I was clueless, starving and my back was torturing me. On the way to the dance school, I stopped by a drug store to get my pain killers. I took four of them at once and walked toward a fast-food restaurant. A Hamburger and fries, I looked at the sparkling soda and dreamed of a proper meal. Anyway, I devoured the food as if I had been away from the civilization for years. “Good ideas always come with a full stomach” That is what my mother used to say. I lit a cigarette, which illuminated my face. She vanished into thin air, nobody vanishes like that. There should be some trace to follow.


I headed to the dance school. Students of different ages were coming in and out of the building. The old, classic building with some antiquated but delightful ancient greek decorations. As I entered, I could feel how out of place I was. The young students staring at me made me at uneasy. At the front desk, there was a woman in her forties immersed on a romantic novel. She did not notice me as I approached.


- Ahem. - I cleared my throat.


She startled and suddenly closed the book. - Yes? - She asked with a forced smile.


I took out Laura's photograph. - When was the last time you saw this girl? -


She picked it up and closely examined it. - This is Laura... I saw her picture on the streets... Is she really missing?... Ohh It's so devastating, poor girl where should she be?


I confirmed with a nod. - When was the las time she attended school? I took out the cigarette pack but the woman stare at me with killing eyes.

- The last time she attended was seven days ago. - She pointed at the “No Smoking” sign and handed back the picture.


- Did you see anything or anyone strange around? - I was getting anxious so my voice trembled as I put the cigarettes back in my pockets.


- No... she used to help arrange the classroom after the lesson... so she always left later than the other students... that night I remember there was a car crash outside, right after Laura left but It must have been something minor because when I came out to check, there was nothing to see. - She looked dissapointed at the lost of an oportunity to gossip about the crash.


- Did she have any issues with anyone at school? A boyfriend... an admirer? - I made a pause. - A stalker...? - I looked at the entrance, my foot was shaking. 'Dying for a cigarette'


- No... but there was this suited man. He came a few times and claimed he was a talent scout... however he did not bother any of the students. He sat at the back and watched their performances. -


- Did he look like a scientist? - I wondered if it could be Mr Wilson.


- No... that man looked like those undewear models in the advertisments on TV. - The mind of the lady was fantasizing about those comercials by the look of her eyes.


- I see... Here is my card... if it anything comes to your mind... no matter how small or obvious... call this number. - Dissapointed I sighed and went directly to the exit. Cigarette ready to be lit.


The smoke in my lungs calmed me down, 'A crash...' I had nothing to lose, so on the way back to my car, I checked the vehicles parked in line. Most were old second-hand cars, the only ones artists or students can afford. I slid my finger across the cars hoods as I walked. Suddenly there was something strange.


I knelt down. The car in front of me had a broken light and a dent in the metal. I examined it more carefully. There was something that looked like a blood stain on the pavement, but the most interesting thing was some red hairs stuck to the metal. 'Could be Laura's hair?' I collected some of them and put them inside a plastic bag. I ran to the closest public phone and called to my office. Luckily Martha would still be there.


- This is McDuff Private Investigator office, how can I help you? - I breathed easier, Martha's voice sounded like a heavenly angel.

- Martha, It's me McDuff... please call all city hospitals and ask if a red-haired woman in her twenties has been admitted after a car accident... She should have a serious head wound. - While I was talking to Martha I felt the air around me heavy, I felt an eerie as of being watched. I checked my surroundings but there was nothing suspicious.


I could hear how my assistant wrote down all my instructions and then she replied. - I am on it boss, about my pay rise?... hello? -


I hung up, I really liked how Martha worked, and I would not mind to increase her salary but I was not the kind of man who sells the bear's skin before hunting it. I took a deep breaht of the winter air to plan my next step,. if I was lucky, she would be in some hospital, but It did not make sense. If she stole the documents from Wilson five days ago, How could she have recovered from her injuries from that car crash? The dent in the metal was big enough to suggest the impact could have put someone into coma... or worse.


My sense of victory dissapeared quickly as I thought more carefully about the details of the case. It was really unlikely that Laura was in a hospital. I guessed Pascucci would have checked that option too. I paced back and forth, thinking. 'I should use what Pascucci does not know, maybe the key of this case was Wilson after all.'


I went back to the car, the breeze carried a soft, womanly chuckle. It made me shiver. I looked back, but the streets suddenly were empty. These complex cases wore out my nerve, so I rubbed my eyes and started the car. My next destination was the morgue. I knew the janitor, who, for a few bucks he asked no questions about who checked the corpses once the official autopsy was finished. The air turned extremly cold; I felt as if someone was with me in the car, I looked through the rearview mirror, but the back seat was empty.


The drive to the hospital unsettled me. Maybe too much fast food was affecting my health. There was nothing odd about the Central Hospital, it was the biggest health facility in town and the place where the corpses from ongoing investigations were kept.


- Goodnight Charlie. - I greeted the man in his sixties who was having a smoke at the back entrance.

He stared at me and exhaled the smoke to his side. - I thought you were fired from the homicide department. - Charlie was a bitter man who loved reminding people of their disgraces.

- Hard to quit the old ways... - I showed him ten dollars. - May I come in? - I looked straight to his eyes.

- These are hard times... the fee has increased. - He showed me ten fingers.

- I wonder what do you do with this money... I hope it's something good. - I placed twenty dollars in his palm. - Thomas Wilson... what is the fridge number? - I put my hands inside my pockets and waited the answer.

- Yes of course something good, It goes directly to help the poor... - He pointed at himself while he showed his yellowish teeth. - Thirty seven. - He answered and opened for me the back door. - Don't take too long my shift is almost over. -

I took off my hat and said. - At least you have manners... - and I came in.

- Fuck you McDuff. - I could hear Charlie's swear as I walked down the long corridor.

I never liked the solitude of the morgue, especially at night. The corridors were silent except for the buzz of the fridges and the underground boiler. The smell of medicines and desinfectant made me dizzy; I was never fond of hospitals. Luckily the morgue was not far. I entered and went directly to the frige number thirty seven. The autopsy files were attached to the door so cops could easily access the information just in case they needed to recheck the autopsy.


I am the Doctor Hellen Torrent. It is three in the afternoon on January 1st . I proceed to start the autopsy. The subject is; Thomas Wilson, male, caucasian, thirty five years old.


The time of death is estimated to be between three or four in the morning. Rigor mortis is not present yet. The body does not present any defence injuries; his nails are clean. The body has a bruise on his leg, ten centimetres wide and twelve centimetres tall. I take a picture of it and attach it to the file. There are two small punctures on his neck. They look like scars, possibly old ones? I take a picture of them and attach it to the file. I am going to check the internal organs. The body has been drained of blood. The other organs and brain are in perfect conditions. Except for the lack of blood, this man was healthy. I have sent some tissue samples to the lab for further analysys.

The cause of the death: massive blood lost.


'His blood was drained?' I put on my latex gloves and opened the fridge. Mr Wilson looked as pale as the moon. I could see the two punctures on his neck myself. His body was not going to reveal anything new. His belongings were kept in a plastic back at his feet. I carefully took the bag out and placed it on the table. His clothes, and old watch, his wallet, nothing out of ordinary.


I checked his suit, was an average one. The guy did not have good taste in clothing. I checked it closely. When my nose got closer to the fabric I could sense a scent. 'Women's Perfume?' The night he died he had been close to a woman, 'Was it Laura... or someone else?' I opened his wallet; a few bucks, ID cards, some recepits. I checked them carefully. One of them was the receipt for a mailed parcel, dated ten months ago, 'Why was he still keeping it?' It had to be something important if he had carried it in his wallet all this time.


'Bam' I turned around. The fridge's door which was keeping Wilson's corpse had slammed shut. My heart nearly burst. I did not realize how my hand had gone straight to my old 0.22 revolver inside my trench coat. 'I am not loosing my reflexes after all.'


- Is somebody there? - I chuckled, 'The dead don't answer' The shiver came down my skin again. I caught the glimpse of two red dots inside an open fridge. I focused and pointed the revolver at it. It was empty. I sighed, 'I'm going crazy... I need some rest.'


I hurried out of the hospital. I had considered myself as a brave man. One of those fools whose kind was nearly extint due to their stupid sense of bravery. However, I was scared to death. The only other time feeling like this was when I was a child. The older boys would tell horror stories around a bonfire. Then later, when everybody was asleep, they sneak up on us wearing masks, screaming and shouting. That was the last time I could remember I had cold sweat all over my skin.


- Looks like you saw a ghost McDuff... haha. - Charlie mocked me as I passed him.


I did not even stop to answer him, I hasted my pace and headed for the exit. My heart did not settle into a normal beat until I got into my car and closed the door. 'I swear someone or something was chasing me.' I started the engine, the roar and the smeel of the burning fuel eased me. I lit another cigarette. I drove home, that is to say, my office.


After the divorce, Susan kept the house. She was living there with her new husband. George, that was his name, a real accounting dickhead. My only option was to use what little money I had left and borrow some from the bank to open my office. I slept on a couch behind a shelf full of criminal records. It made me smile, thinking of how destiny played its tricks on us. My mother always warned me that becoming a cop would leave me be surrounded by criminals. God bless you mother.


I entered the reception, Martha had left long ago. A piece of paper was on her desk. It was handwritten “There aren't any patients fitting that description at any hospital in town. What about two dollars more per hour?” I liked her persistence, but most of all, her dilligence.


I entered my office and turned on the desk lamp. I took out Laura's photograph 'Damn it... where are you?' I poured some scotch into a glass and downed itt. I took a couple of painkillers. That was the only way to get a decent sleep until morning.


That night was not an easy one. Strange nightmares haunted my sleep, they were so vivid that I could not distinguish reality from fantasy. Laura was next to me, kneeling down, holding my hands, her sweet face was grim, her eyes swolen because of the constant weeping.


- Find me... John... Find me... I'm in great danger... please! - She begged holding tight my hands


I opened my eyes and saw her but some kind of invisible force was pressing against my chest. I could not move at all, the anxiety consumed me. I could barely turn my head. I looked at her face. 'Poor girl' I thought, I promised to her 'I'm gonna take you back with your mom.'


Suddenly, she sat on me, her face shifted into Pascucci's, I could smell her scent mixed with Laura's perfume. I was paralyzed but I did not want to move. She tore open my shirt and kissed my bare coming up to my neck. Then I felt it, a warm kiss that almost made me faint. I tried to grab her arms to push her away, I was feeling pain, a sweet pain I must admit. Then I abruptly woke up.


It was seven a.m and only small ray of sunlight dared to get inside my office. I reached for my neck, I felt nothing strange. My shirt was perfectly buttoned. However, I stood up and went to the small bathroom. I looked at my four-day beard and my tired eyes. My neck was fine. 'It was just a nightmare John...'


I walked back to the couch and noticed some small drops of blood next to the couch. 'When did that happen?' I tried to ignore it. I needed to kill some time before heading to the post office.


I warmed up some old coffee and poured some scotch in it. I sat down, trying to link all the iformation I had. If the post office turned out to be a dead end, I could say bye to the rest of the money. I could also check Wilson's worksplace. The post office most seemed the best lead, so I downed the warm coffee and checked the receipt again.