A Recent Death

Participants:

jacob_icon.gif zachery_icon.gif

Scene Title A Recent Death
Synopsis Jacob pays Zachery a visit at the local morgue in Harlem to see about a corpse.
Date September 4, 2008

Harlem


This particular morgue is as cold and quiet as most would expect a morgue to be, with most of its employees either out and about or in the adjacent offices. The only person present in the main cold chamber this afternoon is Zachery, in less-than-flattering pale green scrubs, standing over an overly large metal sink. He pulls off and flicks a used pair of plastic gloves into wastebin and turns to the sink to scrub his arms with an inordinate amount of soap, humming contently to himself. In the other end of the room stands a cot with a distinctly human shape over the white sheet that covers it, and the morgue table next to it looks like it's recently been used.

It's too damn cold. The unpleasant chill is always the first thing to really hit Jacob Brent whenever he pays this place a visit, and in accordance he has dealt with the odd looks from people on the street and has worn a long-cut heavy overcoat. Invitation and propriety are ignored, and without announcing himself the door to the main morgue is pushed open and the lawyer walks in, holding a handkerchief to his face to avert any unpleasant smell that might be lingering in the air. "Doctor Miller."

Zachery doesn't seem at all interested in the new arrival, until his name is actually said. By that time he's finished the scrubbing, and glances in the direction of the other man. "Ah! Mister Brent." The smile that occupies his face for too short a time to be absolutely genuine is about as warm as the morgue itself. And yanking a handful of paper towels from a dispenser on the wall he begins drying his hands, turning to face Jacob fully. "What can I help you with?"

While the coroner might make at least a marginal effort at appearing friendly, Jacob's somber and faintly irritated expression moves not even so much as a muscle towards a smile. He stays in place and simply watches the other man for several moments before finally speaking again. "Caroline Carter. I'm here to find out how and why she died. A client is interested in knowing."

Zachery glances down to his hands for a moment, before disposing of the paper towels. "Hmm." He hums, reaching to take his glasses off and inspecting them for anything that might have gotten onto them. Pleased that he managed to keep them clean, they go right back on his face. Jacob is eyed through the partially cracked lenses. "Carter. The one that was brought in recently?" He motions toward a metal door nearby, starting toward it.

"Presumably. I understand that she's a recent death." The lawyer's voice is somewhat muffled by the cloth over his mouth and nose, but he doesn't seem to really care as long as his intentions are made clear. When Zachery starts to move off Jacob follows at a clipped pace, quietly ignoring the body in the room. It's beneath him - and so is caring. "Business going well these days?"

Zachery seems unbothered by Jacob's muffling. He's… pretty much used to people acting a bit strange in here. It provides entertainment! "Fantastically well, actually. Less boring people dying of old age and more murders every day." This time there's a genuine grin on the coroner's face, making it hard to determine whether he's joking or not. The metal door is opened with a heavy -clink- as the handle goes down, and cold air pours out as he steps in. It's definitely freezing in here, and Zachery makes a point of being hasty while he looks over the labels on the numerous drawers, trying to find the right one.

There is absolutely /no reason/ for Jacob to follow Zachery all the way into that icebox, and he isn't being paid enough by his client to make him actually feel obliged to do so. He stays at the door, displeased enough with the sudden gust of chilly air. If the coroner retrieves the wrong body, he'll just have to go back and fetch another. "Yes, well. When business is good for you it's spectacular for me." The criminal element of the city can be quite a source of prosperity, after all.

Zachery traces a finger past the freezing cold drawer walls, nodding quietly before straightening up and pulling at one of the compartment's fronts to pull out a woman very much served cold. "This…." He muses, unceremoniously lifting a white sheet off of the woman's face and looking toward the door. "You don't /have/ to stand over there, you know. And I've got masks if you want, though the air is about as sterile as you'll find it." There's a hint of amusement in his voice. "This the one? Carter, Caroline."

Jacob doesn't make any move towards the room Zachery is in. He is going to stay in the place that is now feeling relatively warm. "Probably. Just speed it up, Miller. I don't have all day, and I'd very much like to get back outside." There is absolutely no way that the lawyer is going to set one foot into that freezer. It's just not going to happen.

Wuss. Zachery wants to linger just for the sakes of lingering, but his scrubs aren't exactly made to isolate either. "Right." Ignoring the fact that he hasn't actually had the time to examine the body yet, he mumbles after a pause, "Bruises along legs and lower abdomen, lacerations across the ankles and feet. Probably died from internal bleeding after an inexplicable buildup of heat in the stomach area. Completely scorched." This gets a frown, as though he's only just finding out about this. Which, in fact, he is!

The coroner's frown is echoed by one of Jacob's own, the frown lines in his face deepening with the expression. "Bizarre," he comments, "and probably the work of an Evolved individual." It's become routine to put any truly freakish deaths down as the responsibility of the world's most hated minority. "So there's another murderer running about. Bloody terrorists." The lawyer pulls the handkerchief from his face in favor of stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat, drawing the thing more tightly around himself.

"You can't be sure of that." Zachery scratches the back of his neck contemplatively, staring at the dead woman's face for a moment before pushing the drawer into the wall again. "Though I wouldn't be surprised." Wrapping his arms around himself as he moves to exit the room again and close the door, he asks, "Do you deal with cases involving, ah, Evolved, a lot?"

Oh, thank god. Jacob's had enough of the cold. He steps back when the doctor emerges from the freezer, his frown only getting more pronounced after the other man speaks. "…On occasion. They tend to be harder to navigate than your run-of-the-mill Brooklyn knifing, and then one needs to deal with that blasted Linderman Act regardless of the outcome."

The door is closed with a hiss of air, and clicks back into place. "Seems a hassle. I'm glad I've only got the aftermath to work with, honestly. Once I decide they're ready for the oven or… coffin, or what have you, I'm /done/." Then, in the same breath, he asks, "So, this kill. Good news or bad news for your client?" Not that it's his business- the curiosity clearly shows on his face, though.

Zachery closes the door with a hiss of air, and it clicks back into place. "Seems a hassle. I'm glad I've only got the aftermath to work with, honestly. Once I decide they're ready for the oven or… coffin, or what have you, I'm /done/." Then, in the same breath, he asks, "So, this kill. Good news or bad news for your client?" Not that it's his business- the curiosity clearly shows on his face, though.

"It's news." And that's all the lawyer seems to be willing to say on the matter. "Regardless of the outcome, it's going to be an annoyance." It means more paperwork for Jacob, and therefore more irritation. He taps the toe of one shoe a few times against the floor, pursing his lips as he gives the coroner a rather sharp look. "If you have the option, I'd suggest you try to keep this particular death as vague as possible in whatever reports you're required to write."

Mm-hm. Zachery straightens a bit, leaning against the morgue table and looking Jacob over for a bit. "Well, I'll have to write /something/. If I want to do the paperwork alone on this I'll have to make sure no one else touches the body. There might be other colleagues of mine on the case." Or I might just be testing something. Who knows!

Jacob just stares at Zachery for several moments, his expression thinning with displeasure. "Fine." And then he's digging through his pockets to pull out his wallet. The lawyer begins to thumb through the billfold inside, gloved fingers separating the notes until he tugs out several fifties. An undetailed look would probably put the sum at somewhere around three hundred dollars. "Don't hurt yourself working, Miller."

Just as Jacob's expression thins, Zachery's brightens. Excellent. "I didn't know you cared." He smirks. "But… you're right. I could use some free time. In fact, I think I might take the rest of the afternoon off." With that, he moves toward another door to go change. "Leave it on the table, if you would." Subtle.


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September 4th: Is This Thing On?

This is the beginning of the storyline "Scorched".


Next in this storyline…
Interdepartmental Cooperation

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September 4th: Not That Close
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