken with him yet. Figured you would like to do the honors." Deputy Sherman was probably the friendliest person toward Dane. Everyone else gave up long ago. The sky was a slate dark gray with little to no clouds. The stars twinkled above Dane as he surveyed the area, taking everything in with his deep dark eyes. It would be totally silent save for the train running. Dane asserted that real investigation would start with daybreak because then the area would reveal what secretes it could hide under the cover of night. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. He did not really need it, but it was nice backup. As he walked past the body, he observed her to be beautiful, almost too much so. He would get a better look at her when the sun came up. He noticed how she was dressed, almost too good, too perfect. "Hey, when can I get my train moving again? I'm on a schedule." The train engineers voice seemed to pull Dane from looking at the girls face. "It will be a while. The sun needs to come up before we can move her." Dane answered without looking up. "That won't do , Sir. I have a schedule." The train engineers voice rose an octive. Dane did not answer him. He just turned and looked at him. He was short and pudgy with a long black beard, wearing the overalls it seemed every train engineer wears on TV. He walked with a limp as he approached Dane to make his case to let his train by. Dane heard Deputy Sherman step up next to him. As he approached, Dane had just one question for him. "How did you see the body far enough away that you could stop the train in time?"