The Dancing Grave

17 March 2017 7:40 a.m. **Click**Click**Click** *ruckus*ruckus* The room was filled with the sound of clicking cameras and the commotion of police officers bustling around. In the midst of it all a male officer stood his voice echoing through the chaos. "Name - Samuel Horgurt. Age - 45 y/o. Gender - Male. Occupation - General Manager at Wyatt Enterprises. Date of Death - 17 March 2017. Time of death - 3:05 a.m. Cause of death - unknown. Hah! What a mysterious murder... Didn't even leave a trace behind. I bet the killer is a professional experienced murderer. " The officer's words hung in the air emphasizing the mysterious nature of the murder. The room was tense but amidst the chaos a young and stunning individual stood her presence commanding attention. With long silky hair and dark chocolaty brown eyes she analyzed the lifeless body lying on the bathroom tiles. Her name was Irish Campbell, a brilliant detective known for her sharp instincts and attention to detail. "Mr. Wilson!" she called out to the officer her voice cutting through the noise. "Ah! Yes Miss Campbell!" he responded making his way towards her. "Send this body to the research center laboratory and run tests to check if the person had been injected with any high-powered drugs or was a drug consumer. Also search every inch of this place - the kitchen, bedroom, guest rooms, living room, dining area, garden, basement and storage room. I assure you no murderer can commit a crime without leaving any clues. Search the place thoroughly. I'm confident we will find something useful for this case and don't forget to inquire with the neighbors if they know anything and also asked the maid servant who found the body to come to the police station for further required inquiries. If you come across anyone acting strange or suspicious inform me immediately. Take 5 to 6 officers with you it will be more helpful." she said assertively. "Sure, Miss Campbell. I'm on it!" he replied. As per instructed he called out for one of his teammate and asked him to send the body to the research center laboratory for testing specifically for any traces of high-powered drugs also urged him to thoroughly search the entire place from the kitchen to the basement also believing that no murderer could leave without a trace and asked someone from his team to ask the maid servant to arrive at the station at a certain time. As she continued her investigation she inquired,"Is there anything unusual that had been found so far?" "Certainly Not! But we are still conducting the search but nothing out of the ordinary had been discovered...." Mr. Wilson replied. Undeterred, she decided to start her own search beginning with the kitchen after passing a curt nod towards Mr. Wilson's direction. At the meantime as she was making her way to the kitchen, a warm smile spread across her beautiful visage as she heard a familiar voice. "Irry! Hey bro!" she exclaimed her eyes lighting up. Irish, equally surprised by her sudden arrival, "Ana?! Babe.. When did you come back from New York? You were there for some businessman's sons' missing case right? If I ain't wrong.." Blair exclaimed surprised by her sudden arrival automatically bracing her in a warm hug, silent messages of 'I missed you!' elbowing their way in. "I just got back this morning. And, don't even get me started on that case. It was so frustrating! That supposed missing son turned out to be a stuffed toy doll! Can you believe it? It feels like I wasted all my time searching for a non-existent son!" Ana replied her energy matching Irish's as she reciprocated the hug with grace. But her smile quickly turned into an expression of that of an annoyance as she recalled the case causing Irry to burst into pit of laughter knowingly, this thing must have had triggered her patience to make her react the way she is. "What exactly happened to make you make that annoyed face?" she asked chuckling. "What happened? You're asking me what happened? Really?" Anny exasperated as if it should have been quite an obvious. "Ask me what didn't happened Irry! That 'oldy is a goldy' man who was supposedly looking for his lost 'Son' turned out to be searching for a stuffed toy doll! Can you believe it? I wasted so much time and effort on a freaking toy! And to top it off he would kept on calling me day-night asking if I'd found his son. I mean like common? Are you a freaking five? And when I asked him to pay the penalty for wasting both his and our time he had the audacity to insult me and my team saying we were useless. And as a bonus from that oldy, we all got a black tag for failing the case." Ana narrated the whole story of her New York case emphasizing the word 'Son' sarcastically and making exaggerated crying faces. Irish couldn't contain her laughter after hearing the story from Ana's perspective. By the time were they both settled on the bar stools near the kitchen counter. After finally being calmed down from her laughter Irish asked "And what about that doll? Did you not yet find it?" Ana shook her head in denial. "I wish he never found that doll." The words found themselves mumbled their way out of her. Irry sighed looking at her best friend. "You shouldn't say something like that. We never know what emotions people might attach to these seemingly unimportant things. What might seems not important to us, could be significant for someone else. It could be a connection to an important person in his life like a son or grandson. It must mean something to him since he referred to the stuffed toy as his 'Son'. Maybe his son died in past and that stuffed toy was the only physical memory he could hold onto. Don't you think so?" Ana nodded agreeing with Irish's perspective. "Damn, I didn't took it that way. Well then I guess I'll tell the team to keep searching for it until it's found." she said. "That'd be great! But aren't you going back there?" Irish asked raising an eyebrow. "No!!" "And why is that?" Blair inquired again. "Well.. you see since that I'm back now the Chief had asked me to be a part of this case as your partner. He told me a little bit about what's been happening and asked me to get the other required details from you. Okay so.... what we gonna do now?" Ana elaborated. "Oh that'd be amazing! If we're on the same team no case can remain unsolved.." Irish cheekily expressed. "....and I was just trying to gather some clues by the time you to approached." Irish said completing her sentence. "Oh, okay... so shall we get back to work now?" Ana asked her voice filled with determination and a little, a little momentary excitement could be seen. "Of course, We shall! Let's get to it. You search the room in the opposite direction and I'll search in here." Irry replied curtly. Ana nodded her eyes shining with anticipation and headed towards the room in the opposite direction. Irish gracefully stepped off the stool and began to explore the kitchen, her senses heightened searching for any valuable clues that could unravel the mystery at hand. As she strolled across the kitchen counter her eyes caught a glimmer of something at the very end. It was a small piece of broken glass. With a swift movement she retrieved her gloves from the side pocket of her black wide-legged jeans and a mini plastic zip bag. Kneeling down she delicately picked up the glass with a tweezer that had been in her right hand all along. Examining it closely she noticed that it was partially wet with blood indicating that it had been used recently. Carefully she placed the clue in the small plastic zip bag, her mind racing with possibilities. Rising back to her feet Irish continued her search meticulously checking every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen. After inspecting each one, the only cabinet beneath the basin was remained unchecked. With a swift movement she opened the last remaining cabinet with her heart pounding in anticipation. But what she found inside left her even more bewildered and feeling strange at the sight of it...